File nodes¶

File nodes provide paths for downstream readers and processing nodes. They do not load file contents themselves, except that Download URL retrieves a remote file and returns the path of the downloaded temporary file.

Node (ID)	Inputs and outputs	Parameters and behavior
Select file (`select-file`)	Output `path: Text`	`path`: `""`; accepts local file patterns such as `.`. The desktop UI opens a local file chooser.
Select uploaded file (`select-server-file`)	Output `path: Text`	`file name`: `""` (UI-only, not a port). The server-side upload selector displays uploaded files and returns the selected server path.
Download URL (`download-url`)	Output `path: Text`	`url`: `""`; accepts only HTTP(S) URLs and downloads the response to a persistent system temporary file.
Read Directory Files (`read-directory-files`)	Parameter/input `path: Path`; outputs `files: List Text`, `files_full_paths: List Text`	Local `include_pattern` and `exclude_pattern` regular expressions filter immediate regular files by filename.

Select file¶

Select file outputs the configured local path without reading it. An empty path is invalid at execution time. The path can be connected to a reader such as Read Mesh (Muscat) or Read Image (Pillow).

Select uploaded file¶

Select uploaded file is intended for files uploaded to the FlowGraph server. The file name parameter is a UI-only selector and is not exported as a workflow input port. The node outputs the selected server-side path as text and does not read the file.

Download URL¶

Download URL accepts an HTTP or HTTPS URL. It stores the response in a persistent system temporary file, preserves a suffix from the URL when possible, and outputs the local path. Invalid URL schemes, empty URLs, failed requests, and unsuccessful HTTP responses are reported as execution errors.

In the browser runtime, URL downloads require JavaScript Promise Integration (JSPI) and the target server must allow the request through its CORS policy.

Read Directory Files¶

Read Directory Files returns sorted basenames in files and their resolved full paths in files_full_paths for immediate regular files in the configured directory. It does not include nested files or directory names. The optional path parameter port must identify an existing directory.

The local include_pattern and exclude_pattern parameters each accept a regular expression. For example, to include CSV and text files except generated CSVs, configure:

include_pattern = \.(csv|txt)$
exclude_pattern = \.generated\.csv$

An empty include pattern admits all immediate files. The exclude pattern takes precedence over the include pattern. Both filters match against filenames, not their full paths.