> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.uplifter.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How do I upload a file for Hero to read or analyze?

> Attach a file with the paperclip or by dropping it on the panel — Hero can read it to answer questions, or run code in a secure sandbox for exact counts, sums, and transforms.

<Note>
  **Must know**

  * The paperclip and drag-and-drop only appear for users with the settings-edit permission — file handling is an admin capability.
  * Accepted types: **PDF**, images (**PNG, JPG, GIF, WEBP**), **CSV/TSV/TXT/MD/HTML**, Excel (**XLSX/XLS**), and Word (**DOCX**). You can attach up to **12 files** per message; unsupported types are skipped with a note. Legacy **.doc** Word files can be attached but Hero can't read them — save them as **.docx** first.
  * For exact numbers, Hero runs code in a **secure sandbox that has no internet and no access to your Uplifter data** — it only sees the files you attach, so include every file the task needs.
  * Sandbox sessions don't carry over between messages or chats, so returning to an older chat may require re-attaching a file.
  * Files Hero creates (a cleaned spreadsheet, a report) are saved back to your organization's uploads and can be downloaded right from the chat.
</Note>

## Attaching a file

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add the file">
    Click the **paperclip** in the message box, or drag files onto the panel and drop them on the "Drop your files for Hero to read" overlay.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Let Hero take a look">
    Hero picks up the file and tells you what it makes of it. From there you can ask it to summarize, answer questions, or compute something exact.
  </Step>
</Steps>

If you don't see the paperclip or the drop overlay, you don't have the settings-edit permission needed for file handling.

## Reading vs. calculating

There are two things Hero can do with a file:

* **Read it** — to summarize, answer questions, or compare files. Good for understanding what's in a document.
* **Compute over it** — for anything that must be exact (counts, sums, pivots, deduplication, cleanup, or transforms), Hero runs code in a secure sandbox. That sandbox is sealed off: no internet and no access to your Uplifter data, so it only knows about the files you've attached. Stage everything the task needs.

## Downloading what Hero produces

When Hero's code creates a file — a cleaned CSV, a derived report — it's saved into your organization's uploads and offered as a download in the chat. Because the sandbox resets between messages, if you come back to an older chat you may need to re-attach the original file.

**Related:** [How do I import data into my club using Hero?](/club/ask-hero/import-data-with-hero) · [Why does Hero offer fewer capabilities to some staff members?](/club/ask-hero/hero-per-user-permissions) · [How is Ask Hero turned on or off for my organization?](/club/ask-hero/turn-ask-hero-on-off)