Using files

The Gemini API supports uploading media files separately from the prompt input, allowing your media to be reused across multiple requests and multiple prompts. For more details, check out the Prompting with media guide.

Method: media.upload

Creates a File.

Endpoint

  • Upload URI, for media upload requests:
 post https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/upload/v1beta/files
  • Metadata URI, for metadata-only requests:
 post https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/files

Request body

The request body contains data with the following structure:

Fields
file object (File)

Optional. Metadata for the file to create.

Example request

Image

Python

from google import genai

client = genai.Client()
myfile = client.files.upload(file=media / "Cajun_instruments.jpg")
print(f"{myfile=}")

result = client.models.generate_content(
    model="gemini-2.0-flash",
    contents=[
        myfile,
        "\n\n",
        "Can you tell me about the instruments in this photo?",
    ],
)
print(f"{result.text=}")
files.py

Node.js

// Make sure to include the following import:
// import {GoogleGenAI} from '@google/genai';
const ai = new GoogleGenAI({ apiKey: process.env.GEMINI_API_KEY });
const myfile = await ai.files.upload({
  file: path.join(media, "Cajun_instruments.jpg"),
  config: { mimeType: "image/jpeg" },
});
console.log("Uploaded file:", myfile);

const result = await ai.models.generateContent({
  model: "gemini-2.0-flash",
  contents: createUserContent([
    createPartFromUri(myfile.uri, myfile.mimeType),
    "\n\n",
    "Can you tell me about the instruments in this photo?",
  ]),
});
console.log("result.text=", result.text);
files.js

Go

ctx := context.Background()
client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, &genai.ClientConfig{
	APIKey:  os.Getenv("GEMINI_API_KEY"),
	Backend: genai.BackendGeminiAPI,
})
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
myfile, err := client.Files.UploadFromPath(
	ctx, 
	filepath.Join(getMedia(), "Cajun_instruments.jpg"), 
	&genai.UploadFileConfig{
		MIMEType : "image/jpeg",
	},
)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
fmt.Printf("myfile=%+v\n", myfile)

parts := []*genai.Part{
	genai.NewPartFromURI(myfile.URI, myfile.MIMEType),
	genai.NewPartFromText("\n\n"),
	genai.NewPartFromText("Can you tell me about the instruments in this photo?"),
}

contents := []*genai.Content{
	genai.NewContentFromParts(parts, genai.RoleUser),
}

response, err := client.Models.GenerateContent(ctx, "gemini-2.0-flash", contents, nil)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
text := response.Text()
fmt.Printf("result.text=%s\n", text)
files.go

Shell

MIME_TYPE=$(file -b --mime-type "${IMG_PATH_2}")
NUM_BYTES=$(wc -c < "${IMG_PATH_2}")
DISPLAY_NAME=TEXT

tmp_header_file=upload-header.tmp

# Initial resumable request defining metadata.
# The upload url is in the response headers dump them to a file.
curl "${BASE_URL}/upload/v1beta/files?key=${GEMINI_API_KEY}" \
  -D upload-header.tmp \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Protocol: resumable" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: start" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Length: ${NUM_BYTES}" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Type: ${MIME_TYPE}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{'file': {'display_name': '${DISPLAY_NAME}'}}" 2> /dev/null

upload_url=$(grep -i "x-goog-upload-url: " "${tmp_header_file}" | cut -d" " -f2 | tr -d "\r")
rm "${tmp_header_file}"

# Upload the actual bytes.
curl "${upload_url}" \
  -H "Content-Length: ${NUM_BYTES}" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Offset: 0" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: upload, finalize" \
  --data-binary "@${IMG_PATH_2}" 2> /dev/null > file_info.json

file_uri=$(jq ".file.uri" file_info.json)
echo file_uri=$file_uri

# Now generate content using that file
curl "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/gemini-1.5-flash:generateContent?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -X POST \
    -d '{
      "contents": [{
        "parts":[
          {"text": "Can you tell me about the instruments in this photo?"},
          {"file_data":
            {"mime_type": "image/jpeg", 
            "file_uri": '$file_uri'}
        }]
        }]
       }' 2> /dev/null > response.json

cat response.json
echo

jq ".candidates[].content.parts[].text" response.json
files.sh

Audio

Python

from google import genai

client = genai.Client()
myfile = client.files.upload(file=media / "sample.mp3")
print(f"{myfile=}")

result = client.models.generate_content(
    model="gemini-2.0-flash", contents=[myfile, "Describe this audio clip"]
)
print(f"{result.text=}")
files.py

Node.js

// Make sure to include the following import:
// import {GoogleGenAI} from '@google/genai';
const ai = new GoogleGenAI({ apiKey: process.env.GEMINI_API_KEY });
const myfile = await ai.files.upload({
  file: path.join(media, "sample.mp3"),
  config: { mimeType: "audio/mpeg" },
});
console.log("Uploaded file:", myfile);

const result = await ai.models.generateContent({
  model: "gemini-2.0-flash",
  contents: createUserContent([
    createPartFromUri(myfile.uri, myfile.mimeType),
    "Describe this audio clip",
  ]),
});
console.log("result.text=", result.text);
files.js

Go

ctx := context.Background()
client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, &genai.ClientConfig{
	APIKey:  os.Getenv("GEMINI_API_KEY"),
	Backend: genai.BackendGeminiAPI,
})
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
myfile, err := client.Files.UploadFromPath(
	ctx, 
	filepath.Join(getMedia(), "sample.mp3"), 
	&genai.UploadFileConfig{
		MIMEType : "audio/mpeg",
	},
)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
fmt.Printf("myfile=%+v\n", myfile)

parts := []*genai.Part{
	genai.NewPartFromURI(myfile.URI, myfile.MIMEType),
	genai.NewPartFromText("Describe this audio clip"),
}

contents := []*genai.Content{
	genai.NewContentFromParts(parts, genai.RoleUser),
}

response, err := client.Models.GenerateContent(ctx, "gemini-2.0-flash", contents, nil)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
text := response.Text()
fmt.Printf("result.text=%s\n", text)
files.go

Shell

MIME_TYPE=$(file -b --mime-type "${AUDIO_PATH}")
NUM_BYTES=$(wc -c < "${AUDIO_PATH}")
DISPLAY_NAME=AUDIO

tmp_header_file=upload-header.tmp

# Initial resumable request defining metadata.
# The upload url is in the response headers dump them to a file.
curl "${BASE_URL}/upload/v1beta/files?key=${GEMINI_API_KEY}" \
  -D upload-header.tmp \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Protocol: resumable" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: start" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Length: ${NUM_BYTES}" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Type: ${MIME_TYPE}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{'file': {'display_name': '${DISPLAY_NAME}'}}" 2> /dev/null

upload_url=$(grep -i "x-goog-upload-url: " "${tmp_header_file}" | cut -d" " -f2 | tr -d "\r")
rm "${tmp_header_file}"

# Upload the actual bytes.
curl "${upload_url}" \
  -H "Content-Length: ${NUM_BYTES}" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Offset: 0" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: upload, finalize" \
  --data-binary "@${AUDIO_PATH}" 2> /dev/null > file_info.json

file_uri=$(jq ".file.uri" file_info.json)
echo file_uri=$file_uri

# Now generate content using that file
curl "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/gemini-1.5-flash:generateContent?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -X POST \
    -d '{
      "contents": [{
        "parts":[
          {"text": "Describe this audio clip"},
          {"file_data":{"mime_type": "audio/mp3", "file_uri": '$file_uri'}}]
        }]
       }' 2> /dev/null > response.json

cat response.json
echo

jq ".candidates[].content.parts[].text" response.json
files.sh

Text

Python

from google import genai

client = genai.Client()
myfile = client.files.upload(file=media / "poem.txt")
print(f"{myfile=}")

result = client.models.generate_content(
    model="gemini-2.0-flash",
    contents=[myfile, "\n\n", "Can you add a few more lines to this poem?"],
)
print(f"{result.text=}")
files.py

Node.js

// Make sure to include the following import:
// import {GoogleGenAI} from '@google/genai';
const ai = new GoogleGenAI({ apiKey: process.env.GEMINI_API_KEY });
const myfile = await ai.files.upload({
  file: path.join(media, "poem.txt"),
});
console.log("Uploaded file:", myfile);

const result = await ai.models.generateContent({
  model: "gemini-2.0-flash",
  contents: createUserContent([
    createPartFromUri(myfile.uri, myfile.mimeType),
    "\n\n",
    "Can you add a few more lines to this poem?",
  ]),
});
console.log("result.text=", result.text);
files.js

Go

ctx := context.Background()
client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, &genai.ClientConfig{
	APIKey:  os.Getenv("GEMINI_API_KEY"),
	Backend: genai.BackendGeminiAPI,
})
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}

myfile, err := client.Files.UploadFromPath(
	ctx, 
	filepath.Join(getMedia(), "poem.txt"), 
	&genai.UploadFileConfig{
		MIMEType : "text/plain",
	},
)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
fmt.Printf("myfile=%+v\n", myfile)

parts := []*genai.Part{
	genai.NewPartFromURI(myfile.URI, myfile.MIMEType),
	genai.NewPartFromText("\n\n"),
	genai.NewPartFromText("Can you add a few more lines to this poem?"),
}

contents := []*genai.Content{
	genai.NewContentFromParts(parts, genai.RoleUser),
}

response, err := client.Models.GenerateContent(ctx, "gemini-2.0-flash", contents, nil)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
text := response.Text()
fmt.Printf("result.text=%s\n", text)
files.go

Shell

MIME_TYPE=$(file -b --mime-type "${TEXT_PATH}")
NUM_BYTES=$(wc -c < "${TEXT_PATH}")
DISPLAY_NAME=TEXT

tmp_header_file=upload-header.tmp

# Initial resumable request defining metadata.
# The upload url is in the response headers dump them to a file.
curl "${BASE_URL}/upload/v1beta/files?key=${GEMINI_API_KEY}" \
  -D upload-header.tmp \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Protocol: resumable" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: start" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Length: ${NUM_BYTES}" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Type: ${MIME_TYPE}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{'file': {'display_name': '${DISPLAY_NAME}'}}" 2> /dev/null

upload_url=$(grep -i "x-goog-upload-url: " "${tmp_header_file}" | cut -d" " -f2 | tr -d "\r")
rm "${tmp_header_file}"

# Upload the actual bytes.
curl "${upload_url}" \
  -H "Content-Length: ${NUM_BYTES}" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Offset: 0" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: upload, finalize" \
  --data-binary "@${TEXT_PATH}" 2> /dev/null > file_info.json

file_uri=$(jq ".file.uri" file_info.json)
echo file_uri=$file_uri

# Now generate content using that file
curl "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/gemini-1.5-flash:generateContent?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -X POST \
    -d '{
      "contents": [{
        "parts":[
          {"text": "Can you add a few more lines to this poem?"},
          {"file_data":{"mime_type": "text/plain", "file_uri": '$file_uri'}}]
        }]
       }' 2> /dev/null > response.json

cat response.json
echo

jq ".candidates[].content.parts[].text" response.json

name=$(jq ".file.name" file_info.json)
# Get the file of interest to check state
curl https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/files/$name > file_info.json
# Print some information about the file you got
name=$(jq ".file.name" file_info.json)
echo name=$name
file_uri=$(jq ".file.uri" file_info.json)
echo file_uri=$file_uri

curl --request "DELETE" https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/files/$name?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY

files.sh

Video

Python

from google import genai
import time

client = genai.Client()
# Video clip (CC BY 3.0) from https://peach.blender.org/download/
myfile = client.files.upload(file=media / "Big_Buck_Bunny.mp4")
print(f"{myfile=}")

# Poll until the video file is completely processed (state becomes ACTIVE).
while not myfile.state or myfile.state.name != "ACTIVE":
    print("Processing video...")
    print("File state:", myfile.state)
    time.sleep(5)
    myfile = client.files.get(name=myfile.name)

result = client.models.generate_content(
    model="gemini-2.0-flash", contents=[myfile, "Describe this video clip"]
)
print(f"{result.text=}")
files.py

Node.js

// Make sure to include the following import:
// import {GoogleGenAI} from '@google/genai';
const ai = new GoogleGenAI({ apiKey: process.env.GEMINI_API_KEY });
let myfile = await ai.files.upload({
  file: path.join(media, "Big_Buck_Bunny.mp4"),
  config: { mimeType: "video/mp4" },
});
console.log("Uploaded video file:", myfile);

// Poll until the video file is completely processed (state becomes ACTIVE).
while (!myfile.state || myfile.state.toString() !== "ACTIVE") {
  console.log("Processing video...");
  console.log("File state: ", myfile.state);
  await sleep(5000);
  myfile = await ai.files.get({ name: myfile.name });
}

const result = await ai.models.generateContent({
  model: "gemini-2.0-flash",
  contents: createUserContent([
    createPartFromUri(myfile.uri, myfile.mimeType),
    "Describe this video clip",
  ]),
});
console.log("result.text=", result.text);
files.js

Go

ctx := context.Background()
client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, &genai.ClientConfig{
	APIKey:  os.Getenv("GEMINI_API_KEY"),
	Backend: genai.BackendGeminiAPI,
})
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
myfile, err := client.Files.UploadFromPath(
	ctx, 
	filepath.Join(getMedia(), "Big_Buck_Bunny.mp4"), 
	&genai.UploadFileConfig{
		MIMEType : "video/mp4",
	},
)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
fmt.Printf("myfile=%+v\n", myfile)

// Poll until the video file is completely processed (state becomes ACTIVE).
for myfile.State == genai.FileStateUnspecified || myfile.State != genai.FileStateActive {
	fmt.Println("Processing video...")
	fmt.Println("File state:", myfile.State)
	time.Sleep(5 * time.Second)

	myfile, err = client.Files.Get(ctx, myfile.Name, nil)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
}

parts := []*genai.Part{
	genai.NewPartFromURI(myfile.URI, myfile.MIMEType),
	genai.NewPartFromText("Describe this video clip"),
}

contents := []*genai.Content{
	genai.NewContentFromParts(parts, genai.RoleUser),
}

response, err := client.Models.GenerateContent(ctx, "gemini-2.0-flash", contents, nil)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
text := response.Text()
fmt.Printf("result.text=%s\n", text)
files.go

Shell

MIME_TYPE=$(file -b --mime-type "${VIDEO_PATH}")
NUM_BYTES=$(wc -c < "${VIDEO_PATH}")
DISPLAY_NAME=VIDEO_PATH

# Initial resumable request defining metadata.
# The upload url is in the response headers dump them to a file.
curl "${BASE_URL}/upload/v1beta/files?key=${GEMINI_API_KEY}" \
  -D upload-header.tmp \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Protocol: resumable" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: start" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Length: ${NUM_BYTES}" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Type: ${MIME_TYPE}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{'file': {'display_name': '${DISPLAY_NAME}'}}" 2> /dev/null

upload_url=$(grep -i "x-goog-upload-url: " "${tmp_header_file}" | cut -d" " -f2 | tr -d "\r")
rm "${tmp_header_file}"

# Upload the actual bytes.
curl "${upload_url}" \
  -H "Content-Length: ${NUM_BYTES}" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Offset: 0" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: upload, finalize" \
  --data-binary "@${VIDEO_PATH}" 2> /dev/null > file_info.json

file_uri=$(jq ".file.uri" file_info.json)
echo file_uri=$file_uri

state=$(jq ".file.state" file_info.json)
echo state=$state

# Ensure the state of the video is 'ACTIVE'
while [[ "($state)" = *"PROCESSING"* ]];
do
  echo "Processing video..."
  sleep 5
  # Get the file of interest to check state
  curl https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/files/$name > file_info.json
  state=$(jq ".file.state" file_info.json)
done

# Now generate content using that file
curl "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/gemini-1.5-flash:generateContent?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -X POST \
    -d '{
      "contents": [{
        "parts":[
          {"text": "Describe this video clip"},
          {"file_data":{"mime_type": "video/mp4", "file_uri": '$file_uri'}}]
        }]
       }' 2> /dev/null > response.json

cat response.json
echo

jq ".candidates[].content.parts[].text" response.json
files.sh

PDF

Python

from google import genai

client = genai.Client()
sample_pdf = client.files.upload(file=media / "test.pdf")
response = client.models.generate_content(
    model="gemini-2.0-flash",
    contents=["Give me a summary of this pdf file.", sample_pdf],
)
print(response.text)
files.py

Go

ctx := context.Background()
client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, &genai.ClientConfig{
	APIKey:  os.Getenv("GEMINI_API_KEY"),
	Backend: genai.BackendGeminiAPI,
})
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
samplePdf, err := client.Files.UploadFromPath(
	ctx,
	filepath.Join(getMedia(), "test.pdf"),
	&genai.UploadFileConfig{
		MIMEType: "application/pdf",
	},
)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}

parts := []*genai.Part{
	genai.NewPartFromText("Give me a summary of this pdf file."),
	genai.NewPartFromURI(samplePdf.URI, samplePdf.MIMEType),
}

contents := []*genai.Content{
	genai.NewContentFromParts(parts, genai.RoleUser),
}

response, err := client.Models.GenerateContent(ctx, "gemini-2.0-flash", contents, nil)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
text := response.Text()
fmt.Println(text)
files.go

Response body

Response for media.upload.

If successful, the response body contains data with the following structure:

Fields
file object (File)

Metadata for the created file.

JSON representation 
{
  "file": {
    object (File)
  }
}

Method: files.get

Gets the metadata for the given File.

Endpoint

get https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/{name=files/*}

Path parameters

name string

Required. The name of the File to get. Example: files/abc-123 It takes the form files/{file}.

Request body

The request body must be empty.

Example request

Python

from google import genai

client = genai.Client()
myfile = client.files.upload(file=media / "poem.txt")
file_name = myfile.name
print(file_name)  # "files/*"

myfile = client.files.get(name=file_name)
print(myfile)
files.py

Node.js

// Make sure to include the following import:
// import {GoogleGenAI} from '@google/genai';
const ai = new GoogleGenAI({ apiKey: process.env.GEMINI_API_KEY });
const myfile = await ai.files.upload({
  file: path.join(media, "poem.txt"),
});
const fileName = myfile.name;
console.log(fileName);

const fetchedFile = await ai.files.get({ name: fileName });
console.log(fetchedFile);
files.js

Go

ctx := context.Background()
client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, &genai.ClientConfig{
	APIKey:  os.Getenv("GEMINI_API_KEY"),
	Backend: genai.BackendGeminiAPI,
})
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
myfile, err := client.Files.UploadFromPath(
	ctx,
	filepath.Join(getMedia(), "poem.txt"), 
	&genai.UploadFileConfig{
		MIMEType: "text/plain",
	},
)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
fileName := myfile.Name
fmt.Println(fileName)
file, err := client.Files.Get(ctx, fileName, nil)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
fmt.Println(file)
files.go

Shell

name=$(jq ".file.name" file_info.json)
# Get the file of interest to check state
curl https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/files/$name > file_info.json
# Print some information about the file you got
name=$(jq ".file.name" file_info.json)
echo name=$name
file_uri=$(jq ".file.uri" file_info.json)
echo file_uri=$file_uri
files.sh

Response body

If successful, the response body contains an instance of File.

Method: files.list

Lists the metadata for Files owned by the requesting project.

Endpoint

get https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/files

Query parameters

pageSize integer

Optional. Maximum number of Files to return per page. If unspecified, defaults to 10. Maximum pageSize is 100.

pageToken string

Optional. A page token from a previous files.list call.

Request body

The request body must be empty.

Example request

Python

from google import genai

client = genai.Client()
print("My files:")
for f in client.files.list():
    print("  ", f.name)
files.py

Node.js

// Make sure to include the following import:
// import {GoogleGenAI} from '@google/genai';
const ai = new GoogleGenAI({ apiKey: process.env.GEMINI_API_KEY });
console.log("My files:");
// Using the pager style to list files
const pager = await ai.files.list({ config: { pageSize: 10 } });
let page = pager.page;
const names = [];
while (true) {
  for (const f of page) {
    console.log("  ", f.name);
    names.push(f.name);
  }
  if (!pager.hasNextPage()) break;
  page = await pager.nextPage();
}
files.js

Go

ctx := context.Background()
client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, &genai.ClientConfig{
	APIKey:  os.Getenv("GEMINI_API_KEY"),
	Backend: genai.BackendGeminiAPI,
})
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
fmt.Println("My files:")
page, err := client.Files.List(ctx, nil)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
for _, f := range page.Items {
	fmt.Println("  ", f.Name)
}
files.go

Shell

echo "My files: "

curl "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/files?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY"
files.sh

Response body

Response for files.list.

If successful, the response body contains data with the following structure:

Fields
files[] object (File)

The list of Files.

nextPageToken string

A token that can be sent as a pageToken into a subsequent files.list call.

JSON representation 
{
  "files": [
    {
      object (File)
    }
  ],
  "nextPageToken": string
}

Method: files.delete

Deletes the File.

Endpoint

delete https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/{name=files/*}

Path parameters

name string

Required. The name of the File to delete. Example: files/abc-123 It takes the form files/{file}.

Request body

The request body must be empty.

Example request

Python

from google import genai

client = genai.Client()
myfile = client.files.upload(file=media / "poem.txt")

client.files.delete(name=myfile.name)

try:
    result = client.models.generate_content(
        model="gemini-2.0-flash", contents=[myfile, "Describe this file."]
    )
    print(result)
except genai.errors.ClientError:
    pass
files.py

Node.js

// The Gen AI SDK for TypeScript and JavaScript is in preview.
// Some features have not been implemented.
README.md

Go

ctx := context.Background()
client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, &genai.ClientConfig{
	APIKey:  os.Getenv("GEMINI_API_KEY"),
	Backend: genai.BackendGeminiAPI,
})
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
myfile, err := client.Files.UploadFromPath(
	ctx, 
	filepath.Join(getMedia(), "poem.txt"), 
	&genai.UploadFileConfig{
		MIMEType: "text/plain",
	},
)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
// Delete the file.
_, err = client.Files.Delete(ctx, myfile.Name, nil)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
// Attempt to use the deleted file.
parts := []*genai.Part{
	genai.NewPartFromURI(myfile.URI, myfile.MIMEType,),
	genai.NewPartFromText("Describe this file."),
}

contents := []*genai.Content{
	genai.NewContentFromParts(parts, genai.RoleUser),
}

_, err = client.Models.GenerateContent(ctx, "gemini-2.0-flash", contents, nil)
// Expect an error when using a deleted file.
if err != nil {
	return nil
}
return fmt.Errorf("expected an error when using deleted file")
files.go

Shell

curl --request "DELETE" https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/files/$name?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY
files.sh

Response body

If successful, the response body is an empty JSON object.

REST Resource: files

Resource: File

A file uploaded to the API. Next ID: 15

Fields
name string

Immutable. Identifier. The File resource name. The ID (name excluding the "files/" prefix) can contain up to 40 characters that are lowercase alphanumeric or dashes (-). The ID cannot start or end with a dash. If the name is empty on create, a unique name will be generated. Example: files/123-456

displayName string

Optional. The human-readable display name for the File. The display name must be no more than 512 characters in length, including spaces. Example: "Welcome Image"

mimeType string

Output only. MIME type of the file.

sizeBytes string (int64 format)

Output only. Size of the file in bytes.

createTime string (Timestamp format)

Output only. The timestamp of when the File was created.

Uses RFC 3339, where generated output will always be Z-normalized and use 0, 3, 6 or 9 fractional digits. Offsets other than "Z" are also accepted. Examples: "2014-10-02T15:01:23Z", "2014-10-02T15:01:23.045123456Z" or "2014-10-02T15:01:23+05:30".

updateTime string (Timestamp format)

Output only. The timestamp of when the File was last updated.

Uses RFC 3339, where generated output will always be Z-normalized and use 0, 3, 6 or 9 fractional digits. Offsets other than "Z" are also accepted. Examples: "2014-10-02T15:01:23Z", "2014-10-02T15:01:23.045123456Z" or "2014-10-02T15:01:23+05:30".

expirationTime string (Timestamp format)

Output only. The timestamp of when the File will be deleted. Only set if the File is scheduled to expire.

Uses RFC 3339, where generated output will always be Z-normalized and use 0, 3, 6 or 9 fractional digits. Offsets other than "Z" are also accepted. Examples: "2014-10-02T15:01:23Z", "2014-10-02T15:01:23.045123456Z" or "2014-10-02T15:01:23+05:30".

sha256Hash string (bytes format)

Output only. SHA-256 hash of the uploaded bytes.

A base64-encoded string.

uri string

Output only. The uri of the File.

downloadUri string

Output only. The download uri of the File.

state enum (State)

Output only. Processing state of the File.

source enum (Source)

Source of the File.

error object (Status)

Output only. Error status if File processing failed.

metadata Union type
Metadata for the File. metadata can be only one of the following:
videoMetadata object (VideoFileMetadata)

Output only. Metadata for a video.

JSON representation 
{
  "name": string,
  "displayName": string,
  "mimeType": string,
  "sizeBytes": string,
  "createTime": string,
  "updateTime": string,
  "expirationTime": string,
  "sha256Hash": string,
  "uri": string,
  "downloadUri": string,
  "state": enum (State),
  "source": enum (Source),
  "error": {
    object (Status)
  },

  // metadata
  "videoMetadata": {
    object (VideoFileMetadata)
  }
  // Union type
}

VideoFileMetadata

Metadata for a video File.

Fields
videoDuration string (Duration format)

Duration of the video.

A duration in seconds with up to nine fractional digits, ending with 's'. Example: "3.5s".

JSON representation 
{
  "videoDuration": string
}

State

States for the lifecycle of a File.

Enums
STATE_UNSPECIFIED The default value. This value is used if the state is omitted.
PROCESSING File is being processed and cannot be used for inference yet.
ACTIVE File is processed and available for inference.
FAILED File failed processing.

Source

Enums
SOURCE_UNSPECIFIED Used if source is not specified.
UPLOADED Indicates the file is uploaded by the user.
GENERATED Indicates the file is generated by Google.
REGISTERED Indicates the file is a registered, i.e. a Google Cloud Storage file.

Status

The Status type defines a logical error model that is suitable for different programming environments, including REST APIs and RPC APIs. It is used by gRPC. Each Status message contains three pieces of data: error code, error message, and error details.

You can find out more about this error model and how to work with it in the API Design Guide.

Fields
code integer

The status code, which should be an enum value of google.rpc.Code.

message string

A developer-facing error message, which should be in English. Any user-facing error message should be localized and sent in the google.rpc.Status.details field, or localized by the client.

details[] object

A list of messages that carry the error details. There is a common set of message types for APIs to use.

An object containing fields of an arbitrary type. An additional field "@type" contains a URI identifying the type. Example: { "id": 1234, "@type": "types.example.com/standard/id" }.

JSON representation 
{
  "code": integer,
  "message": string,
  "details": [
    {
      "@type": string,
      field1: ...,
      ...
    }
  ]
}