Why do files need to be uploaded to read the file information? Isn't it possible without uploading?

Why do files need to be uploaded to obtain file information? Is it because of permission issues?
I want to get the content in excel, and the ultimate goal is to write it into the database. Wouldn’t it be great if I could get the file content without uploading it? Of course, this does not mean that it can be read arbitrarily. It definitely requires the user to trigger certain operations.