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

1## Retrieve file content

2 

3`files.retrieve_content(strfile_id) -> FileContent`

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- `str`

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)

26file_content = client.files.retrieve_content(

27 "file_id",

28)

29print(file_content)

30```

31 

32#### Response

33 

34```json

35"string"

36```

37 

38### Example

39 

40```python

41from openai import OpenAI

42client = OpenAI()

43 

44content = client.files.content("file-abc123")

45```