Google AI Studio File Upload and Reading: formats, limits, features, etc

Google AI Studio provides developers with file upload and reading capabilities through the Gemini API and its dedicated Files API. These functions allow users to attach documents, images, audio, and video, reference them in prompts, and process them using Gemini’s multimodal capabilities. In late 2025, Google has established specific limits for file size, retention, and context, while also differentiating between consumer-facing Gemini Apps, developer-oriented AI Studio, and enterprise-scale Vertex AI.

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How the Files API manages uploads.

The Files API is the central mechanism in Google AI Studio for uploading and referencing documents. Each file can be up to 2 GB in size, and each project is allocated 20 GB of storage. Once uploaded, files are available for 48 hours, after which they expire automatically. Developers can delete files programmatically before expiration if needed.

The upload process involves sending a file to the media.upload endpoint, which returns a file URI. This identifier can then be reused across multiple prompts without reuploading the file, simplifying workflows for large or repetitive jobs. The API is free to use in all regions where the Gemini API is available, and it covers binary media including text, PDFs, images, audio, and video.

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Document reading and multimodal analysis.

Gemini models can interpret uploaded files beyond plain text. PDFs are supported with the ability to analyze text layers, tables, charts, and embedded images. The system can transcribe PDFs into HTML while preserving formatting, and it can summarize, extract structured information, or identify specific sections when prompted.

Gemini’s multimodal capacity extends to images, audio, and video. Image formats such as PNG, JPEG, and WebP are processed for captioning, classification, and analysis. Audio files can be transcribed, summarized, or integrated into multimodal tasks, while video uploads allow frame-by-frame or scene-based interpretation. This makes Gemini a general-purpose document reader across both textual and visual modalities.

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Limits in Gemini Apps compared with AI Studio.

The Gemini Apps for web and mobile enforce different upload rules than the developer API. Users can upload up to 10 files per prompt. Non-video files are limited to 100 MB each, while video files can be up to 2 GB. For free users, video duration is capped at 5 minutes and audio at 10 minutes. On Pro and Ultra plans, these limits expand to 1 hour of video and 3 hours of audio.

Additionally, Gemini Apps allow direct import from Google Drive, which makes it possible to analyze entire documents or folders stored in the cloud. This integration simplifies consumer and enterprise use cases where files already exist in Workspace environments.

By contrast, the developer Files API is more generous with its 2 GB per file and 20 GB per project limits, although it retains the strict 48-hour expiration window. This makes the API suited for programmatic workflows, while Apps are designed for ad hoc or conversational analysis.

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Vertex AI Gemini file handling.

In enterprise environments, Vertex AI Gemini offers expanded limits distinct from AI Studio. It supports up to 3,000 files per prompt, with a 50 MB limit per file, and can process PDFs of up to 1,000 pages. These limits align with batch processing and document-intensive applications in enterprise pipelines.

Vertex AI also integrates tightly with Google Cloud services, enabling secure handling of large document sets and providing longer-term persistence than the 48-hour retention of the Files API. This surface is therefore more appropriate for regulated industries or large-scale knowledge management tasks.

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Supported file types and formats.

The Files API and AI Studio support a wide variety of formats:

• Text and documents: TXT, PDF, and other standard MIME types.

• Spreadsheets and structured data: CSV and TSV files.

• Images: PNG, JPEG, WebP.

• Audio: standard encodings, subject to time-based limits in Apps.

• Video: MP4 and other supported formats, up to 2 GB in size.

Gemini can extract both text and visual content, allowing cross-modal analysis where a prompt can reference data across different file types simultaneously.

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Practical usage guidelines.

Because files uploaded through the API expire after 48 hours, developers must design pipelines that either reupload files or refresh references for recurring tasks. For long-running workflows, enterprise users are better served with Vertex AI, where files can be retained persistently.

Users should segment very large PDFs to stay within the 1,000-page limit in Vertex or the effective context constraints in AI Studio. For Apps, splitting documents under 100 MB and managing video or audio within time caps ensures smooth processing.

When multimodal accuracy is required, prompts should explicitly reference file identifiers and request specific outputs such as “summarize the table in Sheet 1” or “describe the chart on page 3.” This ensures that Gemini allocates context efficiently and avoids omitting sections when content is too large for the context window.

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Table of file upload and reading limits.

Platform	Max files	Max size	Retention	Notes
Gemini Apps	10 per prompt	100 MB non-video, 2 GB video	Session-based	Free: 5 min video, 10 min audio; Pro/Ultra: 1 hr video, 3 hr audio
AI Studio Files API	Unlimited references	2 GB per file, 20 GB per project	48 hours	File URI reused across prompts
Vertex AI Gemini	3,000 per prompt	50 MB per file	Persistent	Up to 1,000-page PDFs

This table shows the contrasts between consumer apps, developer APIs, and enterprise-scale Vertex environments, clarifying which use case each is suited for.

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Operational considerations.

Google AI Studio’s file upload and reading capabilities allow developers to handle multimodal workflows in a controlled way. The main considerations are choosing the right environment, respecting size and retention limits, and structuring prompts to direct Gemini to the most relevant sections.

For short-term prototyping or interactive use, the Gemini Apps suffice. For programmatic workflows, the Files API provides larger file allowances but requires management of the 48-hour retention period. For large-scale or regulated use cases, Vertex AI Gemini offers enterprise-ready persistence and higher file counts.

By following these practices, users can ensure that Gemini’s multimodal understanding is applied effectively to documents, data, and media across a wide range of contexts.

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