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Categories: Ai, Directory

LIST_FILES

Lists files recursively from a source directory, adhering to the COPY INTO security model. Returns structured information about each file for use with AI functions and data processing workflows.

Syntax​

LIST_FILES( source_path VARCHAR ) → TABLE( source VARCHAR, path VARCHAR, size BIGINT, last_modified_time TIMESTAMP )​

  • source_path: The source path in format '@source_name/path/to/directory'. The source must be accessible via COPY INTO permissions.

Examples

LIST_FILES basic usage 
SELECT 
  file['path'] AS file_path, 
  file['size'] AS file_size, 
  file['last_modified_time'] AS modified_date 
FROM TABLE(LIST_FILES('@my_source/documents')) 
ORDER BY file['last_modified_time'] DESC;
-- file_path                    | file_size | modified_date
documents/report_2024.pdf   | 2048576   | 2024-10-15 14:30:00
documents/summary_2024.txt  | 512000    | 2024-10-14 09:15:00
documents/archive/old.pdf   | 1024000   | 2024-09-01 11:00:00
LIST_FILES with filtering 
SELECT 
  file['path'] AS file_path, 
  file['size'] AS file_size 
FROM TABLE(LIST_FILES('@my_source/documents')) 
WHERE file['path'] LIKE '%.pdf' 
  AND file['size'] > 1000000 
ORDER BY file['size'] DESC;
-- file_path                  | file_size
documents/large_report.pdf | 5242880
documents/manual.pdf       | 2097152
documents/guide.pdf        | 1572864
LIST_FILES with AI_GENERATE 
SELECT 
  file['path'] AS document, 
  AI_GENERATE( 
    'Extract the main topics from this document', 
    file 
  ) AS topics 
FROM TABLE(LIST_FILES('@my_source/documents')) 
WHERE file['path'] LIKE '%.pdf';
-- document                | topics
documents/report.pdf    | Financial analysis, Market trends, Quarterly results
documents/whitepaper.pdf| Machine learning, Data processing, AI applications

Usage Notes​

LIST_FILES returns a struct with the following fields:

source (VARCHAR): The source name
path (VARCHAR): The file path
size (BIGINT): File size in bytes
last_modified_time (TIMESTAMP): Last modification timestamp

Use with AI_GENERATE, AI_CLASSIFY, or AI_COMPLETE to process file contents.

Adheres to the same security model as COPY INTO for source access.