File Operations

Automation workflows have limited file handling capabilities. Workflows are mostly limited to downloading files from a remote source and uploading files to a remote destination. You do not have access to the file system itself, and most activities do not support files as input.

Note:

  • File objects are limited to a maximum size of 10 MB.

  • Variable size is limited to 1 MB. As of October 4, 2023, the size of the Large String workflow variable type is limited to 10 MB.

  • A workflow can have a file as an input variable but not as an output variable.
  • Automation does not have persistent storage for files. If a workflow downloads a file, it is only stored for the duration of the workflow instance. When the workflow completes, the file is deleted.

All File Operations activities use HTTP Endpoint targets. Depending on the target, they can use HTTP Basic Authentication, HTTP Client Certificate Authentication, HTTP Signature Authentication, or Cisco XDR Token account keys.

The File Operations adapter provides the following activities:

Working with File Objects

File objects can be supplied as email attachments, downloaded from a target using the Download File activity, or supplied as inputs to a workflow. File objects are only available by reference and are not parsed for content.

File types that can be executable or self-contained applications will be blocked.

You can use the Upload File activity to send a file outside of Automation to have the content parsed; there is not an action in Automation to perform this function.