# Python, read the content of a file

> Learn how to read the content of a file in Python using the open() function and the read() and readline() methods, then close the file when you are done.

Author: [Flavio Copes](https://flaviocopes.com/about/) | Published: 2021-02-02 | Topics: [Python](https://flaviocopes.com/tags/python/) | Canonical: https://flaviocopes.com/python-read-file-content/

To read the content of a file, first you need to open it using the `open()` global function, which accepts 2 parameters: the file path, and the **mode**.

To read, use the read (`r`) mode:

```python
filename = '/Users/flavio/test.txt'

file = open(filename, 'r')

#or

file = open(filename, mode='r')
```

Once you have the file open, you can use the `read()` methods to read the entire content of the file into a string:

```python
content = file.read()
```

You can also choose to read the content one line at a time:

```python
line = file.readline()
```

It's common to combine this with a loop, for example to read every line into a list entry:

```python
filename = '/Users/flavio/test.txt'

file = open(filename, 'r')

while True:
    line = file.readline()
    if line == '': break
    print(line)
```

At the end of your file processing, remember to close the file:

```python
file.close()
```