> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://praison.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Files
> Read and write files with agents
Agents can work with files - read documents, write outputs, and manage data.
```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
graph LR
subgraph "File Operations"
A[👤 User] --> B[🤖 Agent]
B --> C[📄 Read]
B --> D[✏️ Write]
B --> E[📁 Manage]
end
classDef agent fill:#8B0000,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
classDef tool fill:#189AB4,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
class B agent
class A,C,D,E tool
classDef agent fill:#8B0000,color:#fff
classDef tool fill:#189AB4,color:#fff
```
## Quick Start
```typescript theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
import { Agent } from 'praisonai';
const agent = new Agent({
instructions: 'You analyze documents',
tools: ['read_file']
});
await agent.chat('Summarize the contents of report.pdf');
// Agent reads and summarizes the file
```
```typescript theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
const agent = new Agent({
tools: ['read_file', 'write_file']
});
await agent.chat('Create a summary.txt with key points');
// Agent creates the file
```
***
## User Interaction Flow
```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
sequenceDiagram
participant User
participant Agent
participant FileSystem
User->>Agent: "Read config.json"
Agent->>FileSystem: read_file('config.json')
FileSystem-->>Agent: File contents
Agent-->>User: "The config contains..."
```
***
## Configuration Levels
```typescript theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
// Level 1: Array - Enable file tools
const agent = new Agent({
tools: ['read_file', 'write_file']
});
// Level 2: String - Allow directory access
const agent = new Agent({
tools: ['read_file'],
allowedPaths: './docs/'
});
// Level 3: Dict - Full control
const agent = new Agent({
files: {
read: true,
write: true,
delete: false,
allowedPaths: ['./docs/', './output/'],
maxFileSize: '10MB'
}
});
```
***
## File Tools
| Tool | Description |
| ------------- | ---------------------------- |
| `read_file` | Read file contents |
| `write_file` | Create or update files |
| `list_files` | List directory contents |
| `delete_file` | Remove files (use carefully) |
***
## API Reference
Tools including file operations
***
## Best Practices
Restrict file access to specific directories.
Only enable delete\_file when absolutely needed.
Combine with approval for production safety.
***
## Related
Agent tools
Human oversight