> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://hedera-0c6e0218-mintlify-bc559771.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Append to a file

> Append additional content to an existing Hedera file with FileAppendTransaction, signed by the file key, and verify changes with a FileContentsQuery.

A transaction that appends new file content to the end of an existing file. The contents of the file can be viewed by submitting a FileContentsQuery request.

**Transaction Signing Requirements**

* The key on the file is required to sign the transaction if different than the client operator account key

**Transaction Fees**

* Please see the transaction and query [fees](/learn/networks/mainnet/fees#transaction-and-query-fees) table for base transaction fee
* Please use the [Hedera fee estimator](https://hedera.com/fees) to estimate your transaction fee cost

| **Constructor**           | **Description**                              |
| ------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| `FileAppendTransaction()` | Initializes the FileAppendTransaction object |

```java theme={null}
new FileAppendTransaction()
```

<Info>
  The default max transaction fee (1 hbar) is not enough to create a file. Use `setMaxTransactionFee()`to change the default max transaction fee from 1 hbar to 2 hbars. The default chunk size is 2,048 bytes.
</Info>

### Methods

| **Method**                     | **Type**  | **Description**              | **Requirement** |
| ------------------------------ | --------- | ---------------------------- | --------------- |
| `setFileId(<fileId>)`          | FileId    | The ID of the file to append | Required        |
| `setContents(<text>)`          | String    | The content in String format | Optional        |
| `setContents(<content>)`       | byte \[ ] | The content in byte format   | Optional        |
| `setChunkSize(<chunkSize>)`    | int       | The chunk size               | Optional        |
| `setMaxChunkSize(<maxChunks>)` | int       | The max chunk size           | Optional        |
| `setHighVolume(<highVolume>)`  | boolean   | The high-volume flag         | Optional        |

<CodeGroup>
  ```java Java theme={null}
  //Create the transaction
  FileAppendTransaction transaction = new FileAppendTransaction()
      .setFileId(newFileId)
      .setContents("The appended contents");

  //Change the default max transaction fee to 2 hbars
  FileCreateTransaction modifyMaxTransactionFee = transaction.setMaxTransactionFee(new Hbar(2)); 

  //Prepare transaction for signing, sign with the key on the file, sign with the client operator key and submit to a Hedera network
  TransactionResponse txResponse = modifyMaxTransactionFee.freezeWith(client).sign(key).execute(client);

  //Request the receipt
  TransactionReceipt receipt = txResponse.getReceipt(client);

  //Get the transaction consensus status
  Status transactionStatus = receipt.status;

  System.out.println("The transaction consensus status is " +transactionStatus);

  //v2.0.0
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
  //Create the transaction
  const transaction = await new FileAppendTransaction()
      .setFileId(newFileId)
      .setContents("The appended contents")
      .setMaxTransactionFee(new Hbar(2))
      .freezeWith(client);

  //Sign with the file private key
  const signTx = await transaction.sign(fileKey);

  //Sign with the client operator key and submit to a Hedera network
  const txResponse = await signTx.execute(client);

  //Request the receipt
  const receipt = await txResponse.getReceipt(client);

  //Get the transaction consensus status
  const transactionStatus = receipt.status;

  console.log("The transaction consensus status is " +transactionStatus);

  //v2.0.5
  ```

  ```java Go theme={null}
  //Create the transaction
  transaction2 := hedera.NewFileAppendTransaction().
          SetFileID(newFileId).
          SetContents([]byte("The appended contents"))

  //Change the default max transaction fee to 2 hbars
  modifyMaxTransactionFee := transaction.SetMaxTransactionFee(hedera.HbarFrom(2, hedera.HbarUnits.Hbar))

  //Prepare transaction for signing, 
  freezeTransaction, err := modifyMaxTransactionFee.FreezeWith(client)
  if err != nil {
          panic(err)
  }

  //Sign with the key on the file, sign with the client operator key and submit to a Hedera network
  txResponse2 err := freezeTransaction.Sign(fileKey).Execute(client)
  if err != nil {
          panic(err)
  }

  //Request the receipt
  receipt, err := txResponse.GetReceipt(client)
  if err != nil {
          panic(err)
  }

  //Get the transaction consensus status
  transactionStatus := receipt.Status

  fmt.Println("The transaction consensus status is ", transactionStatus)

  //v2.0.0
  ```

  ```rust Rust theme={null}
  // Create the transaction
  let transaction = FileAppendTransaction::new()
      .file_id(file_id)
      .contents("The appended contents")
      .max_transaction_fee(Hbar::new(2));

  // Sign with the file key and submit to a Hedera network
  let tx_response = transaction
      .freeze_with(&client)?
      .sign(file_key)
      .execute(&client).await?;

  // Request the receipt of the transaction
  let receipt = tx_response.get_receipt(&client).await?;

  // Get the transaction consensus status
  let status = receipt.status;

  println!("The transaction consensus status is {:?}", status);

  // v0.34.0
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Get transaction values

| **Method**      | **Type** | **Description**                | **Requirement** |
| --------------- | -------- | ------------------------------ | --------------- |
| `getFileId()`   | FileId   | The file ID in the transaction | Optional        |
| `getContents()` | String   | The content in the transaction | Optional        |

<CodeGroup>
  ```java Java theme={null}
  //Create the transaction
  FileAppendTransaction transaction = new FileAppendTransaction()
      .setFileId(newFileId)
      .setContents("The appended contents");

  //Get the contents
  ByteString getContents = transaction.getContents();

  //v2.0.0
  ```

  ```java JavaScript theme={null}
  //Create the transaction
  const transaction = new FileAppendTransaction()
      .setFileId(newFileId)
      .setContents("The appended contents");

  //Get the contents
  const getContents = transaction.getContents();
  ```

  ```java Go theme={null}
  //Create the transaction
  transaction2 := hedera.NewFileAppendTransaction().
      SetFileID(newFileId).
          SetContents([]byte("The appended contents"))

  //Get the contents
  getContents2 := transaction2.GetContents()

  //v2.0.0
  ```
</CodeGroup>

<Note>
  This transaction supports [high-volume entity creation](/learn/core-concepts/high-volume-entity-creation)
  (HIP-1313). Setting `setHighVolume(true)` routes the transaction through dedicated
  high-volume throttle capacity with variable-rate pricing. Always pair this with
  `setMaxTransactionFee()` to cap your costs.
</Note>