Grok BotGuide

Files

Grok Bot attachment cannot be read

Grok Bot attachment cannot be read when the file is over the size cap, still uploading, encrypted, or not a supported type. Wait until the upload finishes before you send.

Official troubleshooting caps a file at 25 MB, or 200 MB for video, and caps a desktop send at six attachments.

Where computer files live

Why the native method fails

The native method is to drop the file again, or to press Enter the moment the picker closes. Staff say a screenshot reaches chat through the composer plus button, or by dragging a file you already saved, and only after the thumbnail is visible. A drag from another app, or Enter before the thumbnail, usually drops the attachment. Sending a second time with the same half-uploaded file repeats the failure. Resetting the computer does not raise the size cap and does not decrypt a file.

Steps

  1. Check the limits official troubleshooting lists. The file is no larger than 25 MB, or 200 MB for video. You did not select more than six attachments at once on desktop. The file is not encrypted or password-protected. The upload finished before you sent. The type is one the product supports.
  2. If the format is unusual, export it as PDF, CSV, plain text, or an image and attach that. Do not remove document protection if the resulting file would violate your data policy. The help page states that limit on purpose.
  3. For an image into chat: use the composer plus button or drag a saved file, then wait for the thumbnail, then send. If the thumbnail never appears, the send did not include the file, even if the bubble looks busy.
  4. The in-app file viewer only offers Download today, in the staff note on file contents. For markdown or plain text you can click-drag to select and copy. Word and PDF files will not highlight that way. Ask the bot to paste the full text into chat and use the message Copy action. That is a viewer limit, not a failed upload.

That Copy action puts the answer on the clipboard. If you need it as a Word file, a raw paste keeps the Markdown marks; how to export a chat answer to a Word .docx turns the same clipboard into headings and tables, and the steps apply to a Grok reply as well as ChatGPT.

Limits

Forum upload by the assistant is a separate limitation staff acknowledged. The bot cannot attach the screenshot to a Cursor forum post or a support mail for you. Attach it yourself, or reply on the support email with the file.

The Gmail connector can list attachment metadata and still cannot download the bytes. That is a plugin gap, not the 25 MB chat cap. Use the cloud browser or put the file in Drive, and read the plugin page before you keep re-authenticating Gmail in the hope the bytes appear.

This page does not publish a full list of MIME types. Official troubleshooting says to try the export formats above when a type is refused, and it does not name a longer allow-list we could copy. Six attachments is the desktop number they published. This handbook does not have a different phone cap to state, so it will not invent one.

FAQ

What is the size limit?

Official troubleshooting: 25 MB for a file, or 200 MB for video. More than six attachments at once on desktop is also refused.

I hit Enter and the image vanished. What did I skip?

The thumbnail. Staff say to use the composer plus button or drag a saved file, and to wait until the thumbnail is visible before send.

The file is a password-protected PDF. Can the bot open it if I type the password in chat?

Do not paste the password into chat. Official troubleshooting says not to remove protection when that would violate your data policy, and encrypted files are on the cannot-read list.

The viewer has no Copy button. How do I get the text?

Staff say the viewer offers Download. Markdown and text can be selected and copied. For Word or PDF, ask the bot to paste the text into the chat and copy that message.

Gmail shows the attachment name and not the file. Is that the 25 MB cap?

No. Staff say the Gmail connector lists metadata and has no download tool. That limit is on the plugin page.

Related

  • Shared computer — Where files on the computer live, separate from a chat upload.
  • Plugin OAuth — Gmail can list attachment names and still not download bytes.
  • First Bot — A first task that attaches one document and leaves it unchanged.
  • Not working index — If the failure is the computer, not the file.

Sources

  • Official troubleshooting
  • Composer thumbnail
  • Viewer copy versus download
  • Gmail attachment bytes