A knowledge file won't upload or the Chirp ignores it

When you're done, your file is in the Chirp's knowledge, and the Chirp answers from it.

Who this is for: the account owner, and workspace admins and editors who add knowledge files. Viewers can't add files.

What you see

In the editor, under 4. Knowledge, a file that can't be added shows a red message in its row, with Dismiss. Nothing from it is stored.

• The type: "… isn't a supported file type. Use PDF, Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx), text, Markdown, CSV or similar."
• The size or the room: "… Your plan accepts files up to … each.", "Not enough knowledge storage for …", "This file has more text than a Chirp can use. Split it into smaller files." or "A Chirp can have up to 20 knowledge files. Remove one, or replace a file instead." If you pick more files than there's room for, a pop-up says "A Chirp can have up to 20 files. … left." instead.
• No text to read: "This PDF looks scanned (it's made of images), so there's no text to read. Try a PDF with selectable text.", "This PDF is protected with a password. Save a copy without the password and add that instead.", "No readable text found in this file" or "… is empty."
• A damaged file: "This PDF couldn't be read. Open it, save it again as a PDF, and add the new copy.", "This Word file couldn't be read. Open it in Word and save it again as .docx." or "This Excel file couldn't be read. Open it in Excel and save it again as .xlsx."
• The upload stopped: "The upload didn't finish. Please try again.", "Couldn't save the file. Please try again." and the others under "The upload didn't finish" below.

When the Chirp answers, there's usually no message: it says your files don't cover the question, answers from general knowledge, or misses a detail. If a reply fails because there's too much text, your preview says "This is more text than "…" can read at once …" and visitors see "This conversation is too long for this Chirp. Please start a new chat."

Find the cause quickly

• A red message in a file's row: the file wasn't added. Find the message below, fix the file, click Dismiss and add it again.
• The file is in the list, with its size and about how many tokens it has: it's in, and the Chirp can answer from it now, on its published page too. If answers still miss it, see "The Chirp doesn't use your file".
• You left the page while a file showed Reading…, Uploading… or Preparing…: it may not have been added. Open the Chirp again, check the list, and add the file again if it's missing. Stay on the page until it's in the list.

The file type isn't accepted

Knowledge files can be PDF, Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx), TXT, Markdown, CSV, TSV, JSON, HTML, XML or YAML. Older .doc and .xls files, PowerPoint, RTF and pictures aren't read. Clicking the drop zone only offers files that work; dragging another file onto it gives "… isn't a supported file type."

1. Open the file in the program that made it and save it as PDF, Word (.docx) or Excel (.xlsx).
2. Add the new copy.

See Which files work, and size limits.

The file is too big, or there's no room

• "… is 38 MB. Your plan accepts files up to 25 MB each. Split it into smaller files, or upgrade for larger uploads." Each plan has a size per file: Essentials 25 MB, Creator 50 MB, Academy 50 MB, Business 100 MB. Split the file, for example by chapter, and add the parts.

• "This file has more text than a Chirp can use. Split it into smaller files." The file is within the size but holds a huge amount of text. Split it.

• "Not enough knowledge storage for "seed-catalog.pdf" (12 MB). You have 3.4 MB left of 1.0 GB. Remove files you no longer need, or upgrade for more storage." All the knowledge files in your account together (and your course files, on the Academy plan) have reached the plan's storage: Essentials 1 GB, Creator 5 GB, Academy 10 GB, Business 20 GB. Knowledge storage (whole account), under the drop zone, shows how much is used.

  

  Remove files you no longer need, replace big files with smaller versions (a replacement only needs room for the difference), or delete Chirps you no longer need. Archiving a Chirp keeps its files. On the Academy plan, you can also remove course files you no longer need. See Knowledge storage and your plan's limit.

• "A Chirp can have up to 20 files. 2 left." (a pop-up) You picked more files than there's room for, and only the first ones were added. With 20 already, it says "0 left." and nothing is added. "A Chirp can have up to 20 knowledge files. Remove one, or replace a file instead." in a file's row means files were added somewhere else meanwhile, such as another tab or your AI app: refresh the page. 20 is the most on every plan. Combine small files into one, or remove one. Replacing a file doesn't count as adding one.

Files that team members add count toward the account owner's storage and use the owner's plan.

The file has no text to read

Chirp Builder reads a file's text in your browser. It doesn't read pictures: not a scanned page, a photo of a price list, or pictures inside a Word file.

• "This PDF looks scanned (it's made of images), so there's no text to read." Use the original document, or copy its text into a Word or text file. A PDF with some text and some scanned pages is added, but its scanned pages add nothing.
• "This PDF is protected with a password." Save a copy without the password and add that instead.
• "No readable text found in this file" or "… is empty." The file has no text at all, such as a Word file with only pictures in it.

The file is damaged

• "This PDF couldn't be read. Open it, save it again as a PDF, and add the new copy."
• "This Word file couldn't be read. Open it in Word and save it again as .docx." This also shows for a file renamed to .docx that isn't really a Word file.
• "This Excel file couldn't be read. Open it in Excel and save it again as .xlsx."
• "The file reader didn't load. Refresh the page and try again." This one is the page, not your file, often after Chirp Builder was updated while the page was open.

The upload didn't finish

• "The upload didn't finish. Please try again." or "Couldn't start the upload. Please try again." Check your internet connection and add the file again.
• "Couldn't save the file. Please try again." Add it again. Nothing half-saved stays behind, and it doesn't use storage.
• "The file you're replacing wasn't found" The page is out of date, for example because the file was removed in another tab. Refresh the page, then add the file again.
• "Upload not found. Start the file again." The upload of a long file, sent in parts, was lost. Add the file again.
• "You can view this workspace but not change it." Your role in this workspace is Viewer. Ask the account owner or a workspace admin.
• "Adding knowledge files needs an active Chirp Builder plan." The account has no plan. Plans can't be bought online yet: see What you can do without a plan.

The Chirp doesn't use your file

Once a file is in the list, the Chirp can use it straight away, on its published page too. If answers still miss what's in it, go through these:

1. Check what each reply gets. Under your files, Knowledge mode decides:

   • Automatic: the full text of all your files, while together they stay under the Full-text limit (tokens), 40,000 to start with. Above it, only the passages that best match the question.
   • Always send full text: every file in full, with every reply.
   • Search for best passages: only the best-matching passages, about 7,000 tokens' worth at most.

   The line under the boxes says what your settings do, such as "Each reply sends the best-matching passages (your files have 52,000 tokens, more than the 40,000 full-text limit)."

   

2. When it searches, ask in your files' words. Passages are found by the words they share with the question, not by meaning. Another language, another word for the same thing, or a typo can miss. Add the words your visitors use to your files, and give long files a clear heading for each topic, or split them by topic.

3. If your files are small, let it read them whole. Use Automatic and set the Full-text limit (tokens) above your files' total, or choose Always send full text. Every reply then carries all that text, which you pay for on your OpenRouter key.

4. Tell it to use them. Add a line to the instructions, such as "Answer only from the knowledge files. If they don't cover the question, say so."

5. Save, then publish. The preview uses what you saved, so click Save before you test. Visitors get a new Knowledge mode or Full-text limit (tokens) only after Publish changes. Until then, the bar at the top says "Visitors still see the published version." and lists "knowledge mode" or "full-text limit". Files themselves apply at once.

6. Try another model. Some follow their files and instructions more closely than others.

When the Chirp searches its files, the names of the files it was given passages from show as labels under its reply. They show what it was given, not proof it used them. With the full text, no labels show. See Check that answers come from your files.

Replies fail because there's too much text

Each reply carries the instructions, the knowledge it's given, the conversation and room for the answer. With Always send full text and large files, that can be more than the AI model can read at once, and the reply fails:

• Your preview: "This is more text than "anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5" can read at once (the instructions, knowledge, conversation and Max reply tokens together). Choose a model that reads more, set Knowledge mode to Automatic or Search for best passages instead of Always send full text, or lower Max reply tokens."
• Visitors: "This conversation is too long for this Chirp. Please start a new chat."

To fix it:

1. Set Knowledge mode to Automatic or Search for best passages. Or, under 5. Model, choose a model that reads more (the list shows each model's context, like 200k), or lower Max reply tokens.
2. Click Save and test in the preview.
3. Click Publish changes, so visitors get it.

A very long conversation can do the same with small files. Visitors then start a new chat. See How a Chirp uses its files.

Files visitors attach are different

Files and pictures visitors attach in the chat aren't knowledge files. They go only into that conversation, aren't kept by Chirp Builder, and don't use your storage. They have their own messages, such as "…: this file type isn't supported": see Let visitors attach files and pictures.

Good to know

• Two files with the same name are two files. Each takes one of the 20 places and its own storage, and the labels under a reply show the name once. To update a file, use its replace button instead: see Replace or remove a knowledge file.
• Files your AI app adds are text only and count at the size of their text. "This upload expired after 24 hours. Start the file again." means it took too long to send a long file in parts: ask it to send the file again.
• To get more room with a bigger plan: plans can't be bought online yet. Email joanaltres@dfydata.com, or write to us from Help about Plan and billing.
• For adding files step by step, see Add knowledge files to a Chirp.