What ChatGPT accepts
Straight answers on which formats work, which do not, and what to do instead.
19 guides
Which file format does ChatGPT handle best?
Plain text wins, because there is no parsing step to go wrong. All 9 common formats ranked, plus the 2 second test that spots a PDF ChatGPT cannot read.
Can ChatGPT open a ZIP archive?
No. ChatGPT never unpacks archives, so a ZIP costs 1 upload slot and returns nothing readable. Extract it, then bundle the files into 1 text file instead.
Can ChatGPT read .eml and .msg email files?
EML reads fine, MSG does not: it is Outlook binary with no text layer. Save it as Text Only from Outlook, and why attachments never come out of either.
Why pasting a Google Docs link does not work
No. ChatGPT holds no Google session, so a Docs or Drive link returns a sign in page. The 30 second export route, and the format that keeps your tables intact.
Pages, Numbers and Keynote files in ChatGPT
Not usefully. A .pages, .numbers or .key file stores its text as compressed binary. Export to Word, Excel or PowerPoint first, and here is which keeps most.
Can ChatGPT read EPUB files? Yes, with 2 catches
Yes. An EPUB is a zip of HTML, so the text extracts cleanly. DRM stops you dead and book length breaks it quietly. How to convert one and split it by chapter.
Can ChatGPT read log files?
Yes. Logs are plain text and upload fine up to 512 MB, but answer quality collapses far below that. The jq and grep lines that cut a log to what matters.
Can you upload an MP3 or WAV file to ChatGPT?
No. OpenAI lists 4 upload families: text, spreadsheets, presentations, documents. Audio is in none of them. Transcribe it, and keep the speaker labels.
Can ChatGPT read PowerPoint PPTX files?
Yes, PPTX uploads work. But every plan except Enterprise strips the images out, so charts and diagrams never reach the model. Speaker notes usually do.
Can ChatGPT read RAR, 7z or tar archives?
No. RAR, 7z, tar and tar.gz are never unpacked, so 1 upload buys nothing. How to extract each format, handle split .part1 sets, and what to send instead.
Can ChatGPT read RTF files? Yes, and the 1 case that fails
Yes. RTF is a document format and uploads like any other, inside the 512 MB and 2 million token caps. The 1 case that fails, and the 10 second fix for it.
Can ChatGPT read SRT and VTT subtitle files?
Yes. SRT and VTT are plain text and upload like any other file. Strip the timestamps on anything feature length, since they take more room than the dialogue.
Can ChatGPT read Word documents?
Yes, up to 512 MB per file, and DOCX is among the most reliable formats. Every plan but Enterprise discards the images, and how to spot what was dropped.
Can you upload an MP4 or other video to ChatGPT?
Video is not among the 4 file families OpenAI lists for uploads. Transcribe it and upload the .txt instead, plus what to do when the visuals are the point.
CSV and Excel limits in ChatGPT: about 50 MB, and no token cap
Spreadsheets cap around 50 MB and are exempt from the 2 million token limit that truncates documents. Why a 200,000 row CSV goes in when a report does not.
Which image formats can you upload to ChatGPT, and the 20 MB cap
PNG, JPEG, WEBP and GIF all work, capped at 20 MB each. PSD, AI and RAW do not. Which to pick for a screenshot, and when text beats an image entirely.
ODT, HWP, PSD and other formats nobody documents
Yes, ODT uploads and reads fine. OpenAI publishes no extension list, so here is the test for any unusual format, and when exporting beats trying it.
Markdown, JSON, XML and code files in ChatGPT
Markdown, JSON, XML and code are plain text, so ChatGPT reads them cleanly up to 2 million tokens and 512MB. Why .md beats PDF and DOCX for a long document.
What file types can ChatGPT read in 2026? 7 fail silently
ChatGPT reads 4 file families and OpenAI publishes no extension list. 7 uploads go through cleanly and give it nothing to read, with the fix for each.