BerriAI/litellm · error · Exception

Failed to retrieve file {file_id} from provider: {str(e)}

Error message

Failed to retrieve file {file_id} from provider: {str(e)}

What it means

Wraps any exception from the provider fetch in Case 3 of afile_retrieve: it takes the first model mapping from the stored row, gets deployment credentials, calls litellm.afile_retrieve, and re-raises as Exception 'Failed to retrieve file {unified_id} from provider: {original}'. The root cause is in the embedded message — typically provider 404, expired credentials, or invalid provider file id — and the original exception is chained via 'from e'.

Source

Thrown at enterprise/litellm_enterprise/proxy/hooks/managed_files.py:1343

            response = stored_file_object.file_object.model_copy(update={"id": file_id})
            return response

        # Case 3: Managed file exists in the database but not the file object (for. e.g the batch task might not have run)
        # So we fetch the file object from the provider. We deliberately do not store the result to avoid interfering with batch cost tracking code.
        if not llm_router:
            raise Exception(
                f"LiteLLM Managed File object with id={file_id} has no file_object "
                f"and llm_router is required to fetch from provider"
            )

        try:
            model_id, model_file_id = next(iter(stored_file_object.model_mappings.items()))
            credentials = llm_router.get_deployment_credentials_with_provider(model_id) or {}
            response = await litellm.afile_retrieve(file_id=model_file_id, **credentials)
            response.id = file_id  # Replace with unified ID
            return response
        except Exception as e:
            raise Exception(f"Failed to retrieve file {file_id} from provider: {str(e)}") from e

    async def afile_list(
        self,
        purpose: Optional[OpenAIFilesPurpose],
        litellm_parent_otel_span: Optional[Span],
        **data: Dict,
    ) -> List[OpenAIFileObject]:
        """Handled in files_endpoints.py"""
        return []

    def _is_batch_polling_enabled(self) -> bool:
        """
        Check if batch cost tracking is actually enabled and running.
        Returns:
            bool: True if batch cost tracking is active, False otherwise
        """
        try:
            # Import here to avoid circular dependencies

View on GitHub (pinned to 6c2dcb801b)

Solutions

1. Read the embedded {str(e)} to identify the provider error (404 vs 401 vs 5xx) before acting
2. If the provider file expired/was deleted, re-upload the file to recreate provider copies and a fresh managed id
3. If authentication failed, update the deployment's credentials in the router and retry
4. For transient provider errors, retry with backoff around this call

Example fix

# before
resp = await hook.afile_retrieve(file_id, span, router)

# after: surface root cause and retry transient failures
try:
    resp = await hook.afile_retrieve(file_id, span, router)
except Exception as e:
    if "404" in str(e):
        raise FileNotFoundError(file_id) from e
    raise

try:
    resp = await hook.afile_retrieve(file_id, span, router)
except Exception as e:
    msg = str(e)
    if "Failed to retrieve file" in msg:
        if any(s in msg for s in ("401", "403", "authentication")):
            raise RuntimeError("provider credentials invalid; update router config") from e
        if "404" in msg or "not found" in msg:
            raise FileNotFoundError("provider copy gone; recreate file") from e
        raise  # transient provider error: safe to retry with backoff

When it happens

Trigger: The provider-side copy of the file was deleted or expired while the managed row survived; provider API key/credentials rotated so afile_retrieve gets 401/403; the provider file id embedded in model_mappings is stale; transient provider 5xx.

Common situations: Long-lived managed rows referencing provider files past retention (e.g. OpenAI 30-day file expiry); credential rotation not propagated to router deployments; provider outages during batch polling.

Related errors

• LiteLLM Managed File object with id={file_id} not found. Che
• LiteLLM Managed File object with id={file_id} has no file_ob
• LiteLLM Managed File object with id={file_id} not found
• LiteLLM Managed {accessor_key} with id={retrieve_object_id}
• LLM Router not initialized. Ensure models added to proxy.

AI-assisted analysis of BerriAI/litellm@6c2dcb801b (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f20af79879719c85. Report an issue: GitHub.