python/resources/files/methods/content/index.md 2026-05-18 22:01 UTC to 2026-05-19 06:34 UTC

1## Retrieve file content

2 

3`files.content(strfile_id) -> BinaryResponseContent`

4 

5**get** `/files/{file_id}/content`

6 

7Returns the contents of the specified file.

8 

9### Parameters

10 

11- `file_id: str`

12 

13### Returns

14 

15- `BinaryResponseContent`

16 

17### Example

18 

19```python

20import os

21from openai import OpenAI

22 

23client = OpenAI(

24 api_key=os.environ.get("OPENAI_API_KEY"), # This is the default and can be omitted

25)

26response = client.files.content(

27 "file_id",

28)

29print(response)

30content = response.read()

31print(content)

32```

33 

34### Example

35 

36```python

37from openai import OpenAI

38client = OpenAI()

39 

40content = client.files.content("file-abc123")

41```