Perplexity AI File Uploading: Supported File Types, Maximum Size Limits, Upload Rules, And Document Reading Features
- Michele Stefanelli
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
Perplexity AI offers flexible file uploading across consumer, professional, enterprise, and developer surfaces. Each interface has its own file type support, upload caps, and document reading strategies, enabling users to analyze, search, and extract information from a wide range of file formats.
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Supported File Types Span Documents, Media, And Cloud Integrations.
In the consumer Perplexity app, users can upload files to new Threads via the “+ Attach” option. Supported file types include plain text, code files, PDFs, images, audio, and video. Audio and video files are transcribed into searchable text, although video scenes themselves are not indexed for search.
Professional and enterprise users gain access to additional connectors, allowing uploads from cloud platforms such as Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets, as well as direct support for PDF, DOCX, XLSX, CSV, PPTX, MD, JSON, and TXT formats. In internal knowledge search, files like XLSX, PPTX, DOCX, PDF, and CSV are supported, but image formats such as PNG and JPEG are only available as direct attachments to queries, not for persistent search.
The Perplexity API for Sonar models supports document analysis via uploaded PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, and RTF files.
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Perplexity AI Supported File Types By Surface
Surface | Supported File Types |
Consumer Threads | Text, code, PDF, image, audio, video |
Pro/Enterprise connectors | Google Docs, Slides, Sheets; PDF, DOCX, XLSX, CSV, PPTX, MD, JSON, TXT; audio, video |
Internal knowledge search | XLSX, PPTX, DOCX, PDF, CSV, audio, video (not PNG/JPEG for search) |
API (Sonar) | PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF |
Format flexibility adapts to user and business needs.
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Maximum File Size Limits And Upload Caps Depend On Plan And Surface.
Perplexity AI enforces file size limits and upload counts for each interface. In the standard consumer upload experience, files can be up to 40 MB each, with a maximum of 10 files uploaded at once. For “Spaces,” the same 40 MB per-file limit applies, while Pro and Enterprise plans allow up to 50 files per Space for Pro users and 500 for Enterprise Pro users.
Enterprise users working in Threads can upload up to 30 files per upload, with a raised per-file cap of 50 MB. For internal knowledge search, up to five files may be attached to a single thread, and all temporary file uploads are deleted after seven days unless placed in a persistent repository or Space.
The Perplexity API for Sonar models supports up to 50 MB per file attachment.
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Perplexity AI File Size And Upload Limits
Surface | Max File Size | Files Per Upload | Retention/Notes |
Consumer Threads | 40 MB | 10 | Thread context |
Spaces (Pro/Enterprise) | 40 MB | 50 (Pro), 500 (Enterprise) | Persistent until deleted |
Enterprise Threads | 50 MB | 30 | Files deleted after 7 days |
Internal knowledge search | 50 MB | 5 per thread | Deleted after 7 days |
API (Sonar) | 50 MB | One per request | Developer access |
Upload caps and retention policies vary by plan.
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Upload Rules Govern File Retention, Thread Context, And Search Indexing.
Files uploaded to Threads are immediately accessible for follow-up questions in the same thread, and Perplexity’s document reading engine determines whether to process the entire file or focus on extracting the most relevant sections for long documents. This helps balance answer accuracy with token limits.
For enterprise and professional users, files added to Spaces or repositories remain available until explicitly deleted, while temporary uploads in Threads or search are automatically purged after seven days. Consumer users benefit from drag-and-drop support and can attach both files and folders when starting a new Thread.
API users provide file attachments as public URLs or base64 bytes, and must ensure each request adheres to the supported format and size limits.
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Perplexity AI Upload Rules And Retention
Rule | Consumer/Pro | Enterprise | API (Sonar) |
File retention | Thread context | 7 days (Threads), persistent (Spaces) | Per request |
Follow-up access | Yes | Yes | N/A (stateless) |
Folder uploads | Supported | Supported | Not supported |
Processing mode | Full/partial extraction | Full/partial | Document Q&A/extraction |
Rules ensure privacy, access, and resource management.
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Document Reading Features Include Summarization, Extraction, And Multimodal Analysis.
Perplexity AI’s document reading engine can summarize, answer questions about, and extract data from uploaded files. For shorter documents, the full content is analyzed, while for longer documents, the system extracts and focuses on the most relevant sections to answer user queries. This allows for both broad overviews and targeted research.
Media files, including audio and video, are transcribed so their content can be searched and referenced in queries. For developers, the API supports document summarization, content extraction, and multilingual analysis.
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Perplexity AI Document Reading Capabilities
Feature | Supported Surfaces | Notes |
Summarization | All | Full or partial file analysis |
Question answering | All | Contextual to thread/query |
Data extraction | All | Tables, figures, lists |
Multilingual analysis | API, Enterprise | Language detection, translation |
Audio/video transcription | Consumer, Pro, Enterprise | Searchable text |
Flexible document reading powers advanced Q&A and research.
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Perplexity AI File Uploading Enables Broad Analysis With Clear Limits And Multimodal Support.
Perplexity AI file uploading accommodates a wide range of formats and use cases across consumer, enterprise, and developer surfaces. File size and upload limits vary by plan, while retention and document reading rules balance privacy with advanced analytical capabilities.
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