14.8.2.3 :file

The header argument :file is used to specify a path for file output. An Org-mode style file: link is inserted into the buffer as the result (see Link format). Common examples are graphical output from R, gnuplot, ditaa and LaTeX code blocks.

Note that for some languages, including R, gnuplot, LaTeX and ditaa, graphical output is sent to the specified file without the file being referenced explicitly in the code block. See the documentation for the individual languages for details. In contrast, general purpose languages such as Python and Ruby require that the code explicitly create output corresponding to the path indicated by :file.