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File Uploads: PDFs, Documents, and Spreadsheets
Upload files to Kimi and ask questions about their contents.
What You Will Learn
- Upload PDFs, Word, Excel, and other files to Kimi.
- Ask questions about file contents.
- Manage multiple files in one conversation.
- Recognize file-size and format limits.
- Build a file-analysis workflow.
Why This Matters
File uploads are where Kimi's long-context advantage becomes most visible. Instead of pasting excerpts, you upload the entire document and ask questions that span the whole thing. This is the workflow that defines Kimi as a tool — and it is the workflow most beginners underuse.
Concept Explained
Kimi accepts a wide range of file formats: PDF, Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx), PowerPoint (.pptx), plain text, markdown, code files, images (JPG, PNG), and more. When you upload a file, Moonshot's pipeline extracts text and structure (headings, tables, lists) and attaches it to your next message. Multiple files can be attached to a single message, and the contents of all attached files plus the conversation history are visible to Kimi simultaneously.
How It Works
When you attach a file, the file is uploaded to Moonshot's servers, parsed to extract text and structure, and added to the context window. Kimi can then answer questions that reference specific parts of the file. For PDFs, both text-based and image-based (scanned) PDFs work — for scanned PDFs, Kimi uses optical character recognition to extract text. For spreadsheets, Kimi preserves table structure and can answer questions about specific cells, columns, or sheets.
Step-by-Step Tutorial
1. Find the upload button
Look for a paperclip or plus icon next to the message input. Click it to open the file picker.2. Upload a PDF
Select a PDF from your computer. Watch it appear as an attachment chip above the message input. Wait for the upload to complete (a progress indicator shows status).3. Ask a specific question
Type: 'Summarize the main argument of this document in three sentences.' Send. Kimi reads the PDF and responds.4. Ask a specific question
Type: 'Find any clause that mentions indemnification and quote it verbatim.' Kimi searches the PDF for the term and quotes the passage.5. Upload a second file
Attach another file. Ask: 'Compare the two documents. What are the key differences?' Kimi reads both and produces a comparison.Real-World Example
A compliance officer uploaded a fifty-page vendor contract to Kimi and asked: 'Identify every clause that creates a data-protection obligation on our company, quote each one verbatim, and summarize the obligation in one line.' Kimi returned a structured list of seven clauses with verbatim quotes and summaries. The same task manually would have taken two hours of careful reading. She then uploaded three competing vendor contracts and asked Kimi to compare the data-protection obligations across all four — a task that would have taken a full day without Kimi.
Common Mistakes
- Uploading scanned PDFs without OCR fallback. If Kimi cannot read the text, ask it to read the page images instead.
- Pasting file contents as text instead of uploading the file. Uploading preserves structure (headings, tables) that text flattens.
- Asking vague questions like 'summarize this.' Specify the lens, length, and audience.
- Uploading multiple unrelated files into one conversation. Context bleeds and quality drops.
- Exceeding file size limits without splitting. Check the limit for your tier and split large files if needed.
Best Practices
- Upload files in their original format (PDF, DOCX, XLSX) rather than pasting text — structure is preserved.
- Ask specific questions: 'Find every clause about X', 'Summarize chapter 3', 'Quote the definition of Y'.
- For multiple files, give Kimi context: 'These are three competing vendor contracts. Compare their pricing.'
- Check file-size limits for your tier; split large files if needed.
- For scanned PDFs that fail OCR, ask Kimi to read the page images directly.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | How to Fix |
|---|---|
| File upload fails | Check file size and format against the published limits for your tier. Try a smaller file or a different format. |
| Kimi says it cannot read my PDF | The PDF is likely scanned. Either re-save with OCR (Adobe Acrobat, online OCR tools) or upload page images and ask Kimi to read them. |
| Response does not reference the file | Re-prompt: 'Based on the file I just uploaded, answer…' Make the file reference explicit. |
| Multiple-file comparison is poor | Provide explicit context: 'These are three versions of the same contract. Identify what changed between version 1 and version 3.' |
Practical Exercise
Your Turn
Pick any document on your computer — a contract, a research paper, a manual. Upload it to Kimi. Ask three increasingly specific questions: a summary, a find-and-quote task, and a cross-reference question. Verify Kimi's quotes by checking them against the original document.
Key Takeaways
- Upload files in original format (PDF, DOCX, XLSX) to preserve structure.
- Ask specific questions: 'Find X', 'Summarize chapter Y', 'Quote Z verbatim'.
- For multiple files, give Kimi context on how they relate.
- Check file-size limits for your tier; split if needed.
- For scanned PDFs, ask Kimi to read page images if OCR fails.
Frequently Asked Questions
What file formats does Kimi support?
What is the file size limit?
Can Kimi read tables in PDFs?
Are uploaded files private?
Can I delete an uploaded file?
Further Reading
Official References
SEO Metadata
SEO title: File Uploads: PDFs, Documents, and Spreadsheets
Meta description: Upload files to Kimi and ask questions about their contents.
Primary keyword: kimi file upload
Secondary keywords: kimi pdf upload, kimi document analysis, kimi file size limit, kimi spreadsheet upload
Search intent: Informational
URL slug: /kimi-file-uploads-pdfs-documents-spreadsheets
Categories: AI Tools, Kimi
Tags: Kimi, Beginner, Files, Upload, PDF, IMCSEIAN, Tutorial, Beginner, IMCSEIAN
Featured image concept: IMCSEIAN Kimi lesson card for File Uploads: PDFs, Documents, and Spreadsheets
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