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

# Document Ingestion: Upload Files as AI Context

> Upload PDF, DOCX, and TXT files to Noesis as AI context. Get grounded, accurate responses anchored in your own source material, available on all plans.

When you're researching a complex topic, the most valuable knowledge is often already written down — in a research paper, a technical specification, a report, or a set of notes. Noesis lets you bring that knowledge directly into your AI conversations by uploading documents as context. Instead of copying and pasting excerpts, you upload the full file and the AI reads, chunks, and references it as an integrated part of your conversation — giving you accurate, grounded responses that are anchored in your own source material.

## Supported File Formats

Noesis currently supports three document formats for upload:

* **PDF** — academic papers, reports, exported slide decks, scanned documents
* **DOCX** — Microsoft Word documents, drafts, structured reports
* **TXT** — plain text files, notes, transcripts, raw data exports

## Uploading and Using a Document

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the attachment menu">
    In the chat input bar at the bottom of your conversation, click the **paperclip (attachment) icon** on the left side of the input field. A file picker dialog opens.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select your file">
    Browse to your document and select it. Supported files (PDF, DOCX, TXT) will be accepted immediately. Noesis displays an upload progress indicator while the file is being processed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for parsing to complete">
    Noesis parses and chunks your document on upload. For most documents this takes only a few seconds. You'll see a confirmation badge attached to the input field when the document is ready.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Ask your first question">
    Type your message as normal. The AI automatically uses the uploaded document as grounded context for its response. You don't need any special syntax — just ask your question and the AI will reference relevant sections of the document in its answer.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Continue the conversation">
    The document remains active as context for the rest of the conversation thread. You can ask follow-up questions, request summaries, ask the AI to compare sections, or branch from any point to explore different angles of the document.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## How the AI Uses Your Document

When you upload a document, Noesis uses fast local parsing and chunking to break the content into semantically coherent segments. These segments are available to the AI as retrievable context throughout your conversation. The AI does not prepend the entire file to every message — it retrieves the most relevant sections for each query, keeping responses focused and accurate.

This means you can upload large documents (lengthy PDFs, multi-chapter reports) without the AI becoming confused or diluted. The retrieval layer surfaces the right sections for each question you ask.

## Context Isolation

Uploaded documents are **scoped to the conversation thread** in which they were uploaded. A document you upload in one thread is not automatically available in other threads or Spaces. This isolation is intentional: it keeps each research session clean and ensures the AI's context is precisely what you intend it to be.

If you need the same document in multiple threads, simply upload it again in each relevant conversation.

## Combining Documents with Web Search

For the richest research experience, combine document uploads with Noesis's built-in web search integration. Upload your primary source material as a document for depth and authority, then allow the AI to supplement with live web search results for recency and breadth. You can ask the AI to explicitly reconcile or compare what your uploaded document says against current information found via web search — a powerful pattern for literature reviews, competitive analysis, and fact-checking.

<Note>
  Document upload is available on **all Noesis plans**, including the free Origin tier. There are no plan-level restrictions on uploading PDF, DOCX, or TXT files.
</Note>

<Tip>
  Academic researchers: try uploading a **primary paper or preprint** and then using [conversation branching](/features/branching) to explore different angles of the same document in parallel. For example, one branch might focus on the methodology, another on the results and their implications, and a third on critiques or limitations. Use [Knowledge Synthesis](/features/synthesis) at the end to merge all three threads into a structured reading summary.
</Tip>

## Coming Soon: Web URL Ingestion & Visual Citation Mapping

Noesis is currently building **Citation Mapping & Web URL ingestion**, targeted for release in **Q3 2026**. This feature will let you paste any public URL directly into Noesis, which will ingest the page content and automatically create visual citation links on the Concept Map — connecting generated chat nodes to the specific source paragraphs that informed them. An interactive source-document viewer will allow you to read cited passages directly on the canvas without leaving your workspace.