diff --git a/.vscode/launch.json b/.vscode/launch.json
index b7976fd6..ccdb9d02 100644
--- a/.vscode/launch.json
+++ b/.vscode/launch.json
@@ -83,6 +83,66 @@
       "internalConsoleOptions": "neverOpen",
       "skipFiles": ["<node_internals>/**"]
     },
+    {
+      "type": "node",
+      "request": "launch",
+      "name": "Debug Server Test: read-file",
+      "runtimeExecutable": "npm",
+      "runtimeArgs": [
+        "run",
+        "test",
+        "-w",
+        "packages/server",
+        "--",
+        "--inspect-brk=9229",
+        "--no-file-parallelism",
+        "${workspaceFolder}/packages/server/src/tools/read-file.test.ts"
+      ],
+      "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
+      "console": "integratedTerminal",
+      "internalConsoleOptions": "neverOpen",
+      "skipFiles": ["<node_internals>/**"]
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "node",
+      "request": "launch",
+      "name": "Debug Server Test: turn",
+      "runtimeExecutable": "npm",
+      "runtimeArgs": [
+        "run",
+        "test",
+        "-w",
+        "packages/server",
+        "--",
+        "--inspect-brk=9229",
+        "--no-file-parallelism",
+        "${workspaceFolder}/packages/server/src/core/turn.test.ts"
+      ],
+      "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
+      "console": "integratedTerminal",
+      "internalConsoleOptions": "neverOpen",
+      "skipFiles": ["<node_internals>/**"]
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "node",
+      "request": "launch",
+      "name": "Debug Server Test: fileUtils",
+      "runtimeExecutable": "npm",
+      "runtimeArgs": [
+        "run",
+        "test",
+        "-w",
+        "packages/server",
+        "--",
+        "--inspect-brk=9229",
+        "--no-file-parallelism",
+        "${workspaceFolder}/packages/server/src/utils/fileUtils.test.ts"
+      ],
+      "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
+      "console": "integratedTerminal",
+      "internalConsoleOptions": "neverOpen",
+      "skipFiles": ["<node_internals>/**"]
+    },
     {
       "type": "node",
       "request": "launch",
@@ -122,6 +182,26 @@
       "console": "integratedTerminal",
       "internalConsoleOptions": "neverOpen",
       "skipFiles": ["<node_internals>/**"]
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "node",
+      "request": "launch",
+      "name": "Debug CLI Test: useGeminiStream",
+      "runtimeExecutable": "npm",
+      "runtimeArgs": [
+        "run",
+        "test",
+        "-w",
+        "packages/cli",
+        "--",
+        "--inspect-brk=9229",
+        "--no-file-parallelism",
+        "${workspaceFolder}/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useGeminiStream.test.tsx"
+      ],
+      "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
+      "console": "integratedTerminal",
+      "internalConsoleOptions": "neverOpen",
+      "skipFiles": ["<node_internals>/**"]
     }
   ]
 }
diff --git a/docs/tools/file-system.md b/docs/tools/file-system.md
index ae006e53..99289641 100644
--- a/docs/tools/file-system.md
+++ b/docs/tools/file-system.md
@@ -25,17 +25,20 @@ All file system tools operate within a `rootDirectory` (usually the current work
 - **Tool Name:** `read_file`
 - **Display Name:** ReadFile
 - **File:** `read-file.ts`
-- **Description:** Reads and returns the content of a specified file. It can handle large files by allowing reading of specific line ranges and will attempt to detect and skip binary files.
+- **Description:** Reads and returns the content of a specified file. Handles text, images (PNG, JPG, GIF, WEBP, SVG, BMP), and PDF files. For text files, it can read specific line ranges. Other binary file types are generally skipped.
 - **Parameters:**
   - `path` (string, required): The absolute path to the file to read.
-  - `offset` (number, optional): The 0-based line number to start reading from. Requires `limit` to be set.
-  - `limit` (number, optional): The maximum number of lines to read. If omitted, reads a default maximum (e.g., 2000 lines).
+  - `offset` (number, optional): For text files, the 0-based line number to start reading from. Requires `limit` to be set.
+  - `limit` (number, optional): For text files, the maximum number of lines to read. If omitted, reads a default maximum (e.g., 2000 lines) or the entire file if feasible.
 - **Behavior:**
-  - Returns the content of the specified text file.
-  - If `offset` and `limit` are used, returns only that slice of lines.
-  - Indicates if the content was truncated due to line limits or line length limits.
-  - Attempts to identify binary files (images, executables) and returns a message indicating it's a binary file instead of its content.
-- **Output (`llmContent`):** The file content, potentially prefixed with a truncation message (e.g., `[File truncated: showing lines 1-100 of 500 total lines...]\nActual file content...`). For binary files: `Binary file: /path/to/image.png (image)`.
+  - For text files: Returns the content. If `offset` and `limit` are used, returns only that slice of lines. Indicates if content was truncated due to line limits or line length limits.
+  - For image and PDF files: Returns the file content as a base64 encoded data structure suitable for model consumption.
+  - For other binary files: Attempts to identify and skip them, returning a message indicating it's a generic binary file.
+- **Output:** (`llmContent`):
+  - For text files: The file content, potentially prefixed with a truncation message (e.g., `[File content truncated: showing lines 1-100 of 500 total lines...]\nActual file content...`).
+  - For image/PDF files: An object containing `inlineData` with `mimeType` and base64 `data` (e.g., `{ inlineData: { mimeType: 'image/png', data: 'base64encodedstring' } }`).
+  - For other binary files: A message like `Cannot display content of binary file: /path/to/data.bin`.
+- **Confirmation:** No.
 - **Confirmation:** No.
 
 ## 3. `write_file` (WriteFile)
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useGeminiStream.test.tsx b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useGeminiStream.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6959d9a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useGeminiStream.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,137 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2025 Google LLC
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { mergePartListUnions } from './useGeminiStream.js';
+import { Part, PartListUnion } from '@google/genai';
+
+// Mock useToolScheduler
+vi.mock('./useToolScheduler', async () => {
+  const actual = await vi.importActual('./useToolScheduler');
+  return {
+    ...actual, // We need mapToDisplay from actual
+    useToolScheduler: vi.fn(),
+  };
+});
+
+describe('mergePartListUnions', () => {
+  it('should merge multiple PartListUnion arrays', () => {
+    const list1: PartListUnion = [{ text: 'Hello' }];
+    const list2: PartListUnion = [
+      { inlineData: { mimeType: 'image/png', data: 'abc' } },
+    ];
+    const list3: PartListUnion = [{ text: 'World' }, { text: '!' }];
+    const result = mergePartListUnions([list1, list2, list3]);
+    expect(result).toEqual([
+      { text: 'Hello' },
+      { inlineData: { mimeType: 'image/png', data: 'abc' } },
+      { text: 'World' },
+      { text: '!' },
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle empty arrays in the input list', () => {
+    const list1: PartListUnion = [{ text: 'First' }];
+    const list2: PartListUnion = [];
+    const list3: PartListUnion = [{ text: 'Last' }];
+    const result = mergePartListUnions([list1, list2, list3]);
+    expect(result).toEqual([{ text: 'First' }, { text: 'Last' }]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle a single PartListUnion array', () => {
+    const list1: PartListUnion = [
+      { text: 'One' },
+      { inlineData: { mimeType: 'image/jpeg', data: 'xyz' } },
+    ];
+    const result = mergePartListUnions([list1]);
+    expect(result).toEqual(list1);
+  });
+
+  it('should return an empty array if all input arrays are empty', () => {
+    const list1: PartListUnion = [];
+    const list2: PartListUnion = [];
+    const result = mergePartListUnions([list1, list2]);
+    expect(result).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle input list being empty', () => {
+    const result = mergePartListUnions([]);
+    expect(result).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('should correctly merge when PartListUnion items are single Parts not in arrays', () => {
+    const part1: Part = { text: 'Single part 1' };
+    const part2: Part = { inlineData: { mimeType: 'image/gif', data: 'gif' } };
+    const listContainingSingleParts: PartListUnion[] = [
+      part1,
+      [part2],
+      { text: 'Another single part' },
+    ];
+    const result = mergePartListUnions(listContainingSingleParts);
+    expect(result).toEqual([
+      { text: 'Single part 1' },
+      { inlineData: { mimeType: 'image/gif', data: 'gif' } },
+      { text: 'Another single part' },
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle a mix of arrays and single parts, including empty arrays and undefined/null parts if they were possible (though PartListUnion typing restricts this)', () => {
+    const list1: PartListUnion = [{ text: 'A' }];
+    const list2: PartListUnion = [];
+    const part3: Part = { text: 'B' };
+    const list4: PartListUnion = [
+      { text: 'C' },
+      { inlineData: { mimeType: 'text/plain', data: 'D' } },
+    ];
+    const result = mergePartListUnions([list1, list2, part3, list4]);
+    expect(result).toEqual([
+      { text: 'A' },
+      { text: 'B' },
+      { text: 'C' },
+      { inlineData: { mimeType: 'text/plain', data: 'D' } },
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('should preserve the order of parts from the input arrays', () => {
+    const listA: PartListUnion = [{ text: '1' }, { text: '2' }];
+    const listB: PartListUnion = [{ text: '3' }];
+    const listC: PartListUnion = [{ text: '4' }, { text: '5' }];
+    const result = mergePartListUnions([listA, listB, listC]);
+    expect(result).toEqual([
+      { text: '1' },
+      { text: '2' },
+      { text: '3' },
+      { text: '4' },
+      { text: '5' },
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle cases where some PartListUnion items are single Parts and others are arrays of Parts', () => {
+    const singlePart1: Part = { text: 'First single' };
+    const arrayPart1: Part[] = [
+      { text: 'Array item 1' },
+      { text: 'Array item 2' },
+    ];
+    const singlePart2: Part = {
+      inlineData: { mimeType: 'application/json', data: 'e30=' },
+    }; // {}
+    const arrayPart2: Part[] = [{ text: 'Last array item' }];
+
+    const result = mergePartListUnions([
+      singlePart1,
+      arrayPart1,
+      singlePart2,
+      arrayPart2,
+    ]);
+    expect(result).toEqual([
+      { text: 'First single' },
+      { text: 'Array item 1' },
+      { text: 'Array item 2' },
+      { inlineData: { mimeType: 'application/json', data: 'e30=' } },
+      { text: 'Last array item' },
+    ]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useGeminiStream.ts b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useGeminiStream.ts
index d91eea3d..afaf0ccd 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useGeminiStream.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useGeminiStream.ts
@@ -41,6 +41,18 @@ import { useLogger } from './useLogger.js';
 import { useToolScheduler, mapToDisplay } from './useToolScheduler.js';
 import { GeminiChat } from '@gemini-code/server/src/core/geminiChat.js';
 
+export function mergePartListUnions(list: PartListUnion[]): PartListUnion {
+  const resultParts: PartListUnion = [];
+  for (const item of list) {
+    if (Array.isArray(item)) {
+      resultParts.push(...item);
+    } else {
+      resultParts.push(item);
+    }
+  }
+  return resultParts;
+}
+
 enum StreamProcessingStatus {
   Completed,
   UserCancelled,
@@ -74,16 +86,16 @@ export const useGeminiStream = (
     (tools) => {
       if (tools.length) {
         addItem(mapToDisplay(tools), Date.now());
-        submitQuery(
-          tools
-            .filter(
-              (t) =>
-                t.status === 'error' ||
-                t.status === 'cancelled' ||
-                t.status === 'success',
-            )
-            .map((t) => t.response.responsePart),
-        );
+        const toolResponses = tools
+          .filter(
+            (t) =>
+              t.status === 'error' ||
+              t.status === 'cancelled' ||
+              t.status === 'success',
+          )
+          .map((t) => t.response.responseParts);
+
+        submitQuery(mergePartListUnions(toolResponses));
       }
     },
     config,
@@ -313,7 +325,7 @@ export const useGeminiStream = (
     };
     const responseInfo: ToolCallResponseInfo = {
       callId: request.callId,
-      responsePart: functionResponse,
+      responseParts: functionResponse,
       resultDisplay,
       error: new Error(declineMessage),
     };
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useToolScheduler.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useToolScheduler.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..10ba4f28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useToolScheduler.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2025 Google LLC
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse } from './useToolScheduler.js';
+import { Part, PartListUnion } from '@google/genai';
+
+describe('formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse', () => {
+  it('should handle simple string llmContent', () => {
+    const llmContent = 'Simple text output';
+    const { functionResponseJson, additionalParts } =
+      formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse(llmContent);
+    expect(functionResponseJson).toEqual({ output: 'Simple text output' });
+    expect(additionalParts).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle llmContent as a single Part with text', () => {
+    const llmContent: Part = { text: 'Text from Part object' };
+    const { functionResponseJson, additionalParts } =
+      formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse(llmContent);
+    expect(functionResponseJson).toEqual({ output: 'Text from Part object' });
+    expect(additionalParts).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle llmContent as a PartListUnion array with a single text Part', () => {
+    const llmContent: PartListUnion = [{ text: 'Text from array' }];
+    const { functionResponseJson, additionalParts } =
+      formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse(llmContent);
+    expect(functionResponseJson).toEqual({ output: 'Text from array' });
+    expect(additionalParts).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle llmContent with inlineData', () => {
+    const llmContent: Part = {
+      inlineData: { mimeType: 'image/png', data: 'base64...' },
+    };
+    const { functionResponseJson, additionalParts } =
+      formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse(llmContent);
+    expect(functionResponseJson).toEqual({
+      status: 'Binary content of type image/png was processed.',
+    });
+    expect(additionalParts).toEqual([llmContent]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle llmContent with fileData', () => {
+    const llmContent: Part = {
+      fileData: { mimeType: 'application/pdf', fileUri: 'gs://...' },
+    };
+    const { functionResponseJson, additionalParts } =
+      formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse(llmContent);
+    expect(functionResponseJson).toEqual({
+      status: 'Binary content of type application/pdf was processed.',
+    });
+    expect(additionalParts).toEqual([llmContent]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle llmContent as an array of multiple Parts (text and inlineData)', () => {
+    const llmContent: PartListUnion = [
+      { text: 'Some textual description' },
+      { inlineData: { mimeType: 'image/jpeg', data: 'base64data...' } },
+      { text: 'Another text part' },
+    ];
+    const { functionResponseJson, additionalParts } =
+      formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse(llmContent);
+    expect(functionResponseJson).toEqual({
+      status: 'Tool execution succeeded.',
+    });
+    expect(additionalParts).toEqual(llmContent);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle llmContent as an array with a single inlineData Part', () => {
+    const llmContent: PartListUnion = [
+      { inlineData: { mimeType: 'image/gif', data: 'gifdata...' } },
+    ];
+    const { functionResponseJson, additionalParts } =
+      formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse(llmContent);
+    // When the array is a single Part and that part is inlineData
+    expect(functionResponseJson).toEqual({
+      status: 'Binary content of type image/gif was processed.',
+    });
+    expect(additionalParts).toEqual(llmContent);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle llmContent as a generic Part (not text, inlineData, or fileData)', () => {
+    // This case might represent a malformed or unexpected Part type.
+    // For example, a Part that is just an empty object or has other properties.
+    const llmContent: Part = { functionCall: { name: 'test', args: {} } }; // Example of a non-standard part for this context
+    const { functionResponseJson, additionalParts } =
+      formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse(llmContent);
+    expect(functionResponseJson).toEqual({
+      status: 'Tool execution succeeded.',
+    });
+    expect(additionalParts).toEqual([llmContent]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle empty string llmContent', () => {
+    const llmContent = '';
+    const { functionResponseJson, additionalParts } =
+      formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse(llmContent);
+    expect(functionResponseJson).toEqual({ output: '' });
+    expect(additionalParts).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle llmContent as an empty array', () => {
+    const llmContent: PartListUnion = [];
+    const { functionResponseJson, additionalParts } =
+      formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse(llmContent);
+    expect(functionResponseJson).toEqual({
+      status: 'Tool execution succeeded.',
+    });
+    expect(additionalParts).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle llmContent as a Part with undefined inlineData/fileData/text', () => {
+    const llmContent: Part = {}; // An empty part object
+    const { functionResponseJson, additionalParts } =
+      formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse(llmContent);
+    expect(functionResponseJson).toEqual({
+      status: 'Tool execution succeeded.',
+    });
+    expect(additionalParts).toEqual([llmContent]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useToolScheduler.ts b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useToolScheduler.ts
index 7d8cfbe4..e6e80785 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useToolScheduler.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useToolScheduler.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import {
   ToolCallConfirmationDetails,
   ToolResult,
 } from '@gemini-code/server';
-import { Part } from '@google/genai';
+import { Part, PartUnion, PartListUnion } from '@google/genai';
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from 'react';
 import {
   HistoryItemToolGroup,
@@ -88,6 +88,60 @@ export type CompletedToolCall =
   | CancelledToolCall
   | ErroredToolCall;
 
+/**
+ * Formats a PartListUnion response from a tool into JSON suitable for a Gemini
+ * FunctionResponse and additional Parts to include after that response.
+ *
+ * This is required because FunctionReponse appears to only support JSON
+ * and not arbitrary parts. Including parts like inlineData or fileData
+ * directly in a FunctionResponse confuses the model resulting in a failure
+ * to interpret the multimodal content and context window exceeded errors.
+ */
+
+export function formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse(
+  llmContent: PartListUnion,
+): {
+  functionResponseJson: Record<string, string>;
+  additionalParts: PartUnion[];
+} {
+  const additionalParts: PartUnion[] = [];
+  let functionResponseJson: Record<string, string>;
+
+  if (Array.isArray(llmContent) && llmContent.length === 1) {
+    // Ensure that length 1 arrays are treated as a single Part.
+    llmContent = llmContent[0];
+  }
+
+  if (typeof llmContent === 'string') {
+    functionResponseJson = { output: llmContent };
+  } else if (Array.isArray(llmContent)) {
+    functionResponseJson = { status: 'Tool execution succeeded.' };
+    additionalParts.push(...llmContent);
+  } else {
+    if (
+      llmContent.inlineData !== undefined ||
+      llmContent.fileData !== undefined
+    ) {
+      // For Parts like inlineData or fileData, use the returnDisplay as the textual output for the functionResponse.
+      // The actual Part will be added to additionalParts.
+      functionResponseJson = {
+        status: `Binary content of type ${llmContent.inlineData?.mimeType || llmContent.fileData?.mimeType || 'unknown'} was processed.`,
+      };
+      additionalParts.push(llmContent);
+    } else if (llmContent.text !== undefined) {
+      functionResponseJson = { output: llmContent.text };
+    } else {
+      functionResponseJson = { status: 'Tool execution succeeded.' };
+      additionalParts.push(llmContent);
+    }
+  }
+
+  return {
+    functionResponseJson,
+    additionalParts,
+  };
+}
+
 export function useToolScheduler(
   onComplete: (tools: CompletedToolCall[]) => void,
   config: Config,
@@ -201,7 +255,7 @@ export function useToolScheduler(
                 status: 'cancelled',
                 response: {
                   callId: c.request.callId,
-                  responsePart: {
+                  responseParts: {
                     functionResponse: {
                       id: c.request.callId,
                       name: c.request.name,
@@ -276,21 +330,24 @@ export function useToolScheduler(
             .execute(t.request.args, signal, onOutputChunk)
             .then((result: ToolResult) => {
               if (signal.aborted) {
+                // TODO(jacobr): avoid stringifying the LLM content.
                 setToolCalls(
                   setStatus(callId, 'cancelled', String(result.llmContent)),
                 );
                 return;
               }
+              const { functionResponseJson, additionalParts } =
+                formatLlmContentForFunctionResponse(result.llmContent);
               const functionResponse: Part = {
                 functionResponse: {
                   name: t.request.name,
                   id: callId,
-                  response: { output: result.llmContent },
+                  response: functionResponseJson,
                 },
               };
               const response: ToolCallResponseInfo = {
                 callId,
-                responsePart: functionResponse,
+                responseParts: [functionResponse, ...additionalParts],
                 resultDisplay: result.returnDisplay,
                 error: undefined,
               };
@@ -401,7 +458,7 @@ function setStatus(
             status: 'cancelled',
             response: {
               callId: t.request.callId,
-              responsePart: {
+              responseParts: {
                 functionResponse: {
                   id: t.request.callId,
                   name: t.request.name,
@@ -446,7 +503,7 @@ const toolErrorResponse = (
 ): ToolCallResponseInfo => ({
   callId: request.callId,
   error,
-  responsePart: {
+  responseParts: {
     functionResponse: {
       id: request.callId,
       name: request.name,
diff --git a/packages/server/src/core/turn.ts b/packages/server/src/core/turn.ts
index 97e93f59..22b01cce 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/core/turn.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/core/turn.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
  */
 
 import {
-  Part,
   PartListUnion,
   GenerateContentResponse,
   FunctionCall,
@@ -57,7 +56,7 @@ export interface ToolCallRequestInfo {
 
 export interface ToolCallResponseInfo {
   callId: string;
-  responsePart: Part;
+  responseParts: PartListUnion;
   resultDisplay: ToolResultDisplay | undefined;
   error: Error | undefined;
 }
diff --git a/packages/server/src/tools/read-file.test.ts b/packages/server/src/tools/read-file.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8ea42134
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/server/src/tools/read-file.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,228 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2025 Google LLC
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import { vi, describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach, Mock } from 'vitest';
+import { ReadFileTool, ReadFileToolParams } from './read-file.js';
+import * as fileUtils from '../utils/fileUtils.js';
+import path from 'path';
+import os from 'os';
+import fs from 'fs'; // For actual fs operations in setup
+
+// Mock fileUtils.processSingleFileContent
+vi.mock('../utils/fileUtils', async () => {
+  const actualFileUtils =
+    await vi.importActual<typeof fileUtils>('../utils/fileUtils');
+  return {
+    ...actualFileUtils, // Spread actual implementations
+    processSingleFileContent: vi.fn(), // Mock specific function
+  };
+});
+
+const mockProcessSingleFileContent = fileUtils.processSingleFileContent as Mock;
+
+describe('ReadFileTool', () => {
+  let tempRootDir: string;
+  let tool: ReadFileTool;
+  const abortSignal = new AbortController().signal;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    // Create a unique temporary root directory for each test run
+    tempRootDir = fs.mkdtempSync(
+      path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'read-file-tool-root-'),
+    );
+    tool = new ReadFileTool(tempRootDir);
+    mockProcessSingleFileContent.mockReset();
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    // Clean up the temporary root directory
+    if (fs.existsSync(tempRootDir)) {
+      fs.rmSync(tempRootDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  describe('validateToolParams', () => {
+    it('should return null for valid params (absolute path within root)', () => {
+      const params: ReadFileToolParams = {
+        path: path.join(tempRootDir, 'test.txt'),
+      };
+      expect(tool.validateToolParams(params)).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('should return null for valid params with offset and limit', () => {
+      const params: ReadFileToolParams = {
+        path: path.join(tempRootDir, 'test.txt'),
+        offset: 0,
+        limit: 10,
+      };
+      expect(tool.validateToolParams(params)).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('should return error for relative path', () => {
+      const params: ReadFileToolParams = { path: 'test.txt' };
+      expect(tool.validateToolParams(params)).toMatch(
+        /File path must be absolute/,
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should return error for path outside root', () => {
+      const outsidePath = path.resolve(os.tmpdir(), 'outside-root.txt');
+      const params: ReadFileToolParams = { path: outsidePath };
+      expect(tool.validateToolParams(params)).toMatch(
+        /File path must be within the root directory/,
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should return error for negative offset', () => {
+      const params: ReadFileToolParams = {
+        path: path.join(tempRootDir, 'test.txt'),
+        offset: -1,
+        limit: 10,
+      };
+      expect(tool.validateToolParams(params)).toBe(
+        'Offset must be a non-negative number',
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should return error for non-positive limit', () => {
+      const paramsZero: ReadFileToolParams = {
+        path: path.join(tempRootDir, 'test.txt'),
+        offset: 0,
+        limit: 0,
+      };
+      expect(tool.validateToolParams(paramsZero)).toBe(
+        'Limit must be a positive number',
+      );
+      const paramsNegative: ReadFileToolParams = {
+        path: path.join(tempRootDir, 'test.txt'),
+        offset: 0,
+        limit: -5,
+      };
+      expect(tool.validateToolParams(paramsNegative)).toBe(
+        'Limit must be a positive number',
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should return error for schema validation failure (e.g. missing path)', () => {
+      const params = { offset: 0 } as unknown as ReadFileToolParams;
+      expect(tool.validateToolParams(params)).toBe(
+        'Parameters failed schema validation.',
+      );
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('getDescription', () => {
+    it('should return a shortened, relative path', () => {
+      const filePath = path.join(tempRootDir, 'sub', 'dir', 'file.txt');
+      const params: ReadFileToolParams = { path: filePath };
+      // Assuming tempRootDir is something like /tmp/read-file-tool-root-XXXXXX
+      // The relative path would be sub/dir/file.txt
+      expect(tool.getDescription(params)).toBe('sub/dir/file.txt');
+    });
+
+    it('should return . if path is the root directory', () => {
+      const params: ReadFileToolParams = { path: tempRootDir };
+      expect(tool.getDescription(params)).toBe('.');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('execute', () => {
+    it('should return validation error if params are invalid', async () => {
+      const params: ReadFileToolParams = { path: 'relative/path.txt' };
+      const result = await tool.execute(params, abortSignal);
+      expect(result.llmContent).toMatch(/Error: Invalid parameters provided/);
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toMatch(/File path must be absolute/);
+    });
+
+    it('should return error from processSingleFileContent if it fails', async () => {
+      const filePath = path.join(tempRootDir, 'error.txt');
+      const params: ReadFileToolParams = { path: filePath };
+      const errorMessage = 'Simulated read error';
+      mockProcessSingleFileContent.mockResolvedValue({
+        llmContent: `Error reading file ${filePath}: ${errorMessage}`,
+        returnDisplay: `Error reading file ${filePath}: ${errorMessage}`,
+        error: errorMessage,
+      });
+
+      const result = await tool.execute(params, abortSignal);
+      expect(mockProcessSingleFileContent).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        filePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+        undefined,
+        undefined,
+      );
+      expect(result.llmContent).toContain(errorMessage);
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain(errorMessage);
+    });
+
+    it('should return success result for a text file', async () => {
+      const filePath = path.join(tempRootDir, 'textfile.txt');
+      const fileContent = 'This is a test file.';
+      const params: ReadFileToolParams = { path: filePath };
+      mockProcessSingleFileContent.mockResolvedValue({
+        llmContent: fileContent,
+        returnDisplay: `Read text file: ${path.basename(filePath)}`,
+      });
+
+      const result = await tool.execute(params, abortSignal);
+      expect(mockProcessSingleFileContent).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        filePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+        undefined,
+        undefined,
+      );
+      expect(result.llmContent).toBe(fileContent);
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toBe(
+        `Read text file: ${path.basename(filePath)}`,
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should return success result for an image file', async () => {
+      const filePath = path.join(tempRootDir, 'image.png');
+      const imageData = {
+        inlineData: { mimeType: 'image/png', data: 'base64...' },
+      };
+      const params: ReadFileToolParams = { path: filePath };
+      mockProcessSingleFileContent.mockResolvedValue({
+        llmContent: imageData,
+        returnDisplay: `Read image file: ${path.basename(filePath)}`,
+      });
+
+      const result = await tool.execute(params, abortSignal);
+      expect(mockProcessSingleFileContent).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        filePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+        undefined,
+        undefined,
+      );
+      expect(result.llmContent).toEqual(imageData);
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toBe(
+        `Read image file: ${path.basename(filePath)}`,
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should pass offset and limit to processSingleFileContent', async () => {
+      const filePath = path.join(tempRootDir, 'paginated.txt');
+      const params: ReadFileToolParams = {
+        path: filePath,
+        offset: 10,
+        limit: 5,
+      };
+      mockProcessSingleFileContent.mockResolvedValue({
+        llmContent: 'some lines',
+        returnDisplay: 'Read text file (paginated)',
+      });
+
+      await tool.execute(params, abortSignal);
+      expect(mockProcessSingleFileContent).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        filePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+        10,
+        5,
+      );
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/server/src/tools/read-file.ts b/packages/server/src/tools/read-file.ts
index de09161d..4bb3bd56 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/tools/read-file.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/tools/read-file.ts
@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
  */
 
-import fs from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
 import { SchemaValidator } from '../utils/schemaValidator.js';
 import { makeRelative, shortenPath } from '../utils/paths.js';
 import { BaseTool, ToolResult } from './tools.js';
+import { isWithinRoot, processSingleFileContent } from '../utils/fileUtils.js';
 
 /**
  * Parameters for the ReadFile tool
@@ -35,14 +35,12 @@ export interface ReadFileToolParams {
  */
 export class ReadFileTool extends BaseTool<ReadFileToolParams, ToolResult> {
   static readonly Name: string = 'read_file';
-  private static readonly DEFAULT_MAX_LINES = 2000;
-  private static readonly MAX_LINE_LENGTH = 2000;
 
   constructor(private rootDirectory: string) {
     super(
       ReadFileTool.Name,
       'ReadFile',
-      'Reads and returns the content of a specified file from the local filesystem. Handles large files by allowing reading specific line ranges.',
+      'Reads and returns the content of a specified file from the local filesystem. Handles text, images (PNG, JPG, GIF, WEBP, SVG, BMP), and PDF files. For text files, it can read specific line ranges.',
       {
         properties: {
           path: {
@@ -52,12 +50,12 @@ export class ReadFileTool extends BaseTool<ReadFileToolParams, ToolResult> {
           },
           offset: {
             description:
-              "Optional: The 0-based line number to start reading from. Requires 'limit' to be set. Use for paginating through large files.",
+              "Optional: For text files, the 0-based line number to start reading from. Requires 'limit' to be set. Use for paginating through large files.",
             type: 'number',
           },
           limit: {
             description:
-              "Optional: Maximum number of lines to read. Use with 'offset' to paginate through large files. If omitted, reads the entire file (if feasible).",
+              "Optional: For text files, maximum number of lines to read. Use with 'offset' to paginate through large files. If omitted, reads the entire file (if feasible, up to a default limit).",
             type: 'number',
           },
         },
@@ -68,28 +66,6 @@ export class ReadFileTool extends BaseTool<ReadFileToolParams, ToolResult> {
     this.rootDirectory = path.resolve(rootDirectory);
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Checks if a path is within the root directory
-   * @param pathToCheck The path to check
-   * @returns True if the path is within the root directory, false otherwise
-   */
-  private isWithinRoot(pathToCheck: string): boolean {
-    const normalizedPath = path.normalize(pathToCheck);
-    const normalizedRoot = path.normalize(this.rootDirectory);
-    const rootWithSep = normalizedRoot.endsWith(path.sep)
-      ? normalizedRoot
-      : normalizedRoot + path.sep;
-    return (
-      normalizedPath === normalizedRoot ||
-      normalizedPath.startsWith(rootWithSep)
-    );
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Validates the parameters for the ReadFile tool
-   * @param params Parameters to validate
-   * @returns True if parameters are valid, false otherwise
-   */
   validateToolParams(params: ReadFileToolParams): string | null {
     if (
       this.schema.parameters &&
@@ -104,7 +80,7 @@ export class ReadFileTool extends BaseTool<ReadFileToolParams, ToolResult> {
     if (!path.isAbsolute(filePath)) {
       return `File path must be absolute: ${filePath}`;
     }
-    if (!this.isWithinRoot(filePath)) {
+    if (!isWithinRoot(filePath, this.rootDirectory)) {
       return `File path must be within the root directory (${this.rootDirectory}): ${filePath}`;
     }
     if (params.offset !== undefined && params.offset < 0) {
@@ -116,83 +92,11 @@ export class ReadFileTool extends BaseTool<ReadFileToolParams, ToolResult> {
     return null;
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Determines if a file is likely binary based on content sampling
-   * @param filePath Path to the file
-   * @returns True if the file appears to be binary
-   */
-  private isBinaryFile(filePath: string): boolean {
-    try {
-      // Read the first 4KB of the file
-      const fd = fs.openSync(filePath, 'r');
-      const buffer = Buffer.alloc(4096);
-      const bytesRead = fs.readSync(fd, buffer, 0, 4096, 0);
-      fs.closeSync(fd);
-
-      // Check for null bytes or high concentration of non-printable characters
-      let nonPrintableCount = 0;
-      for (let i = 0; i < bytesRead; i++) {
-        // Null byte is a strong indicator of binary data
-        if (buffer[i] === 0) {
-          return true;
-        }
-
-        // Count non-printable characters
-        if (buffer[i] < 9 || (buffer[i] > 13 && buffer[i] < 32)) {
-          nonPrintableCount++;
-        }
-      }
-
-      // If more than 30% are non-printable, likely binary
-      return nonPrintableCount / bytesRead > 0.3;
-    } catch {
-      return false;
-    }
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Detects the type of file based on extension and content
-   * @param filePath Path to the file
-   * @returns File type description
-   */
-  private detectFileType(filePath: string): string {
-    const ext = path.extname(filePath).toLowerCase();
-
-    // Common image formats
-    if (
-      ['.jpg', '.jpeg', '.png', '.gif', '.bmp', '.webp', '.svg'].includes(ext)
-    ) {
-      return 'image';
-    }
-
-    // Other known binary formats
-    if (['.pdf', '.zip', '.tar', '.gz', '.exe', '.dll', '.so'].includes(ext)) {
-      return 'binary';
-    }
-
-    // Check content for binary indicators
-    if (this.isBinaryFile(filePath)) {
-      return 'binary';
-    }
-
-    return 'text';
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Gets a description of the file reading operation
-   * @param params Parameters for the file reading
-   * @returns A string describing the file being read
-   */
   getDescription(params: ReadFileToolParams): string {
     const relativePath = makeRelative(params.path, this.rootDirectory);
     return shortenPath(relativePath);
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Reads a file and returns its contents with line numbers
-   * @param params Parameters for the file reading
-   * @returns Result with file contents
-   */
   async execute(
     params: ReadFileToolParams,
     _signal: AbortSignal,
@@ -205,75 +109,23 @@ export class ReadFileTool extends BaseTool<ReadFileToolParams, ToolResult> {
       };
     }
 
-    const filePath = params.path;
-    try {
-      if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) {
-        return {
-          llmContent: `File not found: ${filePath}`,
-          returnDisplay: `File not found.`,
-        };
-      }
+    const result = await processSingleFileContent(
+      params.path,
+      this.rootDirectory,
+      params.offset,
+      params.limit,
+    );
 
-      const stats = fs.statSync(filePath);
-      if (stats.isDirectory()) {
-        return {
-          llmContent: `Path is a directory, not a file: ${filePath}`,
-          returnDisplay: `File is directory.`,
-        };
-      }
-
-      const fileType = this.detectFileType(filePath);
-      if (fileType !== 'text') {
-        return {
-          llmContent: `Binary file: ${filePath} (${fileType})`,
-          // For binary files, maybe returnDisplay should be empty or indicate binary?
-          // Keeping it empty for now.
-          returnDisplay: ``,
-        };
-      }
-
-      const content = fs.readFileSync(filePath, 'utf8');
-      const lines = content.split('\n');
-
-      const startLine = params.offset || 0;
-      const endLine = params.limit
-        ? startLine + params.limit
-        : Math.min(startLine + ReadFileTool.DEFAULT_MAX_LINES, lines.length);
-      const selectedLines = lines.slice(startLine, endLine);
-
-      let truncated = false;
-      const formattedLines = selectedLines.map((line) => {
-        let processedLine = line;
-        if (line.length > ReadFileTool.MAX_LINE_LENGTH) {
-          processedLine =
-            line.substring(0, ReadFileTool.MAX_LINE_LENGTH) + '... [truncated]';
-          truncated = true;
-        }
-
-        return processedLine;
-      });
-
-      const contentTruncated = endLine < lines.length || truncated;
-
-      let llmContent = '';
-      if (contentTruncated) {
-        llmContent += `[File truncated: showing lines ${startLine + 1}-${endLine} of ${lines.length} total lines. Use offset parameter to view more.]\n`;
-      }
-      llmContent += formattedLines.join('\n');
-
-      // Here, returnDisplay could potentially be enhanced, but for now,
-      // it's kept empty as the LLM content itself is descriptive.
+    if (result.error) {
       return {
-        llmContent,
-        returnDisplay: '',
-      };
-    } catch (error) {
-      const errorMsg = `Error reading file: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`;
-
-      return {
-        llmContent: `Error reading file ${filePath}: ${errorMsg}`,
-        returnDisplay: `Failed to read file: ${errorMsg}`,
+        llmContent: result.error, // The detailed error for LLM
+        returnDisplay: result.returnDisplay, // User-friendly error
       };
     }
+
+    return {
+      llmContent: result.llmContent,
+      returnDisplay: result.returnDisplay,
+    };
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.test.ts b/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.test.ts
index ea801ddb..5c6d94fa 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.test.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.test.ts
@@ -115,6 +115,33 @@ describe('ReadManyFilesTool', () => {
       };
       expect(tool.validateParams(params)).toBeNull();
     });
+
+    it('should return error if paths array contains an empty string', () => {
+      const params = { paths: ['file1.txt', ''] };
+      expect(tool.validateParams(params)).toBe(
+        'Each item in "paths" must be a non-empty string/glob pattern.',
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should return error if include array contains non-string elements', () => {
+      const params = {
+        paths: ['file1.txt'],
+        include: ['*.ts', 123] as string[],
+      };
+      expect(tool.validateParams(params)).toBe(
+        'If provided, "include" must be an array of strings/glob patterns.',
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should return error if exclude array contains non-string elements', () => {
+      const params = {
+        paths: ['file1.txt'],
+        exclude: ['*.log', {}] as string[],
+      };
+      expect(tool.validateParams(params)).toBe(
+        'If provided, "exclude" must be an array of strings/glob patterns.',
+      );
+    });
   });
 
   describe('execute', () => {
diff --git a/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.ts b/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.ts
index b825de04..d826c9ba 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.ts
@@ -7,13 +7,16 @@
 import { BaseTool, ToolResult } from './tools.js';
 import { SchemaValidator } from '../utils/schemaValidator.js';
 import { getErrorMessage } from '../utils/errors.js';
-import * as fs from 'fs/promises';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import fg from 'fast-glob';
 import { GEMINI_MD_FILENAME } from './memoryTool.js';
-
+import {
+  detectFileType,
+  processSingleFileContent,
+  DEFAULT_ENCODING,
+} from '../utils/fileUtils.js';
 import { PartListUnion } from '@google/genai';
-import mime from 'mime-types';
+
 /**
  * Parameters for the ReadManyFilesTool.
  */
@@ -98,8 +101,6 @@ const DEFAULT_EXCLUDES: string[] = [
   `**/${GEMINI_MD_FILENAME}`,
 ];
 
-// Default values for encoding and separator format
-const DEFAULT_ENCODING: BufferEncoding = 'utf-8';
 const DEFAULT_OUTPUT_SEPARATOR_FORMAT = '--- {filePath} ---';
 
 /**
@@ -256,11 +257,10 @@ Use this tool when the user's query implies needing the content of several files
     } = params;
 
     const toolBaseDir = this.targetDir;
-
     const filesToConsider = new Set<string>();
     const skippedFiles: Array<{ path: string; reason: string }> = [];
     const processedFilesRelativePaths: string[] = [];
-    const content: PartListUnion = [];
+    const contentParts: PartListUnion = [];
 
     const effectiveExcludes = useDefaultExcludes
       ? [...DEFAULT_EXCLUDES, ...exclude]
@@ -315,69 +315,50 @@ Use this tool when the user's query implies needing the content of several files
       const relativePathForDisplay = path
         .relative(toolBaseDir, filePath)
         .replace(/\\/g, '/');
-      try {
-        const mimeType = mime.lookup(filePath);
-        if (
-          mimeType &&
-          (mimeType.startsWith('image/') || mimeType === 'application/pdf')
-        ) {
-          const fileExtension = path.extname(filePath);
-          const fileNameWithoutExtension = path.basename(
-            filePath,
-            fileExtension,
-          );
-          const requestedExplicitly = inputPatterns.some(
-            (pattern: string) =>
-              pattern.toLowerCase().includes(fileExtension) ||
-              pattern.includes(fileNameWithoutExtension),
-          );
 
-          if (!requestedExplicitly) {
-            skippedFiles.push({
-              path: relativePathForDisplay,
-              reason:
-                'asset file (image/pdf) was not explicitly requested by name or extension',
-            });
-            continue;
-          }
-          const contentBuffer = await fs.readFile(filePath);
-          const base64Data = contentBuffer.toString('base64');
-          content.push({
-            inlineData: {
-              data: base64Data,
-              mimeType,
-            },
+      const fileType = detectFileType(filePath);
+
+      if (fileType === 'image' || fileType === 'pdf') {
+        const fileExtension = path.extname(filePath).toLowerCase();
+        const fileNameWithoutExtension = path.basename(filePath, fileExtension);
+        const requestedExplicitly = inputPatterns.some(
+          (pattern: string) =>
+            pattern.toLowerCase().includes(fileExtension) ||
+            pattern.includes(fileNameWithoutExtension),
+        );
+
+        if (!requestedExplicitly) {
+          skippedFiles.push({
+            path: relativePathForDisplay,
+            reason:
+              'asset file (image/pdf) was not explicitly requested by name or extension',
           });
-          processedFilesRelativePaths.push(relativePathForDisplay);
-        } else {
-          const contentBuffer = await fs.readFile(filePath);
-          // Basic binary detection: check for null bytes in the first 1KB
-          const sample = contentBuffer.subarray(
-            0,
-            Math.min(contentBuffer.length, 1024),
-          );
-          if (sample.includes(0)) {
-            skippedFiles.push({
-              path: relativePathForDisplay,
-              reason: 'appears to be binary',
-            });
-            continue;
-          }
-          // Using default encoding
-          const fileContent = contentBuffer.toString(DEFAULT_ENCODING);
-          // Using default separator format
+          continue;
+        }
+      }
+
+      // Use processSingleFileContent for all file types now
+      const fileReadResult = await processSingleFileContent(
+        filePath,
+        toolBaseDir,
+      );
+
+      if (fileReadResult.error) {
+        skippedFiles.push({
+          path: relativePathForDisplay,
+          reason: `Read error: ${fileReadResult.error}`,
+        });
+      } else {
+        if (typeof fileReadResult.llmContent === 'string') {
           const separator = DEFAULT_OUTPUT_SEPARATOR_FORMAT.replace(
             '{filePath}',
             relativePathForDisplay,
           );
-          content.push(`${separator}\n\n${fileContent}\n\n`);
-          processedFilesRelativePaths.push(relativePathForDisplay);
+          contentParts.push(`${separator}\n\n${fileReadResult.llmContent}\n\n`);
+        } else {
+          contentParts.push(fileReadResult.llmContent); // This is a Part for image/pdf
         }
-      } catch (error) {
-        skippedFiles.push({
-          path: relativePathForDisplay,
-          reason: `Read error: ${getErrorMessage(error)}`,
-        });
+        processedFilesRelativePaths.push(relativePathForDisplay);
       }
     }
 
@@ -422,13 +403,13 @@ Use this tool when the user's query implies needing the content of several files
       displayMessage += `No files were read and concatenated based on the criteria.\n`;
     }
 
-    if (content.length === 0) {
-      content.push(
+    if (contentParts.length === 0) {
+      contentParts.push(
         'No files matching the criteria were found or all were skipped.',
       );
     }
     return {
-      llmContent: content,
+      llmContent: contentParts,
       returnDisplay: displayMessage.trim(),
     };
   }
diff --git a/packages/server/src/utils/fileUtils.test.ts b/packages/server/src/utils/fileUtils.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..df912b0c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/server/src/utils/fileUtils.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,433 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2025 Google LLC
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import {
+  describe,
+  it,
+  expect,
+  vi,
+  beforeEach,
+  afterEach,
+  type Mock,
+} from 'vitest';
+
+import * as actualNodeFs from 'node:fs'; // For setup/teardown
+import fsPromises from 'node:fs/promises';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import os from 'node:os';
+import mime from 'mime-types';
+
+import {
+  isWithinRoot,
+  isBinaryFile,
+  detectFileType,
+  processSingleFileContent,
+} from './fileUtils.js';
+
+vi.mock('mime-types', () => ({
+  default: { lookup: vi.fn() },
+  lookup: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+const mockMimeLookup = mime.lookup as Mock;
+
+describe('fileUtils', () => {
+  let tempRootDir: string;
+  const originalProcessCwd = process.cwd;
+
+  let testTextFilePath: string;
+  let testImageFilePath: string;
+  let testPdfFilePath: string;
+  let testBinaryFilePath: string;
+  let nonExistentFilePath: string;
+  let directoryPath: string;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.resetAllMocks(); // Reset all mocks, including mime.lookup
+
+    tempRootDir = actualNodeFs.mkdtempSync(
+      path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'fileUtils-test-'),
+    );
+    process.cwd = vi.fn(() => tempRootDir); // Mock cwd if necessary for relative path logic within tests
+
+    testTextFilePath = path.join(tempRootDir, 'test.txt');
+    testImageFilePath = path.join(tempRootDir, 'image.png');
+    testPdfFilePath = path.join(tempRootDir, 'document.pdf');
+    testBinaryFilePath = path.join(tempRootDir, 'app.exe');
+    nonExistentFilePath = path.join(tempRootDir, 'notfound.txt');
+    directoryPath = path.join(tempRootDir, 'subdir');
+
+    actualNodeFs.mkdirSync(directoryPath, { recursive: true }); // Ensure subdir exists
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    if (actualNodeFs.existsSync(tempRootDir)) {
+      actualNodeFs.rmSync(tempRootDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+    process.cwd = originalProcessCwd;
+    vi.restoreAllMocks(); // Restore any spies
+  });
+
+  describe('isWithinRoot', () => {
+    const root = path.resolve('/project/root');
+
+    it('should return true for paths directly within the root', () => {
+      expect(isWithinRoot(path.join(root, 'file.txt'), root)).toBe(true);
+      expect(isWithinRoot(path.join(root, 'subdir', 'file.txt'), root)).toBe(
+        true,
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should return true for the root path itself', () => {
+      expect(isWithinRoot(root, root)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('should return false for paths outside the root', () => {
+      expect(
+        isWithinRoot(path.resolve('/project/other', 'file.txt'), root),
+      ).toBe(false);
+      expect(isWithinRoot(path.resolve('/unrelated', 'file.txt'), root)).toBe(
+        false,
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should return false for paths that only partially match the root prefix', () => {
+      expect(
+        isWithinRoot(
+          path.resolve('/project/root-but-actually-different'),
+          root,
+        ),
+      ).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('should handle paths with trailing slashes correctly', () => {
+      expect(isWithinRoot(path.join(root, 'file.txt') + path.sep, root)).toBe(
+        true,
+      );
+      expect(isWithinRoot(root + path.sep, root)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('should handle different path separators (POSIX vs Windows)', () => {
+      const posixRoot = '/project/root';
+      const posixPathInside = '/project/root/file.txt';
+      const posixPathOutside = '/project/other/file.txt';
+      expect(isWithinRoot(posixPathInside, posixRoot)).toBe(true);
+      expect(isWithinRoot(posixPathOutside, posixRoot)).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('should return false for a root path that is a sub-path of the path to check', () => {
+      const pathToCheck = path.resolve('/project/root/sub');
+      const rootSub = path.resolve('/project/root');
+      expect(isWithinRoot(pathToCheck, rootSub)).toBe(true);
+
+      const pathToCheckSuper = path.resolve('/project/root');
+      const rootSuper = path.resolve('/project/root/sub');
+      expect(isWithinRoot(pathToCheckSuper, rootSuper)).toBe(false);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('isBinaryFile', () => {
+    let filePathForBinaryTest: string;
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      filePathForBinaryTest = path.join(tempRootDir, 'binaryCheck.tmp');
+    });
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+      if (actualNodeFs.existsSync(filePathForBinaryTest)) {
+        actualNodeFs.unlinkSync(filePathForBinaryTest);
+      }
+    });
+
+    it('should return false for an empty file', () => {
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(filePathForBinaryTest, '');
+      expect(isBinaryFile(filePathForBinaryTest)).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('should return false for a typical text file', () => {
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(
+        filePathForBinaryTest,
+        'Hello, world!\nThis is a test file with normal text content.',
+      );
+      expect(isBinaryFile(filePathForBinaryTest)).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('should return true for a file with many null bytes', () => {
+      const binaryContent = Buffer.from([
+        0x48, 0x65, 0x00, 0x6c, 0x6f, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
+      ]); // "He\0llo\0\0\0\0\0"
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(filePathForBinaryTest, binaryContent);
+      expect(isBinaryFile(filePathForBinaryTest)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('should return true for a file with high percentage of non-printable ASCII', () => {
+      const binaryContent = Buffer.from([
+        0x41, 0x42, 0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04, 0x05, 0x43, 0x44, 0x06,
+      ]); // AB\x01\x02\x03\x04\x05CD\x06
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(filePathForBinaryTest, binaryContent);
+      expect(isBinaryFile(filePathForBinaryTest)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('should return false if file access fails (e.g., ENOENT)', () => {
+      // Ensure the file does not exist
+      if (actualNodeFs.existsSync(filePathForBinaryTest)) {
+        actualNodeFs.unlinkSync(filePathForBinaryTest);
+      }
+      expect(isBinaryFile(filePathForBinaryTest)).toBe(false);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('detectFileType', () => {
+    let filePathForDetectTest: string;
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      filePathForDetectTest = path.join(tempRootDir, 'detectType.tmp');
+      // Default: create as a text file for isBinaryFile fallback
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(filePathForDetectTest, 'Plain text content');
+    });
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+      if (actualNodeFs.existsSync(filePathForDetectTest)) {
+        actualNodeFs.unlinkSync(filePathForDetectTest);
+      }
+      vi.restoreAllMocks(); // Restore spies on actualNodeFs
+    });
+
+    it('should detect image type by extension (png)', () => {
+      mockMimeLookup.mockReturnValueOnce('image/png');
+      expect(detectFileType('file.png')).toBe('image');
+    });
+
+    it('should detect image type by extension (jpeg)', () => {
+      mockMimeLookup.mockReturnValueOnce('image/jpeg');
+      expect(detectFileType('file.jpg')).toBe('image');
+    });
+
+    it('should detect pdf type by extension', () => {
+      mockMimeLookup.mockReturnValueOnce('application/pdf');
+      expect(detectFileType('file.pdf')).toBe('pdf');
+    });
+
+    it('should detect known binary extensions as binary (e.g. .zip)', () => {
+      mockMimeLookup.mockReturnValueOnce('application/zip');
+      expect(detectFileType('archive.zip')).toBe('binary');
+    });
+    it('should detect known binary extensions as binary (e.g. .exe)', () => {
+      mockMimeLookup.mockReturnValueOnce('application/octet-stream'); // Common for .exe
+      expect(detectFileType('app.exe')).toBe('binary');
+    });
+
+    it('should use isBinaryFile for unknown extensions and detect as binary', () => {
+      mockMimeLookup.mockReturnValueOnce(false); // Unknown mime type
+      // Create a file that isBinaryFile will identify as binary
+      const binaryContent = Buffer.from([
+        0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04, 0x05, 0x06, 0x07, 0x08, 0x09, 0x0a,
+      ]);
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(filePathForDetectTest, binaryContent);
+      expect(detectFileType(filePathForDetectTest)).toBe('binary');
+    });
+
+    it('should default to text if mime type is unknown and content is not binary', () => {
+      mockMimeLookup.mockReturnValueOnce(false); // Unknown mime type
+      // filePathForDetectTest is already a text file by default from beforeEach
+      expect(detectFileType(filePathForDetectTest)).toBe('text');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('processSingleFileContent', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      // Ensure files exist for statSync checks before readFile might be mocked
+      if (actualNodeFs.existsSync(testTextFilePath))
+        actualNodeFs.unlinkSync(testTextFilePath);
+      if (actualNodeFs.existsSync(testImageFilePath))
+        actualNodeFs.unlinkSync(testImageFilePath);
+      if (actualNodeFs.existsSync(testPdfFilePath))
+        actualNodeFs.unlinkSync(testPdfFilePath);
+      if (actualNodeFs.existsSync(testBinaryFilePath))
+        actualNodeFs.unlinkSync(testBinaryFilePath);
+    });
+
+    it('should read a text file successfully', async () => {
+      const content = 'Line 1\\nLine 2\\nLine 3';
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(testTextFilePath, content);
+      const result = await processSingleFileContent(
+        testTextFilePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+      );
+      expect(result.llmContent).toBe(content);
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain('Read text file: test.txt');
+      expect(result.error).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+
+    it('should handle file not found', async () => {
+      const result = await processSingleFileContent(
+        nonExistentFilePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+      );
+      expect(result.error).toContain('File not found');
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain('File not found');
+    });
+
+    it('should handle read errors for text files', async () => {
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(testTextFilePath, 'content'); // File must exist for initial statSync
+      const readError = new Error('Simulated read error');
+      vi.spyOn(fsPromises, 'readFile').mockRejectedValueOnce(readError);
+
+      const result = await processSingleFileContent(
+        testTextFilePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+      );
+      expect(result.error).toContain('Simulated read error');
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain('Simulated read error');
+    });
+
+    it('should handle read errors for image/pdf files', async () => {
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(testImageFilePath, 'content'); // File must exist
+      mockMimeLookup.mockReturnValue('image/png');
+      const readError = new Error('Simulated image read error');
+      vi.spyOn(fsPromises, 'readFile').mockRejectedValueOnce(readError);
+
+      const result = await processSingleFileContent(
+        testImageFilePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+      );
+      expect(result.error).toContain('Simulated image read error');
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain('Simulated image read error');
+    });
+
+    it('should process an image file', async () => {
+      const fakePngData = Buffer.from('fake png data');
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(testImageFilePath, fakePngData);
+      mockMimeLookup.mockReturnValue('image/png');
+      const result = await processSingleFileContent(
+        testImageFilePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+      );
+      expect(
+        (result.llmContent as { inlineData: unknown }).inlineData,
+      ).toBeDefined();
+      expect(
+        (result.llmContent as { inlineData: { mimeType: string } }).inlineData
+          .mimeType,
+      ).toBe('image/png');
+      expect(
+        (result.llmContent as { inlineData: { data: string } }).inlineData.data,
+      ).toBe(fakePngData.toString('base64'));
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain('Read image file: image.png');
+    });
+
+    it('should process a PDF file', async () => {
+      const fakePdfData = Buffer.from('fake pdf data');
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(testPdfFilePath, fakePdfData);
+      mockMimeLookup.mockReturnValue('application/pdf');
+      const result = await processSingleFileContent(
+        testPdfFilePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+      );
+      expect(
+        (result.llmContent as { inlineData: unknown }).inlineData,
+      ).toBeDefined();
+      expect(
+        (result.llmContent as { inlineData: { mimeType: string } }).inlineData
+          .mimeType,
+      ).toBe('application/pdf');
+      expect(
+        (result.llmContent as { inlineData: { data: string } }).inlineData.data,
+      ).toBe(fakePdfData.toString('base64'));
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain('Read pdf file: document.pdf');
+    });
+
+    it('should skip binary files', async () => {
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(
+        testBinaryFilePath,
+        Buffer.from([0x00, 0x01, 0x02]),
+      );
+      mockMimeLookup.mockReturnValueOnce('application/octet-stream');
+      // isBinaryFile will operate on the real file.
+
+      const result = await processSingleFileContent(
+        testBinaryFilePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+      );
+      expect(result.llmContent).toContain(
+        'Cannot display content of binary file',
+      );
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain('Skipped binary file: app.exe');
+    });
+
+    it('should handle path being a directory', async () => {
+      const result = await processSingleFileContent(directoryPath, tempRootDir);
+      expect(result.error).toContain('Path is a directory');
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain('Path is a directory');
+    });
+
+    it('should paginate text files correctly (offset and limit)', async () => {
+      const lines = Array.from({ length: 20 }, (_, i) => `Line ${i + 1}`);
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(testTextFilePath, lines.join('\n'));
+
+      const result = await processSingleFileContent(
+        testTextFilePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+        5,
+        5,
+      ); // Read lines 6-10
+      const expectedContent = lines.slice(5, 10).join('\n');
+
+      expect(result.llmContent).toContain(expectedContent);
+      expect(result.llmContent).toContain(
+        '[File content truncated: showing lines 6-10 of 20 total lines. Use offset/limit parameters to view more.]',
+      );
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain(
+        'Read text file: test.txt (truncated)',
+      );
+      expect(result.isTruncated).toBe(true);
+      expect(result.originalLineCount).toBe(20);
+      expect(result.linesShown).toEqual([6, 10]);
+    });
+
+    it('should handle limit exceeding file length', async () => {
+      const lines = ['Line 1', 'Line 2'];
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(testTextFilePath, lines.join('\n'));
+
+      const result = await processSingleFileContent(
+        testTextFilePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+        0,
+        10,
+      );
+      const expectedContent = lines.join('\n');
+
+      expect(result.llmContent).toBe(expectedContent);
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain('Read text file: test.txt');
+      expect(result.isTruncated).toBe(false);
+      expect(result.originalLineCount).toBe(2);
+      expect(result.linesShown).toEqual([1, 2]);
+    });
+
+    it('should truncate long lines in text files', async () => {
+      const longLine = 'a'.repeat(2500);
+      actualNodeFs.writeFileSync(
+        testTextFilePath,
+        `Short line\n${longLine}\nAnother short line`,
+      );
+
+      const result = await processSingleFileContent(
+        testTextFilePath,
+        tempRootDir,
+      );
+
+      expect(result.llmContent).toContain('Short line');
+      expect(result.llmContent).toContain(
+        longLine.substring(0, 2000) + '... [truncated]',
+      );
+      expect(result.llmContent).toContain('Another short line');
+      expect(result.llmContent).toContain(
+        '[File content partially truncated: some lines exceeded maximum length of 2000 characters.]',
+      );
+      expect(result.isTruncated).toBe(true);
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/server/src/utils/fileUtils.ts b/packages/server/src/utils/fileUtils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0e9eef4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/server/src/utils/fileUtils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,280 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2025 Google LLC
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import fs from 'fs';
+import path from 'path';
+import { PartUnion } from '@google/genai';
+import mime from 'mime-types';
+
+// Constants for text file processing
+const DEFAULT_MAX_LINES_TEXT_FILE = 2000;
+const MAX_LINE_LENGTH_TEXT_FILE = 2000;
+
+// Default values for encoding and separator format
+export const DEFAULT_ENCODING: BufferEncoding = 'utf-8';
+
+/**
+ * Checks if a path is within a given root directory.
+ * @param pathToCheck The absolute path to check.
+ * @param rootDirectory The absolute root directory.
+ * @returns True if the path is within the root directory, false otherwise.
+ */
+export function isWithinRoot(
+  pathToCheck: string,
+  rootDirectory: string,
+): boolean {
+  const normalizedPathToCheck = path.normalize(pathToCheck);
+  const normalizedRootDirectory = path.normalize(rootDirectory);
+
+  // Ensure the rootDirectory path ends with a separator for correct startsWith comparison,
+  // unless it's the root path itself (e.g., '/' or 'C:\').
+  const rootWithSeparator =
+    normalizedRootDirectory === path.sep ||
+    normalizedRootDirectory.endsWith(path.sep)
+      ? normalizedRootDirectory
+      : normalizedRootDirectory + path.sep;
+
+  return (
+    normalizedPathToCheck === normalizedRootDirectory ||
+    normalizedPathToCheck.startsWith(rootWithSeparator)
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Determines if a file is likely binary based on content sampling.
+ * @param filePath Path to the file.
+ * @returns True if the file appears to be binary.
+ */
+export function isBinaryFile(filePath: string): boolean {
+  try {
+    const fd = fs.openSync(filePath, 'r');
+    // Read up to 4KB or file size, whichever is smaller
+    const fileSize = fs.fstatSync(fd).size;
+    if (fileSize === 0) {
+      // Empty file is not considered binary for content checking
+      fs.closeSync(fd);
+      return false;
+    }
+    const bufferSize = Math.min(4096, fileSize);
+    const buffer = Buffer.alloc(bufferSize);
+    const bytesRead = fs.readSync(fd, buffer, 0, buffer.length, 0);
+    fs.closeSync(fd);
+
+    if (bytesRead === 0) return false;
+
+    let nonPrintableCount = 0;
+    for (let i = 0; i < bytesRead; i++) {
+      if (buffer[i] === 0) return true; // Null byte is a strong indicator
+      if (buffer[i] < 9 || (buffer[i] > 13 && buffer[i] < 32)) {
+        nonPrintableCount++;
+      }
+    }
+    // If >30% non-printable characters, consider it binary
+    return nonPrintableCount / bytesRead > 0.3;
+  } catch {
+    // If any error occurs (e.g. file not found, permissions),
+    // treat as not binary here; let higher-level functions handle existence/access errors.
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Detects the type of file based on extension and content.
+ * @param filePath Path to the file.
+ * @returns 'text', 'image', 'pdf', or 'binary'.
+ */
+export function detectFileType(
+  filePath: string,
+): 'text' | 'image' | 'pdf' | 'binary' {
+  const ext = path.extname(filePath).toLowerCase();
+  const lookedUpMimeType = mime.lookup(filePath); // Returns false if not found, or the mime type string
+
+  if (lookedUpMimeType && lookedUpMimeType.startsWith('image/')) {
+    return 'image';
+  }
+  if (lookedUpMimeType && lookedUpMimeType === 'application/pdf') {
+    return 'pdf';
+  }
+
+  // Stricter binary check for common non-text extensions before content check
+  // These are often not well-covered by mime-types or might be misidentified.
+  if (
+    [
+      '.zip',
+      '.tar',
+      '.gz',
+      '.exe',
+      '.dll',
+      '.so',
+      '.class',
+      '.jar',
+      '.war',
+      '.7z',
+      '.doc',
+      '.docx',
+      '.xls',
+      '.xlsx',
+      '.ppt',
+      '.pptx',
+      '.odt',
+      '.ods',
+      '.odp',
+      '.bin',
+      '.dat',
+      '.obj',
+      '.o',
+      '.a',
+      '.lib',
+      '.wasm',
+      '.pyc',
+      '.pyo',
+    ].includes(ext)
+  ) {
+    return 'binary';
+  }
+
+  // Fallback to content-based check if mime type wasn't conclusive for image/pdf
+  // and it's not a known binary extension.
+  if (isBinaryFile(filePath)) {
+    return 'binary';
+  }
+
+  return 'text';
+}
+
+export interface ProcessedFileReadResult {
+  llmContent: PartUnion; // string for text, Part for image/pdf/unreadable binary
+  returnDisplay: string;
+  error?: string; // Optional error message for the LLM if file processing failed
+  isTruncated?: boolean; // For text files, indicates if content was truncated
+  originalLineCount?: number; // For text files
+  linesShown?: [number, number]; // For text files [startLine, endLine] (1-based for display)
+}
+
+/**
+ * Reads and processes a single file, handling text, images, and PDFs.
+ * @param filePath Absolute path to the file.
+ * @param rootDirectory Absolute path to the project root for relative path display.
+ * @param offset Optional offset for text files (0-based line number).
+ * @param limit Optional limit for text files (number of lines to read).
+ * @returns ProcessedFileReadResult object.
+ */
+export async function processSingleFileContent(
+  filePath: string,
+  rootDirectory: string,
+  offset?: number,
+  limit?: number,
+): Promise<ProcessedFileReadResult> {
+  try {
+    if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) {
+      // Sync check is acceptable before async read
+      return {
+        llmContent: '',
+        returnDisplay: 'File not found.',
+        error: `File not found: ${filePath}`,
+      };
+    }
+    const stats = fs.statSync(filePath); // Sync check
+    if (stats.isDirectory()) {
+      return {
+        llmContent: '',
+        returnDisplay: 'Path is a directory.',
+        error: `Path is a directory, not a file: ${filePath}`,
+      };
+    }
+
+    const fileType = detectFileType(filePath);
+    const relativePathForDisplay = path
+      .relative(rootDirectory, filePath)
+      .replace(/\\/g, '/');
+
+    switch (fileType) {
+      case 'binary': {
+        return {
+          llmContent: `Cannot display content of binary file: ${relativePathForDisplay}`,
+          returnDisplay: `Skipped binary file: ${relativePathForDisplay}`,
+        };
+      }
+      case 'text': {
+        const content = await fs.promises.readFile(filePath, 'utf8');
+        const lines = content.split('\n');
+        const originalLineCount = lines.length;
+
+        const startLine = offset || 0;
+        const effectiveLimit =
+          limit === undefined ? DEFAULT_MAX_LINES_TEXT_FILE : limit;
+        // Ensure endLine does not exceed originalLineCount
+        const endLine = Math.min(startLine + effectiveLimit, originalLineCount);
+        // Ensure selectedLines doesn't try to slice beyond array bounds if startLine is too high
+        const actualStartLine = Math.min(startLine, originalLineCount);
+        const selectedLines = lines.slice(actualStartLine, endLine);
+
+        let linesWereTruncatedInLength = false;
+        const formattedLines = selectedLines.map((line) => {
+          if (line.length > MAX_LINE_LENGTH_TEXT_FILE) {
+            linesWereTruncatedInLength = true;
+            return (
+              line.substring(0, MAX_LINE_LENGTH_TEXT_FILE) + '... [truncated]'
+            );
+          }
+          return line;
+        });
+
+        const contentRangeTruncated = endLine < originalLineCount;
+        const isTruncated = contentRangeTruncated || linesWereTruncatedInLength;
+
+        let llmTextContent = '';
+        if (contentRangeTruncated) {
+          llmTextContent += `[File content truncated: showing lines ${actualStartLine + 1}-${endLine} of ${originalLineCount} total lines. Use offset/limit parameters to view more.]\n`;
+        } else if (linesWereTruncatedInLength) {
+          llmTextContent += `[File content partially truncated: some lines exceeded maximum length of ${MAX_LINE_LENGTH_TEXT_FILE} characters.]\n`;
+        }
+        llmTextContent += formattedLines.join('\n');
+
+        return {
+          llmContent: llmTextContent,
+          returnDisplay: `Read text file: ${relativePathForDisplay}${isTruncated ? ' (truncated)' : ''}`,
+          isTruncated,
+          originalLineCount,
+          linesShown: [actualStartLine + 1, endLine],
+        };
+      }
+      case 'image':
+      case 'pdf': {
+        const contentBuffer = await fs.promises.readFile(filePath);
+        const base64Data = contentBuffer.toString('base64');
+        return {
+          llmContent: {
+            inlineData: {
+              data: base64Data,
+              mimeType: mime.lookup(filePath) || 'application/octet-stream',
+            },
+          },
+          returnDisplay: `Read ${fileType} file: ${relativePathForDisplay}`,
+        };
+      }
+      default: {
+        // Should not happen with current detectFileType logic
+        const exhaustiveCheck: never = fileType;
+        return {
+          llmContent: `Unhandled file type: ${exhaustiveCheck}`,
+          returnDisplay: `Skipped unhandled file type: ${relativePathForDisplay}`,
+          error: `Unhandled file type for ${filePath}`,
+        };
+      }
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+    const displayPath = path
+      .relative(rootDirectory, filePath)
+      .replace(/\\/g, '/');
+    return {
+      llmContent: `Error reading file ${displayPath}: ${errorMessage}`,
+      returnDisplay: `Error reading file ${displayPath}: ${errorMessage}`,
+      error: `Error reading file ${filePath}: ${errorMessage}`,
+    };
+  }
+}