OpenAIError
openai.OpenAIError (file upload size limit exceeded)
Stack trace
openai.OpenAIError: File size exceeds the maximum allowed limit of 10485760 bytes (10MB)
Why it happens
OpenAI enforces a maximum file size limit (commonly 10MB) for file uploads to ensure efficient processing and resource management. Uploading a file larger than this limit triggers this error.
Detection
Check the file size before uploading by inspecting the file's byte size and log or raise a warning if it exceeds the allowed limit to prevent the error.
Causes & fixes
Uploading a file larger than OpenAI's maximum allowed size (typically 10MB).
Check the file size before upload and split or compress the file to be under the limit.
Not validating file size client-side before sending to the OpenAI API.
Add client-side validation to reject or resize files exceeding the size limit before API call.
Using an outdated or incorrect API method that does not handle large files properly.
Use the latest OpenAI SDK file upload methods and confirm file size limits in the official docs.
Code: broken vs fixed
import os
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(api_key=os.environ["OPENAI_API_KEY"])
file_path = 'large_file.json'
with open(file_path, 'rb') as f:
# This line triggers the error if file is too large
response = client.files.create(file=f, purpose='fine-tune')
print(response)import os
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(api_key=os.environ["OPENAI_API_KEY"])
file_path = 'large_file.json'
file_size = os.path.getsize(file_path)
max_size = 10 * 1024 * 1024 # 10MB limit
if file_size > max_size:
raise ValueError(f'File size {file_size} exceeds 10MB limit')
with open(file_path, 'rb') as f:
response = client.files.create(file=f, purpose='fine-tune') # Added size check before upload
print(response)Workaround
If you cannot reduce the file size, split the file into smaller chunks and upload them separately or compress the file before upload.
Prevention
Implement client-side file size validation and use compression or chunking strategies to keep uploads within OpenAI's size limits.