How do I upload a file with curl to vector store?

API
1

I am just trying to figure things out. I can’t use python or node.js for my app. I only have access to curl. I’ve tried following the API reference https://platform.openai.com/docs/api-reference/vector-stores-files/createFile
request:
{
“file_id”: “D:/testFile.txt”
}
I get a response:
{
“error”: {
“message”: “Files [D:/testFile.txt] were not found”,
“type”: “invalid_request_error”,
“param”: null,
“code”: null
}
}
I assume file must be uploaded beforehand or attached to post request somehow, and file_id should not be the actual file path?
I am using postman, and am not that good with it.

2

The file is uploaded to the files endpoint, returning the file ID in its response.

https://platform.openai.com/docs/api-reference/files/create

Let’s delve deeper into how to use curl for uploading files to the OpenAI API, specifically focusing on the nuances of the HTTP protocol and multipart/form-data encoding used in the request.

Understanding curl and HTTP Basics

curl is a command-line tool and library for transferring data with URLs. It supports various protocols, including HTTP, which is commonly used for interacting with APIs like OpenAI’s. In the context of uploading files, curl can be used to make HTTP POST requests where the body of the request includes file data.

HTTP POST and multipart/form-data

When you upload files via HTTP, the multipart/form-data content type is used. This type allows you to send files as part of the request, along with other form data. Each part of the form is separated by a boundary (a unique string), which is specified in the Content-Type header of the request.

Using curl to Upload a File to OpenAI

Let’s break down the command you provided:

curl https://api.openai.com/v1/files \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENAI_API_KEY" \
  -F purpose="assistants" \
  -F file="@mydata.pdf"

Components of the Command

  • curl: Invokes the curl command-line tool.
  • https://api.openai.com/v1/files: The URL to which the request is sent. This endpoint is for file uploads in the OpenAI API.
  • -H: A curl option for sending headers. Here, it’s used to include the Authorization header, which carries your API key for authentication.
  • -F: This flag denotes form data being sent in the request. It’s used multiple times here to include different pieces of data:
    • purpose="assistants": Specifies the purpose of the file upload. For vector store usage, the purpose is set as "assistants".
    • file="@mydata.pdf": The file to upload. The @ symbol tells curl that the following string is a file path, and curl should read the file content from this location and include it in the request.

Understanding Multipart/Form-Data

When you use -F with curl, it constructs a multipart/form-data request body. curl automatically generates the boundary string, modifies the Content-Type header to include this boundary, and formats the body of the request to conform to the multipart/form-data standard.

This standard involves dividing the request body into different parts, each containing a piece of the form data. Each part is separated by the boundary, and contains headers that describe the content of that part. In your case:

  1. One part contains the purpose field with the value "assistants".
  2. Another part contains the file data read from "mydata.pdf".

Response from OpenAI

The response to such a request is a JSON object that provides details about the uploaded file:

{
  "id": "file-abc123",
  "object": "file",
  "bytes": 120000,
  "created_at": 1677610602,
  "filename": "mydata.pdf",
  "purpose": "assistants"
}

Components of the Response

  • "id": The unique identifier for the uploaded file, used in API calls that require a file reference, such as adding to a vector store.
  • "object": Always "file" for file objects.
  • "bytes": The size of the uploaded file in bytes.
  • "created_at": The epoch timestamp at which the file was uploaded.
  • "filename": The original filename of the uploaded file.
  • "purpose": The purpose of the file, as specified in the request.

This detailed explanation should help you understand both the mechanics of using curl for file uploads and the specifics of interacting with the OpenAI API.

It would be rather complex to build a “chatbot” or do all the required iterative polling or parsing of outputs required of actually creating and using Assistants and its many methods simply using CURL. “I cannot use Python” tells me you basically don’t have access to a platform where you should be implementing usage of Assistants. Thus:

To upload a file using the OpenAI API with the purpose of using it in a batch request or a vector store instead using Python, you can follow this detailed tutorial. This will utilize the OpenAI Python client (as of the latest API version >v1) for handling the file upload. The necessary steps include importing the library, setting up authentication, preparing the file, and finally uploading it to retrieve the file ID. This file ID can later be used as part of a vector store or other operations as required.

Here’s how to do it step-by-step:

Step 1: Install OpenAI Python Client

Make sure you have the latest OpenAI Python client installed. If not, you can install it using pip:

pip install openai

Step 2: Import the Library

Start by importing the OpenAI class from the openai library.

from openai import OpenAI

Step 3: Initialize the Client

You need to initialize the client with your API key, which you should have obtained from the OpenAI platform.

client = OpenAI(api_key="your_api_key_here")

No api_key needs to be set if you set OPENAI_API_KEY as an environment variable.

Step 4: Prepare the File

Make sure your file is ready to be uploaded. This file should be saved on your local machine.

Step 5: Upload the File

Use the upload method to upload the file. You need to specify the file path and the purpose of the file. In your case, if the file is to be used for batch operations or stored in a vector database, specify the appropriate purpose as assistants, batch, or other as defined in the API Reference.

file_path = “/path/to/your/file”
client.files.create(
file=open(file_path, “rb”),
purpose=“assistants”
)

Step 6: Retrieve the File ID

Once the file is uploaded, you can retrieve the id from the response object, which will be used in subsequent API calls.

file_id = response.id
print("Uploaded file ID:", file_id)

Combining all code lines into a script or function uploads a file and prints out the file ID, which you can then use for other operations such as batch requests or storing in a vector database per your specific use case.

I hope this overview of 1% of using Assistants has been useful.

4 Likes
3

Very helpful! Newbie here, and I really apreciate the detailed and simple explanation.

This method uplaods a file and creates a new vector store, right? Is it possible to upload a file to an existing vector store?

I saw this thread: add-files-to-existing-vector-store/743801

If I understand correctly, one can upload a file to an existing vector store only by Batch uploads?

4

The create vector store file and delete vector store file can also operate on a vector store to connect, extract, and chunk an uploaded file, and then disconnect.

Using the batch endpoint may be more practical because a typical scenario is to allow one or multiple files to be uploaded at a time to a chatbot, deleted if it’s not the file you want to use, and then a final send all at once. Assistant operations could be accelerated if you are doing the individual upload and vector store additions “live”.