File Upload & Management

LobeHub provides comprehensive file upload capabilities, enabling AI agents to access, analyze, and reference documents, images, code, and other files during conversations.

Upload Methods

<Tabs> <Tab title="Drag & Drop"> Drag files directly from your file explorer into the chat input area or conversation window:

- Works with single or multiple files
- Supports any file type
- Files upload and preview automatically
- Add context or questions, then send

</Tab> <Tab title="Click to Upload"> Click the paperclip or attachment icon in the input area:

- Browse your file system
- Select one or more files
- Preview before upload
- Multi-select support

</Tab> <Tab title="Paste from Clipboard"> Copy any file or take a screenshot, then press `Ctrl+V` (`Cmd+V` on Mac) in the message input:

- Screenshots appear instantly
- Ideal for quick screenshot questions
- Works with copied images and files

</Tab> </Tabs>

Supported File Types

<Tabs> <Tab title="Documents"> - **PDF** — Portable Document Format - **Microsoft Office** — Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx), PowerPoint (.pptx) - **Text files** — .txt, .md, .rtf - **HTML** — Web pages

**Capabilities:** Text extraction, summarization, content search, data extraction from spreadsheets.

</Tab> <Tab title="Code & Data"> - **Code files** — .js, .ts, .py, .java, .cpp, .go, .rs, and more - **Web files** — .html, .css, .json, .xml - **Data formats** — .csv, .json, .yaml, .sql - **Configuration** — .env, .config, .toml

**Capabilities:** Code review, bug detection, documentation generation, data parsing, syntax highlighting.

</Tab> <Tab title="Images"> - **Photos** — .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .webp - **Graphics** — .gif, .bmp, .svg - **Screenshots** — Any image format

**Capabilities:** Visual analysis (with vision models), text extraction (OCR), image description, design feedback. See [Vision](/docs/usage/getting-started/vision) for details.

</Tab> <Tab title="Media"> - **Video** — .mp4, .webm, .mov - **Audio** — .mp3, .wav, .m4a, .flac

**Capabilities:** Playback, transcription (with appropriate tools), content analysis.

</Tab> </Tabs>

File Size Limits

Maximum file size: typically 50 MB per file
Recommended: Under 20 MB for best performance
Large files are automatically chunked for processing

Using Files in Conversations

Contextual Conversations

When you upload files to a conversation, the AI agent can reference them directly:

You: [uploads API_Documentation.pdf]
     "What are the rate limits for the free tier?"

Agent: According to the API documentation, rate limits are:
       - Free tier: 100 requests/hour
       - Pro tier: 1,000 requests/hour
       - Enterprise: Custom limits
       Source: API_Documentation.pdf (page 12)

Multi-File Analysis

Reference multiple files in a single conversation:

"Compare the architectures described in design_v1.pdf and design_v2.pdf"
"Summarize all meeting notes from this folder"
"Find contradictions between doc_a.txt and doc_b.txt"

File-Based Workflows

Create workflows around files:

Upload source material
Extract information or insights
Generate derived content (summaries, reports, translations)
Export or iterate on results

File Viewer

LobeHub includes an integrated file viewer:

PDF Viewer — Page navigation, zoom, text selection, search, fullscreen
Code Viewer — Syntax highlighting, line numbers, search, 50+ languages
Image Viewer — Full-resolution viewing, zoom and pan, gallery mode
Office Documents — Formatted preview preserving layout and styling

Click on any file name or thumbnail in chat to open the viewer.

Knowledge Base Integration

Files uploaded to conversations are automatically saved to the Resource Library. You can also organize files into dedicated knowledge bases for persistent, searchable access across all your agents.

See Resource Library for the full knowledge base workflow.

Tips for Effective File Use

<AccordionGroup> <Accordion title="Organize Files Logically"> Use descriptive filenames and organize into themed knowledge bases for better retrieval. </Accordion> <Accordion title="Include Context Documents"> Upload README files, glossaries, or context documents to help AI understand domain-specific content. </Accordion> <Accordion title="Keep Files Updated"> Replace outdated files with new versions to ensure AI references current information. </Accordion> <Accordion title="Use Text-Extractable Formats"> Text-extractable formats (PDF, DOCX, TXT) work better than image-only documents for search and analysis. </Accordion> <Accordion title="Split Large Documents"> Very large files may benefit from being split into topical sections for better search performance. </Accordion> </AccordionGroup>

Privacy & Security

<Callout type={'warning'}> Uploaded files may be processed by AI services. Avoid uploading sensitive or confidential information unless using a private or self-hosted deployment. </Callout>

Files are stored in your LobeHub instance
Content may be sent to AI providers for analysis
Knowledge base data persists in local/server database
Delete files when no longer needed