read_file

Access file content or specific chunks within the Serena MCP Server by providing a relative path. Ideal for retrieving full text or targeted sections when symbolic operations are insufficient for the task.

Instructions

Reads the given file or a chunk of it. Generally, symbolic operations like find_symbol or find_referencing_symbols should be preferred if you know which symbols you are looking for. Reading the entire file is only recommended if there is no other way to get the content required for the task. Returns the full text of the file at the given relative path.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`end_line`	No	The 0-based index of the last line to be retrieved (inclusive). If None, read until the end of the file.
`max_answer_chars`	No	If the file (chunk) is longer than this number of characters, no content will be returned. Don't adjust unless there is really no other way to get the content required for the task.
`relative_path`	Yes	The relative path to the file to read.
`start_line`	No	The 0-based index of the first line to be retrieved.

Input Schema (JSON Schema)

{
  "properties": {
    "end_line": {
      "anyOf": [
        {
          "type": "integer"
        },
        {
          "type": "null"
        }
      ],
      "default": null,
      "description": "The 0-based index of the last line to be retrieved (inclusive). If None, read until the end of the file.",
      "title": "End Line"
    },
    "max_answer_chars": {
      "default": 200000,
      "description": "If the file (chunk) is longer than this number of characters,\nno content will be returned. Don't adjust unless there is really no other way to get the content\nrequired for the task.",
      "title": "Max Answer Chars",
      "type": "integer"
    },
    "relative_path": {
      "description": "The relative path to the file to read.",
      "title": "Relative Path",
      "type": "string"
    },
    "start_line": {
      "default": 0,
      "description": "The 0-based index of the first line to be retrieved.",
      "title": "Start Line",
      "type": "integer"
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "relative_path"
  ],
  "title": "applyArguments",
  "type": "object"
}

Serena MCP Server

read_file

Instructions

Input Schema

Input Schema (JSON Schema)

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MCP directory API