Working with Files in Chat
Attach files to a conversation, supported types, and size limits.
You can drop files directly into a conversation and ask the assistant about them. This is the fastest way to summarize a long PDF, pull data out of an image, or get the assistant to act on a spreadsheet.
Attaching files
There are three ways to attach a file:
- Click the paperclip icon in the chat input.
- Drag and drop files anywhere on the chat surface.
- Reference a Vault file in your message and the assistant will pull it in automatically.
Each attachment appears as a pill in the input area while it uploads. Click the × on the pill to remove a file before sending.
Supported file types
| Category | Formats |
|---|---|
| Documents | PDF, TXT, Markdown |
| Spreadsheets | XLS, XLSX, CSV, ODS |
| Images | PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF, WEBP, BMP, TIFF |
Size limits
| Type | Limit |
|---|---|
| Documents | 512 MB |
| Spreadsheets | 50 MB |
| Images | 20 MB |
Files outside these formats or sizes will fail to upload with a message explaining why.
What happens after you attach
- The file is stored securely against the chat and is available to the assistant for the rest of the conversation.
- The assistant can read text and tables from documents and spreadsheets, and "see" images.
- You can ask the assistant to extract data, summarize, translate, or generate something based on the file.
- You can come back to the conversation later and the file is still there.
If your workspace has the Vault integration enabled for chat, attached files can also be auto-saved into your Vault so they're searchable later. This is controlled per-workspace by your admin.
File uploads disabled?
If your administrator has turned off file uploads for chat, the paperclip icon won't appear. See Workspace → Assistant configuration.
See also
- Vault — the broader file repository in MainBranch.
- Documents and spreadsheets in chat — generating new files in the chat canvas.