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title: To Write a File Using the File Connector
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product: File Connector
version: 1.5
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keywords: file, connector, write
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# To Write a File Using the File Connector

> For the full documentation index, see: https://docs.mulesoft.com/llms.txt

A Write operation is available to the File, FTP, and SFTP connectors. For these connectors, the
operation writes content into the given path on demand. It supports common use cases described
below.

## Embedded DataWeave Transformations

By default, the connector writes whatever is in the message payload:

Example: File Connector

```xml
<file:write path="output.csv" />
```

However, if the payload is a different format (for example, not CSV) and you need to transform it
before writing it, what do you do? If you place a Transform component before the Write operation,
the message payload changes and that impacts the operation that is placed after the Write operation.

To avoid this undesired impact, you can place the transformation inside the Write operation to
generate content that will be written without producing a side effect on the message in transit.

The next example uses the File connector to write the content:

Example: Transformation within a File Write Operation

```xml
<file:write path="output.csv">
  <file:content>#[%dw 2.0
                  output application/csv
                  ---
                  payload.customers.email
                ]
  </file:content>
</file:write>
```

## Writing into Directories

If any of the `a`, `b`, or `c` directories in the example below do not exist, the Write operation
will fail by default. However, if you set the `createParentDirectories` to `true`, the connector
will automatically create any missing directories.

Example: File Connector writes to a Directory

```xml
<file:write path="a/b/c/myFile.txt" />
```

## Write to Existing Files

When writing content to a file, set **Write Mode** to any of the following modes:

- **OVERWRITE (Default)**  
  If the file exists, overwrite it completely.

- **APPEND**  
  If the file exists, add its content to the end of an existing file.

- **CREATE\_NEW**  
  Create a new file. If the file already exists, then you receive an error.

## Locks

The **Write** operation supports locking similar to the **Read** operation. The main difference is
that the lock releases automatically after the **Write** operation finishes. Set **Lock** to any of
the following modes:

- **TRUE**

- **FALSE (Default)**