How can I include file content in a chat completion request using the native OpenAI SDK?

Below is a brief explanation and example for how to work with files in the context of the chat completions endpoint.

Explanation

The chat completions API is designed to receive a list of message objects (with roles like "user", "system", or "assistant") rather than file uploads. This means that you can’t send a file directly to the endpoint. Instead, if you want to include the contents of a file in your chat conversation, you'll need to:

1. Read the file on your side.
   Use your programming language to open and read the file locally.

2. Include its content in a message.
   Once you have the file content, include it as the content field in one of the message objects when you call the chat completions endpoint.

Python Example

Below is a concise example using the Python SDK:

PYTHONCopied
import openai

# Read your file content
with open("your_file.txt", "r") as file:
    file_content = file.read()

# Create a chat completion request embedding the file data within the messages
response = openai.ChatCompletion.create(
    model="gpt-4o",  # or your chosen model
    messages=[
        {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
        {"role": "user", "content": f"Here is the content of my file:\n{file_content}"}
    ]
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Node.js / TypeScript Example

Likewise, here’s how you might do it in Node.js:

JAVASCRIPTCopied
import OpenAI from "openai";
import fs from "fs";

const openai = new OpenAI();

// Read the file asynchronously
fs.readFile("your_file.txt", "utf8", async (err, fileContent) => {
  if (err) {
    console.error('Error reading the file:', err);
    return;
  }

  // Create a chat completion request that includes the file content in the message
  const response = await openai.chat.completions.create({
    model: "gpt-4o",  // or your chosen model
    messages: [
      { role: "system", content: "You are a helpful assistant." },
      { role: "user", content: `Here is the content of my file:\n${fileContent}` }
    ],
  });

  console.log(response.choices[0].message.content);
});

Summary

• The chat completions API does not support direct file uploads.
• To incorporate file data, read the file on your side and embed its content within the messages parameter of your chat completion request.
• This approach works both in Python and Node.js using the respective openai SDK.

This should allow you to include file content within your native application using the OpenAI SDK.