How to upload files (quick steps)

1. Open your project and go to the Files page (sidebar → Files)
   

   

   
   

2. Use one of these options:

   • Click Upload (or Upload files) and choose files from your device.

   • Drag files from your computer and drop them anywhere into the app.

   • Click Paste content, give it a title, paste your text, and submit.

   • Click Add URL, enter a web page URL, and submit.

   • Click Record an audio file to use your device’s microphone and upload it to Chief

3. Wait for processing. New files appear as Uploading, then Processing, then Ready when they’re available for search and chat.

Your uploaded files are added to your project and, when you upload from the prompt bar, are added to the current chat scope automatically so you can use them right away.

Overview

Uploading files is how you build your project’s knowledge base. Every file you add (documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, images, or content from URLs and pasted content) is processed by Chief so you can search it, filter by labels, and chat with it.

You can add content in multiple ways:

• Upload from device — Choose one or more files from your computer (any file type).

• Drag and drop — Drag files from your desktop or file manager and drop them anywhere on the app or onto the Powering This Chat area.

• Paste content — Paste text (e.g. from a web page or email) and save it as a named “paste” asset in your project.

• Add URL — Enter a web page URL; Storytell ingests the page content and adds it as an asset.

• Record an audio file to use your device’s microphone and upload it to Chief

• Integrations — Connect Google Drive, Notion or Zoom in Settings, then add files or recordings from those sources.

All of these add assets (files) to your current project. Once processing is complete, you’ll see them on the Files page and can add them to collections, assign labels, and use them in chat.

Upload from your device

Use this when you have files on your computer (documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, images, etc.).

To upload from your device:

1. Go to Files (sidebar) or open Powering This Chat in the side panel, or click the paperclip in the prompt bar.

2. Click Upload (or Upload files). If you see a dropdown, select Upload files.

3. In the file picker, select one or more files and click Open (or equivalent).

4. Upload starts immediately. An upload progress area appears; you can minimize it or keep working. When uploads finish, files are processed and then appear as Ready on the Files page.

You can select multiple files at once in the file picker. There is no restriction on file type—Storytell accepts documents, PDFs, images, spreadsheets, and other common formats.

Drag and drop files

Drag-and-drop is the fastest way to add files when you already have them open in a folder or on your desktop.

To add files by drag and drop:

1. Open Storytell and make sure you’re inside a project.

2. Drag one or more files from your computer (desktop, file manager, or folder).

3. Drop them in either place:

   • Anywhere on the main app window — A full-screen drop zone appears when you drag over the window; release to upload.

   • Onto the Powering This Chat area — In the side panel, drop files directly onto the Powering This Chat box (the area that lists collections and files).

4. Release the mouse. Upload starts and the knowledge panel may open so you can see progress. When processing is done, files show as Ready and are often added to the current chat scope.

Paste content

Use Paste content when you want to add text from a web page, email, or document without uploading a file.

To add content by pasting:

1. Open your Library

2. Click Paste content

3. In the dialog:

   • Enter a title (e.g. “Meeting notes – Jan 15”).

   • Paste your content into the text area.

4. Click Upload Content. Storytell creates a file from the pasted text and adds it to your project.

The new asset appears on the Files page and can be used in chat and in collections like any other file. This is useful for quick notes, copied articles, or text that isn’t in a file on your device.

Add a URL

Use Add URL to bring in the content of a web page without copying and pasting.

To add content from a URL:

1. Open your Library

2. Click Add URL

3. Enter the full web page URL (e.g. https://example.com/article). If you omit https://, Storytell will add it for you.

4. Click Add a URL. Storytell ingests the page content and creates an asset in your project.

The new asset appears on the Files page once processing is complete. Storytell fetches and indexes the page content so you can search and chat with it. Not all pages can be fully ingested (e.g. some may be behind login or have complex structure); if ingestion fails, you’ll see an error and can try pasting the content instead.

File upload size limits

Per-file maximum size

• Default max file size: 100 MB per file

Files larger than this are rejected during validation.

Supported file types and formats

Chief validates uploads using both:

• MIME type (what the system reports the file is), and

• File extension (for fallback when MIME is missing or ambiguous)

Commonly supported formats

The platform accepts a broad range of formats. Commonly used examples include:

• Documents: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .txt, .md, .rtf

• Spreadsheets/data: .csv, .xls, .xlsx

• Presentations: .ppt, .pptx

• Images: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .webp, .tiff, .bmp

• Audio/video: .mp3, .mp4, .m4a, .wav, .aiff, .mov (availability depends on workflow)

• Structured text: .json

About the full supported list

Chief uses a generated, versioned MIME/extension allowlist in the codebase. It includes many additional enterprise and geospatial/media formats beyond the common list above.

If a file is rejected, you’ll see an unsupported type message in the upload error modal.

File processing statuses

After upload starts, files move through statuses in the upload pipeline.

Upload and processing lifecycle

• Uploading — File bytes are being transferred to storage.

• Processing — Chief is parsing and indexing the file for retrieval.

• Ready — File is available for search, scope, and chat usage.

• Error — Upload or processing failed.

In some internal flows you may also see pending or completed as queue states, but the user-facing progression is effectively:

Uploading → Processing → Ready (or Error)

What to do by status

• Uploading: wait, or retry if network fails.

• Processing: wait for extraction/indexing; larger or complex files take longer.

• Ready: safe to scope in chat and use across file workflows.

• Error: retry upload; if it keeps failing, check format and size first.

Organizing Your Files

Once you've uploaded files to Storytell, keep them organized with labels for easy access and sophisticated data management.

To organize with labels:

• Apply labels to categorize your files by project, topic, or any custom taxonomy

• Create Collections that automatically include assets matching specific labels

• Filter and search your knowledge base using label combinations

Learn more: Labels overview | Data Collections: Overview

Working with Concepts

After uploading files, Storytell automatically extracts concepts hidden in your data, giving you an entirely new way to interact with your information.

What are Concepts:

Concepts are key themes, entities, and ideas that Storytell identifies in your files. Once extracted, you can reference these concepts directly in your prompts, create visualizations, and generate insights without manually searching through documents.

Learn more: Concepts overview | Using concepts in your workflow