---
name: "files_read_text"
area: "files"
title: "Read a file's words"
price: "free"
method: "POST"
url: "https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/files_read_text"
mcp_server: "https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/files"
auth: "Authorization: Bearer <conecto_sk_ key>"
docs_url: "https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_read_text"
---

# Read a file's words (`files_read_text`)

The words in a file as Conecto read them: text files, PDFs, office files, HTML, and scans once read with OCR.

The words in a file as Conecto read them: text files, PDFs with a text layer, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OpenDocument and HTML files, and scans once read with OCR (files_ocr). Up to max_chars from offset; next_offset gives the rest. status: read, reading (ask again in a minute), scan (an image or a PDF without text: files_ocr reads it), unpaid (auto-OCR could not be paid), none (no words to read) or failed.

Price: Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month for the whole account, then $0.50 per 10,000 reads. A call that fails costs nothing.

## Use it when

The agent needs a file's words, from any kind of document.

- For a PDF page by page, use [documents_read_pdf](https://conecto.chat/tools/documents/documents_read_pdf.md).
- For a scan that has not been read yet, use [files_ocr](https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_ocr.md).

## Say this to your agent

> What does the lease for the shop say about the notice period?

## Inputs

| Name | Type | Required | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| `file_id` | string | yes | The file_id files_upload returned. Exactly 36 characters. |  |  |
| `offset` | integer | no | At least 0. |  | `0` |
| `max_chars` | integer | no | 1 to 200,000. |  | `50000` |

## Example

Written for Halverson Cycle & Repair, a bike shop with a repair workshop in Portland, Oregon.

MCP: call `files_read_text` on the MCP server `https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/files` with these arguments:

```json
{
  "file_id": "1e3a5c7e-9b2d-4f4a-8c6e-0a2c4e6a8b1d"
}
```

REST:

```bash
curl https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/files_read_text \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONECTO_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"file_id": "1e3a5c7e-9b2d-4f4a-8c6e-0a2c4e6a8b1d"}'
```

## Response

```json
{
  "call_id": "5f0c8a2e-3b7d-4c1e-9a64-2d8e1f7b0c93",
  "tool": "files_read_text",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "replayed": false,
  "cost_usd": "$0.00",
  "balance_usd": "$19.75",
  "result": {
    "file_id": "1e3a5c7e-9b2d-4f4a-8c6e-0a2c4e6a8b1d",
    "name": "Lease 1830 SE Ash St.pdf",
    "status": "read",
    "method": "text",
    "ocr_pages": null,
    "languages": null,
    "length": 139,
    "offset": 0,
    "text": "Lease for the shop, 1830 SE Ash St, Portland\n\n12. Notice: either side may end the lease with six months notice before the end of a quarter."
  }
}
```

`result`: The file_id, status (read, reading, scan, unpaid, none or failed), the text from offset, and next_offset when there is more.

## Errors

| Code | Status | When | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| `not_found` | 404 | No file of the business has that file_id. | Find it with files_list. |

The refusals every tool can give (401 key, 402 balance, 429 limits) are on the errors page: https://conecto.chat/docs/errors.md

## Related

- [files_upload](https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_upload.md): Stores a file in the business's file store from its bytes, its text or a public link, with a download link. $0.001 a call.
- [files_upload_link](https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_upload_link.md): A one-time link to upload one file of up to 25 MB, to use yourself or hand to a person. Free.
- [files_list](https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_list.md): The business's files, newest first, filtered by name, words inside, tags, type, correspondent, document date or fields. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [files_get](https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_get.md): One file's details and a fresh download link, with the text of a small text file if asked. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [files_edit](https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_edit.md): Says what one file is, or up to 100 at once: title, notes, document date, correspondent, type, tags and fields. $0.005 per file changed.
- [files_define](https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_define.md): Adds, renames or deletes a tag, a document type, a custom field or a correspondent to file things with. $0.001 a call.
- [files_definitions](https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_definitions.md): The tags, document types, custom fields and correspondents the business files with, each with how many files use it, and the OCR settings. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [files_ocr](https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_ocr.md): Reads the words in a scan with OCR: an image, or the pages of a PDF without text; the text is kept. $0.005 per page read.
- [files_ocr_settings](https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_ocr_settings.md): Sets whether new scans are read with OCR as they arrive, and the languages OCR reads in. $0.001 a call.
- [files_delete](https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_delete.md): Deletes a file for good; every download link to it stops working. Free.
- [files_add_storage](https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_add_storage.md): Rents 10 GB more file storage, renewed monthly from the balance; this call pays the first month. $1.00 a call.
- [files_remove_storage](https://conecto.chat/tools/files/files_remove_storage.md): Stops renting one 10 GB block of storage, if the files still fit. Free.