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How to upload files to Gemini

Gemini can read documents, spreadsheets, photos, videos, audio and even whole code folders. Here's how to attach each kind, what the limits are on free and paid plans, and what the upload errors mean.

Updated 18 October 2026

These steps match Google's Gemini Apps Help as of October 2026. Icons and menu names in Gemini change from time to time, so treat the labels as a guide.

Upload files on a computer

1. Go to gemini.google.com and sign in.
2. Type your question or instructions in the text box, for example "Summarize the key risks in this contract."
3. Click the Add files icon next to the text box.
4. Choose Upload and pick one or more files from your computer.
5. Click Submit.

The same Add files menu has a few other routes:

• A code folder: More uploads → Import code → Upload folder.
• A GitHub repository: More uploads → Import code, then paste the repository or branch URL.
• A notebook: More uploads → Notebooks.

Upload files on your phone

1. Open the Gemini app (or gemini.google.com in your phone's browser) and type your prompt in the box at the bottom.
2. Tap Add files.
3. Choose Photos for your photo library, Camera to take a new photo or video, or Files for a file stored on the device. Swipe through the icons to find Drive and Notebooks; on an iPhone or iPad, Files may also be further along. If an option is missing, look for More uploads.
4. Tap Submit.

Add files from Google Drive

Attaching a Drive file saves downloading it first, but it has two requirements: Keep Activity must be on, and the Google Workspace app must be connected to Gemini.

1. Type your prompt, click Add files and choose Add from Drive.
2. If Google Workspace isn't connected yet, Gemini asks you to connect it. Follow the on-screen steps.
3. Pick the file and click Submit.

If the connection fails, check that you're signed in to Gemini with the same account you use for Drive and that Smart features in other Google products is turned on in your Gmail settings, then reload Gemini. If you turned Keep Activity off, Drive won't connect; our guide to turning off Gemini Apps Activity explains that trade-off.

Separately from attaching, you can ask Gemini to look things up in Drive through the Workspace connection. In that mode Google says it only reads documents, spreadsheets, presentations and PDFs, not pictures or videos, and it can't create folders or move files.

File types and upload limits

Google says Gemini supports most file types, including documents, spreadsheets, notebooks, photos and videos. The limits:

Paid Google AI plans also allow more uploads, let you refer to uploaded files across more chats, and give a larger context window of 1 million tokens (192,000 when using Deep Think). That's roughly 1,500 pages of text or 30,000 lines of code, according to Google.

Tips for better answers from files

• Say what you want from the file. "Find every deadline in this PDF and list them by date" gets a more useful answer than "look at this."
• Trim large uploads. When files exceed the context window, Gemini can miss details spread across them. Upload only the sections or sheets you need.
• Split long recordings. If a video or audio file is over your plan's total length, cut it into the part that matters before uploading.
• Re-upload if the reading looks wrong. Google's advice when Gemini fails to analyze a file correctly is simply to upload it again.

Good to know

• Uploads count against Gemini Apps storage, which is separate from Drive. Chats and Gems that include videos, photos, or files from Drive or NotebookLM use more of it.
• Google files from an iPhone: Docs and Sheets you add through the iOS Files app are turned into PDFs before Gemini reads them.
• Privacy: if Keep Activity is on and you share a photo or video from a gallery app, Google says it is used to improve Google services with the help of human reviewers. Leave out files with information you wouldn't want a reviewer to see.
• Work and school accounts: your Workspace administrator must allow connected apps before you can add files from Drive, and only the administrator can delete Gemini activity to free storage.
• In Chrome: Gemini in Chrome has its own Add files button, and you can also drag and drop or paste images from a web page.

If it doesn't work

• "Delete data to upload file": your Gemini Apps storage is full. On a personal account, go to Settings & help → Activity and delete older chats, especially ones with videos or many files. It can take several minutes before the space frees up. Our guide to deleting Gemini chat history walks through it.
• "You've reached your limit for chats with files": the limit is rolling, so wait for it to reset or upgrade to a plan with higher limits.
• "Your uploads may be too large for the best results": use smaller or less dense files, or a plan with the larger context window.
• No Drive option: turn on Keep Activity and connect Google Workspace, or ask your administrator on a work account.

Working through files over several chats

If you upload documents to Gemini regularly and lose track of which chat had which answer, Workbranch can help: it uses Google Gemini for answers, keeps chats in projects and color-coded folders, and turns a long answer into a point-by-point checklist with progress. There's a 3-day free trial.

Sources

• Upload & analyze files in Gemini Apps (Gemini Apps Help, checked 18 October 2026)
• Upload & analyze files in Gemini Apps, iPhone & iPad steps (Gemini Apps Help, checked 18 October 2026)
• Connect the Google Workspace app to Gemini Apps (Gemini Apps Help, checked 18 October 2026)
• Gemini Apps Privacy Hub (Gemini Apps Help, checked 18 October 2026)
• Use Gemini Apps (Gemini Apps Help, checked 18 October 2026)

Frequently asked questions