# file

Reads a regular file under the server's configured `user_files_path` and exposes its decoded rows in FROM. It is a server-side source; the native client's `FROM INFILE` instead reads files on the client machine.

## Syntax

```text
file('path', format_name, 'column Type, ...')
file('path', form)
file('path', parquet_metadata)
```

## Arguments

* `path` — A relative path below `user_files_path`.
* `format_name` — A registered input format, using its snake_case name.
* `column Type, ...` — The explicit schema used to decode the rows.

All input formats require a schema except `form`, which infers String fields, and `parquet_metadata`, which supplies a fixed footer schema. Formats used here must support input.

## Path rules

Absolute paths, parent traversal, symlinks escaping the configured root and nonregular files are rejected. A symlink that resolves to a confined regular file is permitted. Confined server file access currently requires Unix.

Compression, archives, path patterns and writing files are not supported. These rules are separate from client-side INFILE options.

## Example

### Reading a CSV file

Create `people.csv` under the configured `user_files_path` with these contents:

```text
1,Ada
2,Grace
```

The schema converts the first field to UInt64 and the second to String:

```sql
SELECT id, name
FROM file('people.csv', csv, 'id UInt64, name String')
ORDER BY id
FORMAT csv;
```

```text
1,"Ada"
2,"Grace"
```

The resulting source can be filtered, joined or used in `INSERT ... SELECT` like other table sources. See the [file loading guide](https://coordinatordb.com/docs/guides/clickhouse/data-formats/intro) and [format reference](https://coordinatordb.com/docs/reference/formats).