> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.reducto.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Upload
> Upload documents to Reducto using the Python SDK
The `upload` method uploads files to Reducto's servers and returns a file reference that you can use with other endpoints.
***
## Basic Usage
```python theme={null}
from pathlib import Path
from reducto import Reducto
client = Reducto()
# Upload a file
upload = client.upload(file=Path("document.pdf"))
# Use the file_id in other operations
print(upload.file_id) # "reducto://abc123def456.pdf"
```
***
## Method Signature
```python theme={null}
def upload(
file: Path | bytes | tuple[str, bytes, str] | BinaryIO,
extension: str | None = None
) -> Upload
```
### Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------ | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `file` | `Path \| bytes \| tuple \| BinaryIO` | Yes | The file to upload. Can be a `Path` object, file-like object, bytes, or a tuple of `(filename, contents, media_type)`. |
| `extension` | `str \| None` | No | Override the file extension (e.g., `".pdf"`). Useful when uploading bytes without filename context. |
### Returns
`Upload` with the following fields:
* `file_id` (str): The file reference to use with other endpoints (format: `reducto://...`)
* `presigned_url` (str | None): A presigned URL for the uploaded file (if applicable)
***
## Upload Options
### From File Path
The most common way to upload. Use `pathlib.Path`:
```python theme={null}
from pathlib import Path
upload = client.upload(file=Path("invoice.pdf"))
```
### From File Object
```python theme={null}
with open("document.pdf", "rb") as f:
upload = client.upload(file=f)
```
### From Bytes
When uploading raw bytes, use a tuple to provide filename and content type:
```python theme={null}
with open("document.pdf", "rb") as f:
file_bytes = f.read()
upload = client.upload(
file=("document.pdf", file_bytes, "application/pdf")
)
```
### With Extension Override
Use `extension` when the file type cannot be inferred:
```python theme={null}
upload = client.upload(
file=Path("data_file"),
extension=".pdf"
)
```
### From URL (Presigned URLs)
For large files, you can generate a presigned URL and pass it directly to parse/extract endpoints without uploading:
```python theme={null}
# For files > 100MB, use presigned URLs
# See: /upload/large-files for details
# You can pass presigned URLs directly to parse/extract
result = client.parse.run(input="https://bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/doc.pdf?X-Amz-...")
```
***
## Async Upload
The async client uses the same interface:
```python theme={null}
import asyncio
from reducto import AsyncReducto
async def main():
client = AsyncReducto()
# If you pass a PathLike instance, the file contents will be read asynchronously automatically
upload = await client.upload(file=Path("document.pdf"))
return upload
result = asyncio.run(main())
```
***
## File Size Limits
* **Direct upload**: Up to 100MB
* **Presigned URLs**: Up to 5GB
For files larger than 100MB, use presigned URLs instead of the upload endpoint.
Complete guide to uploading large files using presigned URLs.
***
## Supported File Types
The SDK accepts any file type that Reducto supports. Common formats include:
* **Documents**: PDF, DOCX, DOC, RTF
* **Images**: PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP
* **Spreadsheets**: XLSX, XLS, CSV
* **Presentations**: PPTX, PPT
Complete list of supported file formats.
***
## Error Handling
```python theme={null}
from reducto import Reducto
import reducto
try:
upload = client.upload(file=Path("document.pdf"))
except reducto.APIConnectionError as e:
print(f"Connection failed: {e}")
except reducto.APIStatusError as e:
print(f"Upload failed: {e.status_code} - {e.response}")
```
Common errors:
* **File not found**: The file path doesn't exist
* **File too large**: File exceeds 100MB limit (use presigned URLs)
* **Invalid file type**: File format not supported
* **Network error**: Connection issues during upload
***
## Examples
### Upload and Parse
```python theme={null}
from pathlib import Path
from reducto import Reducto
client = Reducto()
# Upload
upload = client.upload(file=Path("invoice.pdf"))
# Parse immediately
result = client.parse.run(input=upload.file_id)
```
### Batch Upload
```python theme={null}
from pathlib import Path
from reducto import Reducto
client = Reducto()
files = ["doc1.pdf", "doc2.pdf", "doc3.pdf"]
uploads = []
for file_path in files:
upload = client.upload(file=Path(file_path))
uploads.append(upload)
print(f"Uploaded {file_path}: {upload.file_id}")
```
### Upload with Extension Override
```python theme={null}
from pathlib import Path
from reducto import Reducto
client = Reducto()
# Upload with explicit extension
upload = client.upload(
file=Path("document_without_extension"),
extension=".pdf"
)
print(upload.file_id) # "reducto://..."
```
***
## Best Practices
Prefer `pathlib.Path` over string paths for better cross-platform compatibility.
For files > 100MB, use presigned URLs instead of direct upload.
File IDs can be reused across multiple operations without re-uploading.
Always wrap uploads in try/except blocks for production code.
***
## Next Steps
* Learn about [parsing documents](/sdk/python/parse) after upload
* Explore [extracting data](/sdk/python/extract) from uploaded files
* Check out [large file uploads](/upload/large-files) for files > 100MB