Files.com Python Client

The content included here should be enough to get started, but please visit our Developer Documentation Website for the complete documentation.

Introduction

The Files.com Python package is the best way to use Files.com from applications written in the Python language.

Files.com customers use our Python package for directly working with files and folders as well as performing management tasks such as adding/removing users, onboarding counterparties, retrieving information about automations and more.

Every function in the Files.com application is available via Python. Nothing is excluded.

This package is officially supported by Files.com for Python 3.8+. Prior versions of Python are considered end-of-life by the Python Software Foundation and Files.com only supports environments that are still supported by their vendor. With that said, we believe that this package works in Python 3.5-3.7 as well.

The Python package uses the Files.com RESTful APIs via the HTTPS protocol (port 443) to securely communicate and transfer files so no firewall changes should be required in order to allow connectivity to Files.com.

Installation

Use pip to install the latest version of the Files.com package.

pip3 install Files.com

Files.com automatically pushes a new release to PIP every time a commit is made to the master branch on GitHub, so there is no benefit in directly linking the package from GitHub.

Files.com is Committed to Python

Python is the most commonly used language for custom integrations to Files.com. Our Files.com Desktop v6 application (that we publish) is also written in Python, using this exact same package.

Explore the files-sdk-python code on GitHub.

Getting Support

The Files.com Support team provides official support for all of our official Files.com integration tools.

To initiate a support conversation, you can send an Authenticated Support Request or simply send an E-Mail to support@files.com.

Authentication

Authenticate with an API Key

Authenticating with an API key is the recommended authentication method for most scenarios, and is the method used in the examples on this site.

To use the API or SDKs with an API Key, first generate an API key from the web interface or via the API or an SDK.

Note that when using a user-specific API key, if the user is an administrator, you will have full access to the entire API. If the user is not an administrator, you will only be able to access files that user can access, and no access will be granted to site administration functions in the API.

files_sdk.set_api_key("YOUR_API_KEY")

## Alternatively, you can specify the API key on a per-request basis in the final parameter to any method or initializer.
files_sdk.user.list(params, {"api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"})

Don't forget to replace the placeholder, YOUR_API_KEY, with your actual API key.

Authenticate with a Session

You can also authenticate to the REST API or SDKs by creating a user session using the username and password of an active user. If the user is an administrator, the session will have full access to the entire API. Sessions created from regular user accounts will only be able to access files that user can access, and no access will be granted to site administration functions.

API sessions use the exact same session timeout settings as web interface sessions. When an API session times out, simply create a new session and resume where you left off. This process is not automatically handled by SDKs because we do not want to store password information in memory without your explicit consent.

Logging In

To create a session, the create method is called on the files_sdk object with the user's username and password.

This returns a session object that can be used to authenticate SDK method calls.

session = files_sdk.session.create({ "username": "motor", "password": "vroom" })

Using a Session

Once a session has been created, you can store the session globally, use the session per object, or use the session per request to authenticate SDK operations.

## You may set the returned session to be used by default for subsequent requests.
files_sdk.set_session(session)

## Alternatively, you can specify the session ID on a per-object basis in the second parameter to a model constructor.
user = files_sdk.user.User(params, {"session_id": session.id})

## You may also specify the session ID on a per-request basis in the final parameter to static methods.
files_sdk.user.find(id, params, {"session_id": session.id})

Logging Out

User sessions can be ended calling the destroy method on the session object.

session.destroy()

Configuration

Configuration Options

Base URL

Setting the base URL for the API is required if your site is configured to disable global acceleration. This can also be set to use a mock server in development or CI.

files_sdk.base_url = "https://SUBDOMAIN.files.com"

Log Level

This SDK utilizes the standard Python logging framework. It will respect the global log level and you can set the module specific log level and other logging settings by getting the logger object in the standard manner as shown below:

import logging
logging.getLogger("files_sdk")

Console Log Level

Enables printing of messages to stderr in addition to normal logging.

Allowed values are:

• None
• "info"
• "debug"

files_sdk.console_log_level = "info"

Open Timeout

Open timeout in seconds. The default value is 30.

files_sdk.open_timeout = 60

Read Timeout

Read timeout in seconds. The default value is 80.

files_sdk.read_timeout = 90

Initial Network Retry Delay

Initial retry delay in seconds. The default value is 0.5.

files_sdk.initial_network_retry_delay = 1

Maximum Retry Delay

Maximum network retry delay in seconds. The default value is 2.

files_sdk.max_network_retry_delay = 5

Maximum Network Retries

Maximum number of retries. The default value is 3.

files_sdk.max_network_retries = 5

Source IP

Configure the local IP address from which to send requests.

files_sdk.source_ip = '10.1.2.3'

Sort and Filter

Several of the Files.com API resources have list operations that return multiple instances of the resource. The List operations can be sorted and filtered.

Sorting

To sort the returned data, pass in the sort_by method argument.

Each resource supports a unique set of valid sort fields and can only be sorted by one field at a time.

The argument value is a Python dictionary that has a key of the resource field name sort on and a value of either "asc" or "desc" to specify the sort order.

## users sorted by username
files_sdk.set_api_key("my-key")
users = files_sdk.user.list({
  "sort_by": { "username": "asc"}
})
for user in users.auto_paging_iter():
  # Operate on user

Filtering

Filters apply selection criteria to the underlying query that returns the results. They can be applied individually or combined with other filters, and the resulting data can be sorted by a single field.

Each resource supports a unique set of valid filter fields, filter combinations, and combinations of filters and sort fields.

The passed in argument value is a Python dictionary that has a key of the resource field name to filter on and a passed in value to use in the filter comparison.

Filter Types

Filter	Type	Description
filter	Exact	Find resources that have an exact field value match to a passed in value. (i.e., FIELD_VALUE = PASS_IN_VALUE).
filter_prefix	Pattern	Find resources where the specified field is prefixed by the supplied value. This is applicable to values that are strings.
filter_gt	Range	Find resources that have a field value that is greater than the passed in value. (i.e., FIELD_VALUE > PASS_IN_VALUE).
filter_gteq	Range	Find resources that have a field value that is greater than or equal to the passed in value. (i.e., FIELD_VALUE >= PASS_IN_VALUE).
filter_lt	Range	Find resources that have a field value that is less than the passed in value. (i.e., FIELD_VALUE < PASS_IN_VALUE).
filter_lteq	Range	Find resources that have a field value that is less than or equal to the passed in value. (i.e., FIELD_VALUE <= PASS_IN_VALUE).

## non admin users
files_sdk.set_api_key("my-key")
users = files_sdk.user.list({
  "filter": { "not_site_admin": true}
})
for user in users.auto_paging_iter():
  # Operate on user

## users who haven't logged in since 2024-01-01
files_sdk.set_api_key("my-key")
users = files_sdk.user.list({
  "filter_gteq": { "last_login_at": "2024-01-01" }
})
for user in users.auto_paging_iter():
  # Operate on user

## users whose usernames start with 'test'
files_sdk.set_api_key("my-key")
users = files_sdk.user.list({
  "filter_prefix": { "username": "test" }
})
for user in users.auto_paging_iter():
  # Operate on user

## users whose usernames start with 'test' and are not admins
files_sdk.set_api_key("my-key")
users = files_sdk.user.list({
  "filter_prefix": { "username": "test" },
  "filter": { "not_site_admin": "true" },
  "sort_by": { "username": "asc"}
})
for user in users.auto_paging_iter():
  # Operate on user

Errors

The Files.com Python SDK will return errors by raising exceptions. There are many exception classes defined in the Files SDK that correspond to specific errors.

The raised exceptions come from two categories:

1. SDK Exceptions - errors that originate within the SDK
2. API Exceptions - errors that occur due to the response from the Files.com API. These errors are grouped into common error types.

There are several types of exceptions within each category. Exception classes indicate different types of errors and are named in a fashion that describe the general premise of the originating error. More details can be found in the err object message.

Use standard Python exception handling to detect and deal with errors. It is generally recommended to handle specific errors first, then handle the general files_sdk.error.Error exception as a catch-all.

try:
  session = files_sdk.session.create({ "username": "USERNAME", "password": "BADPASSWORD" })
except files_sdk.error.NotAuthenticatedError as err:
    print(f"Authentication Error Occurred ({type(err).__name__}):", err)
except files_sdk.error.Error as err:
    print(f"Unknown Error Occurred ({type(err).__name__}):", err)

Error Types

SDK Errors

SDK errors are general errors that occur within the SDK code. Each exception class inherits from a standard Error base class.

files_sdk.error.APIConnectionError -> files_sdk.error.Error -> Exception

SDK Exception Classes

Error Class Name	Description
APIConnectionError	The Files.com API cannot be reached
AuthenticationError	Not enough authentication information has been provided
InvalidParameterError	A passed in parameter is invalid
MissingParameterError	A method parameter is missing
NotImplementedError	The called method has not be implemented by the SDK

API Errors

API errors are errors returned by the Files.com API. Each exception class inherits from an error group base class. The error group base class indicates a particular type of error.

files_sdk.error.FolderAdminPermissionRequiredError -> files_sdk.error.NotAuthorizedError -> files_sdk.error.APIError -> files_sdk.error.Error -> Exception

API Exception Classes

Error Class Name	Error Group
AgentUpgradeRequiredError	BadRequestError
AttachmentTooLargeError	BadRequestError
CannotDownloadDirectoryError	BadRequestError
CantMoveWithMultipleLocationsError	BadRequestError
DatetimeParseError	BadRequestError
DestinationSameError	BadRequestError
FolderMustNotBeAFileError	BadRequestError
InvalidBodyError	BadRequestError
InvalidCursorError	BadRequestError
InvalidCursorTypeForSortError	BadRequestError
InvalidEtagsError	BadRequestError
InvalidFilterAliasCombinationError	BadRequestError
InvalidFilterCombinationError	BadRequestError
InvalidFilterFieldError	BadRequestError
InvalidFilterParamError	BadRequestError
InvalidFilterParamValueError	BadRequestError
InvalidInputEncodingError	BadRequestError
InvalidInterfaceError	BadRequestError
InvalidOauthProviderError	BadRequestError
InvalidPathError	BadRequestError
InvalidReturnToUrlError	BadRequestError
InvalidUploadOffsetError	BadRequestError
InvalidUploadPartGapError	BadRequestError
InvalidUploadPartSizeError	BadRequestError
MethodNotAllowedError	BadRequestError
NoValidInputParamsError	BadRequestError
PartNumberTooLargeError	BadRequestError
PathCannotHaveTrailingWhitespaceError	BadRequestError
ReauthenticationNeededFieldsError	BadRequestError
RequestParamsContainInvalidCharacterError	BadRequestError
RequestParamsInvalidError	BadRequestError
RequestParamsRequiredError	BadRequestError
SearchAllOnChildPathError	BadRequestError
UnsupportedCurrencyError	BadRequestError
UnsupportedHttpResponseFormatError	BadRequestError
UnsupportedMediaTypeError	BadRequestError
UserIdInvalidError	BadRequestError
UserIdOnUserEndpointError	BadRequestError
UserRequiredError	BadRequestError
AdditionalAuthenticationRequiredError	NotAuthenticatedError
AuthenticationRequiredError	NotAuthenticatedError
BundleRegistrationCodeFailedError	NotAuthenticatedError
FilesAgentTokenFailedError	NotAuthenticatedError
InboxRegistrationCodeFailedError	NotAuthenticatedError
InvalidCredentialsError	NotAuthenticatedError
InvalidOauthError	NotAuthenticatedError
InvalidOrExpiredCodeError	NotAuthenticatedError
InvalidSessionError	NotAuthenticatedError
InvalidUsernameOrPasswordError	NotAuthenticatedError
LockedOutError	NotAuthenticatedError
LockoutRegionMismatchError	NotAuthenticatedError
OneTimePasswordIncorrectError	NotAuthenticatedError
TwoFactorAuthenticationErrorError	NotAuthenticatedError
TwoFactorAuthenticationSetupExpiredError	NotAuthenticatedError
ApiKeyIsDisabledError	NotAuthorizedError
ApiKeyIsPathRestrictedError	NotAuthorizedError
ApiKeyOnlyForDesktopAppError	NotAuthorizedError
ApiKeyOnlyForMobileAppError	NotAuthorizedError
ApiKeyOnlyForOfficeIntegrationError	NotAuthorizedError
BillingOrSiteAdminPermissionRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
BillingPermissionRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
BundleMaximumUsesReachedError	NotAuthorizedError
CannotLoginWhileUsingKeyError	NotAuthorizedError
CantActForOtherUserError	NotAuthorizedError
ContactAdminForPasswordChangeHelpError	NotAuthorizedError
FilesAgentFailedAuthorizationError	NotAuthorizedError
FolderAdminOrBillingPermissionRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
FolderAdminPermissionRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
FullPermissionRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
HistoryPermissionRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
InsufficientPermissionForParamsError	NotAuthorizedError
InsufficientPermissionForSiteError	NotAuthorizedError
MustAuthenticateWithApiKeyError	NotAuthorizedError
NeedAdminPermissionForInboxError	NotAuthorizedError
NonAdminsMustQueryByFolderOrPathError	NotAuthorizedError
NotAllowedToCreateBundleError	NotAuthorizedError
PasswordChangeNotRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
PasswordChangeRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
ReadOnlySessionError	NotAuthorizedError
ReadPermissionRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
ReauthenticationFailedError	NotAuthorizedError
ReauthenticationFailedFinalError	NotAuthorizedError
ReauthenticationNeededActionError	NotAuthorizedError
RecaptchaFailedError	NotAuthorizedError
SelfManagedRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
SiteAdminRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
SiteFilesAreImmutableError	NotAuthorizedError
TwoFactorAuthenticationRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
UserIdWithoutSiteAdminError	NotAuthorizedError
WriteAndBundlePermissionRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
WritePermissionRequiredError	NotAuthorizedError
ZipDownloadIpMismatchError	NotAuthorizedError
ApiKeyNotFoundError	NotFoundError
BundlePathNotFoundError	NotFoundError
BundleRegistrationNotFoundError	NotFoundError
CodeNotFoundError	NotFoundError
FileNotFoundError	NotFoundError
FileUploadNotFoundError	NotFoundError
FolderNotFoundError	NotFoundError
GroupNotFoundError	NotFoundError
InboxNotFoundError	NotFoundError
NestedNotFoundError	NotFoundError
PlanNotFoundError	NotFoundError
SiteNotFoundError	NotFoundError
UserNotFoundError	NotFoundError
AlreadyCompletedError	ProcessingFailureError
AutomationCannotBeRunManuallyError	ProcessingFailureError
BehaviorNotAllowedOnRemoteServerError	ProcessingFailureError
BundleOnlyAllowsPreviewsError	ProcessingFailureError
BundleOperationRequiresSubfolderError	ProcessingFailureError
CouldNotCreateParentError	ProcessingFailureError
DestinationExistsError	ProcessingFailureError
DestinationFolderLimitedError	ProcessingFailureError
DestinationParentConflictError	ProcessingFailureError
DestinationParentDoesNotExistError	ProcessingFailureError
ExpiredPrivateKeyError	ProcessingFailureError
ExpiredPublicKeyError	ProcessingFailureError
ExportFailureError	ProcessingFailureError
ExportNotReadyError	ProcessingFailureError
FailedToChangePasswordError	ProcessingFailureError
FileLockedError	ProcessingFailureError
FileNotUploadedError	ProcessingFailureError
FilePendingProcessingError	ProcessingFailureError
FileProcessingErrorError	ProcessingFailureError
FileTooBigToDecryptError	ProcessingFailureError
FileTooBigToEncryptError	ProcessingFailureError
FileUploadedToWrongRegionError	ProcessingFailureError
FilenameTooLongError	ProcessingFailureError
FolderLockedError	ProcessingFailureError
FolderNotEmptyError	ProcessingFailureError
HistoryUnavailableError	ProcessingFailureError
InvalidBundleCodeError	ProcessingFailureError
InvalidFileTypeError	ProcessingFailureError
InvalidFilenameError	ProcessingFailureError
InvalidPriorityColorError	ProcessingFailureError
InvalidRangeError	ProcessingFailureError
ModelSaveErrorError	ProcessingFailureError
MultipleProcessingErrorsError	ProcessingFailureError
PathTooLongError	ProcessingFailureError
RecipientAlreadySharedError	ProcessingFailureError
RemoteServerErrorError	ProcessingFailureError
ResourceLockedError	ProcessingFailureError
SubfolderLockedError	ProcessingFailureError
TwoFactorAuthenticationCodeAlreadySentError	ProcessingFailureError
TwoFactorAuthenticationCountryBlacklistedError	ProcessingFailureError
TwoFactorAuthenticationGeneralErrorError	ProcessingFailureError
TwoFactorAuthenticationMethodUnsupportedErrorError	ProcessingFailureError
TwoFactorAuthenticationUnsubscribedRecipientError	ProcessingFailureError
UpdatesNotAllowedForRemotesError	ProcessingFailureError
DuplicateShareRecipientError	RateLimitedError
ReauthenticationRateLimitedError	RateLimitedError
TooManyConcurrentLoginsError	RateLimitedError
TooManyConcurrentRequestsError	RateLimitedError
TooManyLoginAttemptsError	RateLimitedError
TooManyRequestsError	RateLimitedError
TooManySharesError	RateLimitedError
AgentUnavailableError	ServiceUnavailableError
AutomationsUnavailableError	ServiceUnavailableError
MigrationInProgressError	ServiceUnavailableError
SiteDisabledError	ServiceUnavailableError
UploadsUnavailableError	ServiceUnavailableError
AccountAlreadyExistsError	SiteConfigurationError
AccountOverdueError	SiteConfigurationError
NoAccountForSiteError	SiteConfigurationError
SiteWasRemovedError	SiteConfigurationError
TrialExpiredError	SiteConfigurationError
TrialLockedError	SiteConfigurationError
UserRequestsEnabledRequiredError	SiteConfigurationError

Examples

File Operations

This SDK allows both file based transfer and data based transfer. Please see the examples below.

File Download

The second parameter is optional and will simply use the remote filename by default.

files_sdk.file.download_file("/remote.txt", "local.txt")

File Upload

The second parameter is optional and will simply use the local filename by default.

files_sdk.file.upload_file("local.txt", "/remote.txt")

If the parent directories do not already exist, they can be automatically created by passing mkdir_parents in the params.

files_sdk.file.upload_file("local.txt", "/uploads/remote.txt", params={"mkdir_parents": True})

List Root Folder

for f in files_sdk.folder.list_for("/").auto_paging_iter():
    print(f.type, f.path)

Writing a File Example (string)

with files_sdk.file.open("foo.txt", 'w') as f:
    f.write("contents")

Writing a File Example (binary)

with files_sdk.file.open("foo.txt", 'wb') as f:
    f.write(b"contents")

Reading a File Example (string)

with files_sdk.open("foo.txt", 'r') as f:
    print(f.read())

Reading a File Example (binary)

with files_sdk.open("foo.txt", 'rb') as f:
    print(f.read())

List Responses and Cursor Paging

List responses for APIs with cursor support will return an iterable object which contains a single page of records. It has a built-in auto_paging_iter method to iterate through the pages, making the additional API calls as needed.

Iterating with auto_paging_iter

list_obj = files_sdk.folder.list_for('/')

for f in list_obj.auto_paging_iter():
    print(f.type, f.path)

Iterating Manually

list_obj = files_sdk.folder.list_for('/')

for f in list_obj:
    print(f.type, f.path)

while list_obj.has_next_page:
    list_obj.load_next_page()
    for f in list_obj:
        print(f.type, f.path)

Comparing Case-Insensitive Files and Paths

For related documentation see Case Sensitivity Documentation.

if files_sdk.path_util.is_same("Fïłèńämê.Txt", "filename.txt"):
    print("Paths are the same")

Mock Server

Files.com publishes a Files.com API server, which is useful for testing your use of the Files.com SDKs and other direct integrations against the Files.com API in an integration test environment.

It is a Ruby app that operates as a minimal server for the purpose of testing basic network operations and JSON encoding for your SDK or API client. It does not maintain state and it does not deeply inspect your submissions for correctness.

Eventually we will add more features intended for integration testing, such as the ability to intentionally provoke errors.

Download the server as a Docker image via Docker Hub.

The Source Code is also available on GitHub.

A README is available on the GitHub link.