Convert to File

Turn your items into a file (CSV, JSON, text, base64 or binary) that later nodes can upload, attach or save.

What it does

Convert to File builds one file from all incoming items and attaches it to a single output item. It does not save the file anywhere: that is the job of the next node, such as Google Drive, an Http Request body, or a Slack or Gmail attachment.

The file name and type default to sensible values per format (data.csv and text/csv, data.json and application/json, data.txt and text/plain, data.bin and application/octet-stream).

When to use it

• Upload a scraped table to Google Drive as a real CSV file.
• Attach generated JSON or text to a Slack message or an email.
• Turn a base64 string returned by an API into a proper file.
• To save generated text (CSV, JSON, Markdown) straight to your computer, use Save as File instead.

Inputs and settings

Einstellung	Typ	Was es bewirkt
Format	Choice	The kind of file to produce. Options: CSV, JSON, Text, Base64, Binary. Standard: CSV
File name	Text	Name of the produced file. Left empty, a sensible default per format is used.
MIME type	Text	Content type recorded on the file. Left empty, a sensible default per format is used. Required to be set explicitly for Base64.
Source Field	Text	Field to read from the item. For Text: the text per item. For Base64: the field holding the base64 string. For Binary: the binary slot (defaults to "data") or a field holding the bytes.

How each Format builds the file:

• CSV: one row per item, written the same way as the CSV node.
• JSON: all items as a neatly indented JSON list.
• Text: one line per item. With Source Field set, each line is that field’s value; otherwise text items are used as is and other items are written as JSON.
• Base64: decodes the base64 text from Source Field (or the data field) of the first item. Base64 says nothing about the file type, so set MIME type, for example application/pdf.
• Binary: re-wraps a file already attached to the first item (by default under data), keeping its own name and type unless you set new ones.

Outputs

• Output

Each output item has these fields:

Field	Typ	What it holds
fileName	Text
mimeType	Text
format	Text	The format the content was converted from
size	Number
$binary	Key-value pairs

Shape of an output item

{
  "fileName": "…",
  "mimeType": "…",
  "format": "…",
  "size": 0,
  "$binary": {}
}

One item that carries the file under data, plus its name, type and size in bytes. In the next node, choose this file as the binary or attachment source.

Dependencies and credentials

None. This node needs no connection and has no slots for other nodes.

Example workflow

1. HTML Extract reads a product table from a page, one item per row.
2. Convert to File with Format CSV and File name products.csv.
3. Google Drive uploads the file using this node’s file as the source.

Common issues

• “No items to convert. Connect a node that produces items.” Nothing reached the node. Check that the previous node returns data.
• “Base64 needs a base64 string.” Name the field holding the base64 text in Source Field, or put it in a data field, and make sure it is text.
• “No binary to wrap.” With Binary, the first item has no attached file. Connect a node that outputs a file, or name the field holding it in Source Field.
• The file opens with the wrong app or type. Set MIME type yourself. This matters most for Base64, which otherwise becomes application/octet-stream.

Related nodes

• Save as File: save generated text to your computer.
• Extract From File: the opposite, read a file back into items.
• Compression: gzip the file before sending it.
• CSV: turn items into CSV text instead of a file.