File object

File objects contain data about a file that is uploaded to Notion, or data about an external file that is linked to in Notion.

{
  "type": "file",
  "file": {
    "url": "https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/7b8b0713-dbd4-4962-b38b-955b6c49a573/My_test_image.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAT73L2G45EIPT3X45%2F20221024%2Fus-west-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20221024T205211Z&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-Signature=208aa971577ff05e75e68354e8a9488697288ff3fb3879c2d599433a7625bf90&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-id=GetObject",
    "expiry_time": "2022-10-24T22:49:22.765Z"
  }
}

{
  "type": "external",
  "external": {
    "url": "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1525310072745-f49212b5ac6d?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1065&q=80"
  }
}

Page, embed, image, video, file, pdf, and bookmark block types all contain file objects. Icon and cover page object values also contain file objects.

Each file object includes the following fields:

Field	Type	Description	Example value
`type`	`string` (enum)	The type of the file object. Possible type values are: `"external"`, `"file"`.	`"external"`
`external` \| `file`	`object`	An object containing type-specific configuration. The key of the object is `external` for external files, and `file` for Notion-hosted files. Refer to the type sections below for details on type-specific values.	Refer to to the type-specific sections below for examples.

Notion-hosted files

All Notion-hosted files have a type of "file". The corresponding file specific object contains the following fields:

Field	Type	Description	Example value
`url`	`string`	An authenticated S3 URL to the file. The URL is valid for one hour. If the link expires, then you can send an API request to get an updated URL.	`"https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/9bc6c6e0-32b8-4d55-8c12-3ae931f43a01/brocolli.jpeg?..."`
`expiry_time`	`string` (ISO 8601 date time)	The date and time when the link expires, formatted as an ISO 8601 date time string.	`"2020-03-17T19:10:04.968Z"`

You can retrieve links to Notion-hosted files via the Retrieve block children endpoint.

Example: Retrieve a URL to a Notion-hosted file using GET /children

The following example passes the ID of the page that includes the desired file as the block_id path param.

Request

curl 'https://api.notion.com/v1/blocks/13d6da822f9343fa8ec14c89b8184d5a/children?page_size=100' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer '"$NOTION_API_KEY"'' \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2022-02-22"

Response

{
    "object": "list",
    "results": [
        {
            "object": "block",
            "id": "47a920e4-346c-4df8-ae78-905ce10adcb8",
            "parent": {
                "type": "page_id",
                "page_id": "13d6da82-2f93-43fa-8ec1-4c89b8184d5a"
            },
            "created_time": "2022-12-15T00:18:00.000Z",
            "last_edited_time": "2022-12-15T00:18:00.000Z",
            "created_by": {
                "object": "user",
                "id": "c2f20311-9e54-4d11-8c79-7398424ae41e"
            },
            "last_edited_by": {
                "object": "user",
                "id": "c2f20311-9e54-4d11-8c79-7398424ae41e"
            },
            "has_children": false,
            "archived": false,
            "type": "paragraph",
            "paragraph": {
                "rich_text": [],
                "color": "default"
            }
        },
        {
            "object": "block",
            "id": "3c29dedf-00a5-4915-b137-120c61f5e5d8",
            "parent": {
                "type": "page_id",
                "page_id": "13d6da82-2f93-43fa-8ec1-4c89b8184d5a"
            },
            "created_time": "2022-12-15T00:18:00.000Z",
            "last_edited_time": "2022-12-15T00:18:00.000Z",
            "created_by": {
                "object": "user",
                "id": "c2f20311-9e54-4d11-8c79-7398424ae41e"
            },
            "last_edited_by": {
                "object": "user",
                "id": "c2f20311-9e54-4d11-8c79-7398424ae41e"
            },
            "has_children": false,
            "archived": false,
            "type": "file",
            "file": {
                "caption": [],
                "type": "file",
                "file": {
                    "url": "https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/fa6c03f0-e608-45d0-9327-4cd7a5e56e71/TestFile.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAT73L2G45EIPT3X45%2F20221215%2Fus-west-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20221215T002012Z&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-Signature=bf13ca59f618077852298cb92aedc4dd1becdc961c31d73cbc030ef93f2853c4&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-id=GetObject",
                    "expiry_time": "2022-12-15T01:20:12.928Z"
                }
            }
        },
    ],
    "next_cursor": null,
    "has_more": false,
    "type": "block",
    "block": {}
}

📘
It’s not yet possible to upload files to Notion via the API.

External files

An external file is any URL linked to in Notion that isn’t hosted by Notion. All external files have a type of "external". The corresponding file specific object contains the following fields:

Field	Type	Description	Example value
`url`	`string`	A link to the externally hosted content.	`"https://website.domain/files/doc.txt"`

The Notion API supports adding, retrieving, and updating links to external files.

Example: Add a URL to an external file using PATCH /children

Use the Append block children endpoint to add external files to Notion. Pass a block type object in the body that that details information about the external file.

The following example request embeds a PDF in a Notion page. It passes the ID of the target page as the block_id path param and information about the file to append in the request body.

Request

curl -X PATCH 'https://api.notion.com/v1/blocks/13d6da822f9343fa8ec14c89b8184d5a/children' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer '"$NOTION_API_KEY"'' \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2022-02-22" \
  --data '{
  "children": [
    {
      "object": "block",
      "type": "pdf",
      "pdf": {
        "type": "external",
        "external": {
          "url": "https://www.yourwebsite.dev/files/TestFile.pdf"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}'

Response

{
  "object": "list",
  "results": [
    {
      "object": "block",
      "id": "af1459f2-d2c5-4ca6-9f05-8038e6eb167f",
      "parent": {
        "type": "page_id",
        "page_id": "13d6da82-2f93-43fa-8ec1-4c89b8184d5a"
      },
      "created_time": "2022-12-15T01:14:00.000Z",
      "last_edited_time": "2022-12-15T01:14:00.000Z",
      "created_by": {
        "object": "user",
        "id": "9188c6a5-7381-452f-b3dc-d4865aa89bdf"
      },
      "last_edited_by": {
        "object": "user",
        "id": "9188c6a5-7381-452f-b3dc-d4865aa89bdf"
      },
      "has_children": false,
      "archived": false,
      "type": "pdf",
      "pdf": {
        "caption": [],
        "type": "external",
        "external": {
          "url": "https://www.yourwebsite.dev/files/TestFile.pdf"
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "next_cursor": null,
  "has_more": false,
  "type": "block",
  "block": {}
}

Example: Retrieve a link to an external file using GET /children

Use the Retrieve block children endpoint on the file’s parent block in order to retrieve the file object. The file itself is contained in its own block of type file.

The following example passes the ID of the page that includes the desired file as the block_id path param.

Request

curl 'https://api.notion.com/v1/blocks/af1459f2-d2c5-4ca6-9f05-8038e6eb167f/children?page_size=100' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer '"$NOTION_API_KEY"'' \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2022-02-22"

Response

{
  "object": "list",
  "results": [
    {
      "object": "block",
      "id": "47a920e4-346c-4df8-ae78-905ce10adcb8",
      "parent": {
        "type": "page_id",
        "page_id": "13d6da82-2f93-43fa-8ec1-4c89b8184d5a"
      },
      "created_time": "2022-12-15T00:18:00.000Z",
      "last_edited_time": "2022-12-15T00:18:00.000Z",
      "created_by": {
        "object": "user",
        "id": "c2f20311-9e54-4d11-8c79-7398424ae41e"
      },
      "last_edited_by": {
        "object": "user",
        "id": "c2f20311-9e54-4d11-8c79-7398424ae41e"
      },
      "has_children": false,
      "archived": false,
      "type": "paragraph",
      "paragraph": {
        "rich_text": [],
        "color": "default"
      }
    },
    {
      "object": "block",
      "id": "af1459f2-d2c5-4ca6-9f05-8038e6eb167f",
      "parent": {
        "type": "page_id",
        "page_id": "13d6da82-2f93-43fa-8ec1-4c89b8184d5a"
      },
      "created_time": "2022-12-15T01:14:00.000Z",
      "last_edited_time": "2022-12-15T01:14:00.000Z",
      "created_by": {
        "object": "user",
        "id": "9188c6a5-7381-452f-b3dc-d4865aa89bdf"
      },
      "last_edited_by": {
        "object": "user",
        "id": "9188c6a5-7381-452f-b3dc-d4865aa89bdf"
      },
      "has_children": false,
      "archived": false,
      "type": "pdf",
      "pdf": {
        "caption": [],
        "type": "external",
        "external": {
          "url": "https://www.yourwebsite.dev/files/TestFile.pdf"
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "next_cursor": null,
  "has_more": false,
  "type": "block",
  "block": {}
}

Example: Update a link to an external file using PATCH /blocks/{block_id}

Use the Update a block endpoint to update a link to an external file in Notion.

The body of the request depends on the file’s Notion block type. Common file block types include image, pdf, and video.

📘
If you don’t know the file’s Notion block type, then send a request to the Retrieve block children endpoint using the parent block ID and find the corresponding child block.

The following example updates the external file in a pdf block type. It passes the ID of the block as the block_id path param and information about the new file in the request body.

Request

curl https://api.notion.com/v1/blocks/af1459f2-d2c5-4ca6-9f05-8038e6eb167f \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer '"$NOTION_API_KEY"'' \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2022-02-22" \
  -X PATCH \
  --data '{
      "pdf": { 
            "external": {
                "url": "https://www.yourwebsite.dev/files/NewFile.pdf"
            }
      }
    }'

Response

{
  "object": "block",
  "id": "af1459f2-d2c5-4ca6-9f05-8038e6eb167f",
  "parent": {
    "type": "page_id",
    "page_id": "13d6da82-2f93-43fa-8ec1-4c89b8184d5a"
  },
  "created_time": "2022-12-15T01:14:00.000Z",
  "last_edited_time": "2022-12-16T21:23:00.000Z",
  "created_by": {
    "object": "user",
    "id": "9188c6a5-7381-452f-b3dc-d4865aa89bdf"
  },
  "last_edited_by": {
    "object": "user",
    "id": "9188c6a5-7381-452f-b3dc-d4865aa89bdf"
  },
  "has_children": false,
  "archived": false,
  "type": "pdf",
  "pdf": {
    "caption": [],
    "type": "external",
    "external": {
      "url": "https://www.yourwebsite.dev/files/NewFile.pdf"
    }
  }
}

📘
To modify page or database property values that are made from file objects, like icon, cover, or files page property values, use the update page or update database endpoints.