> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.smooth.sh/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# File Upload

> Learn how to use Smooth to upload files

## Overview

The following demonstrates how to instruct Smooth to handle custom data files.

<CodeGroup>
  ```python Python theme={null}
  # pip install smooth-py
  from smooth import SmoothClient

  smooth_client = SmoothClient(api_key="cmzr-YOUR_API_KEY")
  file_handle = client.upload_file(open("README.md", "rb"))
  task = smooth_client.run("Upload the given file to https://www.azurespeed.com/Azure/UploadLargeFile to test the upload speed.", files=[file_handle.id])

  ...
  ```
</CodeGroup>

Files can be reused across multiple tasks but are automatically deleted from our servers after 24 hours.
If you want to manually delete a file when it is no longer necessary, you can use `.delete_file`.

<Note>
  Smooth has access to the file content and can analyze it if requested. Be careful when dealing with sensitive data.
</Note>

## Guides

Check out our example for an in-depth tutorial.

<Card title="Guide: File Uploads" icon="book" href="/guides/file-uploads">
  Learn how to use Smooth to upload files.
</Card>