read_file
Read file contents safely with configurable size limits to prevent memory issues when accessing files in Python environments.
Instructions
Read the content of any file, with size limits for safety.
Args:
file_path: Path to the file
max_size_kb: Maximum file size to read in KBInput Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| file_path | Yes | ||
| max_size_kb | No |
Output Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| result | Yes |
Implementation Reference
- mcp_python_interpreter/server.py:722-764 (handler)The @mcp.tool()-decorated function implementing the 'read_file' tool. It reads file contents with security checks (path allowance, size limits), handles text and binary files, and formats output with syntax highlighting for source files.
@mcp.tool() def read_file(file_path: str, max_size_kb: int = 1024) -> str: """ Read the content of any file, with size limits for safety. Args: file_path: Path to the file max_size_kb: Maximum file size to read in KB """ path = Path(file_path) if path.is_absolute(): if not is_path_allowed(path): return f"Access denied: Can only read files in working directory: {WORKING_DIR}" else: path = WORKING_DIR / path try: if not path.exists(): return f"Error: File '{file_path}' not found" file_size_kb = path.stat().st_size / 1024 if file_size_kb > max_size_kb: return f"Error: File size ({file_size_kb:.2f} KB) exceeds maximum ({max_size_kb} KB)" try: with open(path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f: content = f.read() source_extensions = ['.py', '.js', '.html', '.css', '.json', '.xml', '.md', '.txt', '.sh', '.bat', '.ps1'] if path.suffix.lower() in source_extensions: file_type = path.suffix[1:] if path.suffix else 'plain' return f"File: {file_path}\n\n```{file_type}\n{content}\n```" return f"File: {file_path}\n\n{content}" except UnicodeDecodeError: with open(path, 'rb') as f: content = f.read() hex_content = content.hex() return f"Binary file: {file_path}\nSize: {len(content)} bytes\nHex (first 1024 chars):\n{hex_content[:1024]}" except Exception as e: return f"Error reading file: {str(e)}"