read_file
Access and retrieve the contents of files from the local file system using a specified path to enable data reading and processing operations.
Instructions
Read the contents of a file
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| path | Yes | The path to the file to read |
Implementation Reference
- server.py:199-206 (handler)Primary MCP tool handler for 'read_file' in Python server. Reads file using pathlib.Path.read_text and returns MCP TextContent.async def read_file(self, file_path: str) -> list[types.TextContent]: """Read file contents""" try: path = Path(file_path) content = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8") return [types.TextContent(type="text", text=content)] except Exception as error: raise Exception(f"Failed to read file: {str(error)}")
- server.js:216-229 (handler)Primary MCP tool handler for 'read_file' in JavaScript server. Uses Node.js fs.promises.readFile and returns structured content response.async readFile(filePath) { try { const content = await fs.readFile(filePath, 'utf-8'); return { content: [ { type: 'text', text: content, }, ], }; } catch (error) { throw new Error(`Failed to read file: ${error.message}`); }
- server.py:72-85 (schema)Input schema definition and registration for 'read_file' tool in Python MCP server.types.Tool( name="read_file", description="Read the contents of a file", inputSchema={ "type": "object", "properties": { "path": { "type": "string", "description": "The path to the file to read", } }, "required": ["path"], }, ),
- server.js:44-56 (schema)Input schema definition and registration for 'read_file' tool in JavaScript MCP server.{ name: 'read_file', description: 'Read the contents of a file', inputSchema: { type: 'object', properties: { path: { type: 'string', description: 'The path to the file to read', }, }, required: ['path'], },
- chatgpt-proxy.js:221-223 (handler)Inline handler for 'read_file' in ChatGPT-OpenAI proxy server.case 'read_file': const content = await fs.readFile(args.path, 'utf-8'); return { success: true, content };