> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.chowder.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Read File

> Read the text content of a file on the instance.

Returns the text content of a file on the instance. This is meant for text files — if you need to download binary files, use the [download endpoint](/api-reference/files/download) instead.

## Authentication

Requires an **org-level API key** or a **scoped token** with the appropriate permission.

## Path Parameters

<ParamField path="instance_id" type="string" required>
  The ID of the instance.
</ParamField>

## Query Parameters

<ParamField query="path" type="string" required>
  The file path to read, relative to the instance root.
</ParamField>

## Response

<ResponseField name="path" type="string">
  The file path that was read.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="content" type="string">
  The text content of the file.
</ResponseField>

<RequestExample>
  ```bash cURL theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}}
  curl -X GET "https://api.chowder.dev/v1/instances/ins_abc123/files/content?path=openclaw.json" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
  ```
</RequestExample>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json 200 theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}}
  {
    "path": "openclaw.json",
    "content": "{\n  \"channels\": {\n    \"discord\": {\n      \"enabled\": true\n    }\n  }\n}"
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>