# File
## *class* File
An interface for working with raw files stored on Redivis.
{% hint style="info" %}
Redivis automatically registers itself with [fsspec](https://filesystem-spec.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) on import. If you are working with an fsspec compatible library, you can use the Redivis file URI scheme to reference files directly:
```python
with fsspec.open("redivis://table_reference/path/to/file") as f:
""" Do great things """
```
{% endhint %}
## Constructors
| Method | Description |
|---|
Table.file(path) | Reference a file within a table. |
Query.file(path) | Reference a file within a query result |
Directory.get(path) | Get a file (or directory) within a directory. |
Directory.list([max_results, *, ...]) | List files (and/or directories) within a directory |
Query.list_files([max_results, *, ...]) | List files contained within a query result. The query result must contain at least one file_id variable. |
Table.list_files([max_results, *, ...]) | List files contained within a file index table. The table must contain at least one file_id variable. |
## Examples
```python
import redivis
from io import TextIOWrapper
from PIL import Image
# See https://redivis.com/datasets/yz1s-d09009dbb/files for example data
table = redivis.table("demo.example_data_files:yz1s:v1_3.example_file_types:4c10")
text_file = table.file("pandas_core.py")
image_file = table.file("bogota.tiff")
## Read file contents
str = text_file.read(as_text=True)
bytes = image_file.read()
## Open the file, as if it was on the filesystem
with file.open("rb") as f:
f.read(100) # read 100 bytes
with file.open() as f:
f.readline() # read first line
# Tools that integrate with fsspec can open Redivis URIs:
pystac.Catalog.from_file("redivis://table_ref/stac/catalog.json")
Image.open(table.file("bogota.tiff")) # PIL will automatically call open() on the file
## Download the file
image_file.download("./path") # will be downloaded as ./path/bogota.tiff
text_file.download("./path/renamed.txt") # will be downloaded as ./path/renamed.txt
```
## Attributes
| **`directory`** | A reference to the associated [Directory](https://docs.redivis.com/api/client-libraries/redivis-python/reference/directory) for this file. |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **`id`** | The globally unique identifier for the file, as a string. |
| **`name`** | The name of the file as a string, without any directory subpaths as present. Same as `file.path.name`. |
| **`path`** | The full path of the file, as a pathlib.Path |
| **`query`** | A reference to the [Query](https://docs.redivis.com/api/client-libraries/redivis-python/reference/query) from which this file was loaded from. Either this or `table` will be present. |
| **`properties`** | A dict containing properties associated with the file. This will always contain the following properties, derived from the file's original index table:
file\_id (str): The globally unique id of the filefile\_name (str): The full name of the file, including any extensionssize (int): The size of the file, in bytesadded\_at (datetime): When the file was initially uploaded to Redivismd5\_hash (str): The md5 checksum of the file, as a base64 string
Additionally, if the file was loaded from a table or query with additional variables, those variables' values will exist in properties.
|
| **`table`** | A reference to the [Table](https://docs.redivis.com/api/client-libraries/redivis-python/reference/table) from which this file was loaded from. |
## Methods
| Name | Description |
|---|
file.download(path[, ...]) | Download the file. |
file.read(*[, as_text, start_byte, end_byte]) | Read the file contents into memory, either as bytes (the default) or as a string if as_text=True. |
file.open(*, [start_byte, end_byte]) | Read the file as a BytesIO stream, as if it was located on disk. |