# Source: https://docs.crewai.com/en/tools/file-document/directoryreadtool.md

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.crewai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Directory Read

> The `DirectoryReadTool` is a powerful utility designed to provide a comprehensive listing of directory contents.

# `DirectoryReadTool`

<Note>
  We are still working on improving tools, so there might be unexpected behavior or changes in the future.
</Note>

## Description

The DirectoryReadTool is a powerful utility designed to provide a comprehensive listing of directory contents.
It can recursively navigate through the specified directory, offering users a detailed enumeration of all files, including those within subdirectories.
This tool is crucial for tasks that require a thorough inventory of directory structures or for validating the organization of files within directories.

## Installation

To utilize the DirectoryReadTool in your project, install the `crewai_tools` package. If this package is not yet part of your environment, you can install it using pip with the command below:

```shell  theme={null}
pip install 'crewai[tools]'
```

This command installs the latest version of the `crewai_tools` package, granting access to the DirectoryReadTool among other utilities.

## Example

Employing the DirectoryReadTool is straightforward. The following code snippet demonstrates how to set it up and use the tool to list the contents of a specified directory:

```python Code theme={null}
from crewai_tools import DirectoryReadTool

# Initialize the tool so the agent can read any directory's content 
# it learns about during execution
tool = DirectoryReadTool()

# OR

# Initialize the tool with a specific directory, 
# so the agent can only read the content of the specified directory
tool = DirectoryReadTool(directory='/path/to/your/directory')
```

## Arguments

The following parameters can be used to customize the `DirectoryReadTool`'s behavior:

| Argument      | Type     | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| :------------ | :------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **directory** | `string` | *Optional*. An argument that specifies the path to the directory whose contents you wish to list. It accepts both absolute and relative paths, guiding the tool to the desired directory for content listing. |