> ## AI Agent Context
> Get the complete documentation index at: https://aistudio.google.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages.
> For the full documentation in a single file, fetch: https://aistudio.google.com/docs/llms-full.txt

# File input methods

This guide explains the different ways you can include media files such as
images, audio, video, and documents when making requests to the Gemini API.
The new methods are supported in all of the Gemini API endpoints, including
Batch, Interactions and Live API.
Choosing the right method depends on the size of your file, where your data is
stored, and how frequently you plan to use the file.

The simplest way to include a file as your input is to read a local file and
include it in a prompt. The following example shows how to read a local PDF
file. PDFs are limited to 50MB for this method. See the
[Input method comparison table](/docs/file-input-methods#method-comparison) for a complete list of file
input types and limits.

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  from google import genai
  import pathlib
  import base64
  
  client = genai.Client()
  
  filepath = pathlib.Path('my_local_file.pdf')
  
  prompt = "Summarize this document"
  interaction = client.interactions.create(
      model="gemini-3.8-flash",
      input=[
          {"type": "text", "text": prompt},
          {"type": "document", "data": base64.b64encode(filepath.read_bytes()).decode('utf-8'), "mime_type": "application/pdf"}
      ]
  )
  print(interaction.output_text)
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  import { GoogleGenAI } from "@google/genai";
  import * as fs from 'node:fs';
  
  const client = new GoogleGenAI({});
  const prompt = "Summarize this document";
  
  async function main() {
      const filePath = 'my_local_file.pdf';
  
      const interaction = await client.interactions.create({
          model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
          input: [
              { type: "text", text: prompt },
              {
                  type: "document",
                  data: fs.readFileSync(filePath).toString("base64"),
                  mime_type: "application/pdf"
              }
          ]
      });
      console.log(interaction.output_text);
  }
  
  await main();
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Java" %}
  ```java
  import com.google.genai.Client;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Content;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.CreateModelInteraction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.DocumentContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.DocumentContentMimeType;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Interaction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.InteractionsInput;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Model;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.TextContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.operations.CreateInteractionRequestBody;
  import java.nio.file.Files;
  import java.nio.file.Paths;
  import java.util.Arrays;
  import java.util.Base64;
  import java.util.List;
  
  Client client = new Client();
  
  byte[] pdfBytes = Files.readAllBytes(Paths.get("my_local_file.pdf"));
  String base64Pdf = Base64.getEncoder().encodeToString(pdfBytes);
  
  String prompt = "Summarize this document";
  
  Content textContent = TextContent.builder().text(prompt).build();
  Content docContent =
      DocumentContent.builder()
          .data(base64Pdf)
          .mimeType(DocumentContentMimeType.APPLICATION_PDF)
          .build();
  
  List<Content> contents = Arrays.asList(textContent, docContent);
  
  CreateModelInteraction params =
      CreateModelInteraction.builder()
          .model(Model.of("gemini-3.8-flash"))
          .input(InteractionsInput.ofContent(contents))
          .build();
  
  Interaction interaction =
      client.interactions.create(CreateInteractionRequestBody.of(params)).interaction().get();
  System.out.println(interaction.outputText().orElse(""));
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Go" %}
  ```go
  package main
  
  import (
      "context"
      "encoding/base64"
      "fmt"
      "log"
      "os"
  
      "google.golang.org/genai"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/interactions"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/operations"
  )
  
  func main() {
      ctx := context.Background()
      client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, nil)
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      pdfBytes, err := os.ReadFile("my_local_file.pdf")
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
      base64Pdf := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(pdfBytes)
  
      prompt := "Summarize this document"
  
      res, err := client.Interactions.Create(ctx, operations.CreateInteractionRequest{
          Body: operations.NewCreateInteractionRequestBody(interactions.CreateModelInteraction{
              Model: interactions.Model("gemini-3.8-flash"),
              Input: interactions.NewInteractionsInput([]interactions.Content{
                  interactions.NewContent(interactions.TextContent{
                      Text: prompt,
                  }),
                  interactions.NewContent(interactions.DocumentContent{
                      Data:     genai.Ptr(base64Pdf),
                      MimeType: interactions.DocumentContentMimeTypeApplicationPdf.ToPointer(),
                  }),
              }),
          }),
      })
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
      if res.Interaction.OutputText != nil {
          fmt.Println(*res.Interaction.OutputText)
      }
  }
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  ```bash
  # Encode the local file to base64
  B64_CONTENT=$(base64 -w 0 my_local_file.pdf)
  
  curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
    -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H "Api-Revision: 2026-05-20" \
    -d '{
      "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
      "input": [
        {"type": "text", "text": "Summarize this document"},
        {
          "type": "document",
          "data": "'${B64_CONTENT}'",
          "mime_type": "application/pdf"
        }
      ]
    }'
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

## Input method comparison  {% id="method-comparison" %}

The following table compares each input method with file limits and best use
cases. Note that the file size limit may vary depending on the file type and
model or tokenizer used to process the file.

{% table %}
  * Method
  * Best for
  * Max file size
  * Persistence

  ---

  * **Inline data**
  * Quick testing, small files, real-time applications.
  * 100 MB per request or payload
    (**50 MB for PDFs**)
  * None (sent with every request)

  ---

  * **File API upload**
  * Large files, files used multiple times.
  * 2 GB per file,
    up to 20GB per project
  * 48 Hours

  ---

  * **File API GCS URI registration**
  * Large files already in Google Cloud Storage, files used multiple times.
  * 2 GB per file, no overall storage limits
  * None (fetched per request). One time registration can give access for up to 30 days.

  ---

  * **External URLs**
  * Public data or data in cloud buckets (AWS, Azure, GCS) without re-uploading.
  * 15 MB per file
  * None (fetched per request)
{% /table %}

## Inline data  {% id="inline-data" %}

For smaller files (under 100MB, or 50MB for PDFs), you can pass the data
directly in the request payload. This is the simplest method for quick tests or
applications handling real-time, transient data. You can provide data as
base64 encoded strings or by reading local files directly.

For an example of reading from a local file, see the example at the beginning of
this page.

### Fetch from a URL  {% id="fetch-from-a-url" %}

You can also fetch a file from a URL, convert it to bytes, and include it in the
input.

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  from google import genai
  import httpx
  
  client = genai.Client()
  
  doc_url = "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10089234/1/343019_3_art_0_py4t4l_convrt.pdf"
  doc_data = httpx.get(doc_url).content
  
  prompt = "Summarize this document"
  
  interaction = client.interactions.create(
      model="gemini-3.8-flash",
      input=[
          {"type": "document", "data": base64.b64encode(doc_data).decode('utf-8'), "mime_type": "application/pdf"},
          {"type": "text", "text": prompt}
      ]
  )
  print(interaction.output_text)
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  import { GoogleGenAI } from "@google/genai";
  
  const client = new GoogleGenAI({});
  const docUrl = 'https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10089234/1/343019_3_art_0_py4t4l_convrt.pdf';
  const prompt = "Summarize this document";
  
  async function main() {
      const pdfResp = await fetch(docUrl)
        .then((response) => response.arrayBuffer());
  
      const interaction = await client.interactions.create({
          model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
          input: [
              { type: "text", text: prompt },
              {
                  type: "document",
                  data: Buffer.from(pdfResp).toString("base64"),
                  mime_type: "application/pdf"
              }
          ]
      });
      console.log(interaction.output_text);
  }
  
  await main();
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Java" %}
  ```java
  import com.google.genai.Client;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Content;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.CreateModelInteraction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.DocumentContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.DocumentContentMimeType;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Interaction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.InteractionsInput;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Model;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.TextContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.operations.CreateInteractionRequestBody;
  import java.net.URI;
  import java.net.http.HttpClient;
  import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
  import java.net.http.HttpResponse;
  import java.util.Arrays;
  import java.util.Base64;
  import java.util.List;
  
  Client client = new Client();
  
  String docUrl = "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10089234/1/343019_3_art_0_py4t4l_convrt.pdf";
  HttpClient httpClient = HttpClient.newHttpClient();
  HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder().uri(URI.create(docUrl)).build();
  byte[] docData = httpClient.send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofByteArray()).body();
  String base64Pdf = Base64.getEncoder().encodeToString(docData);
  
  String prompt = "Summarize this document";
  
  Content docContent =
      DocumentContent.builder()
          .data(base64Pdf)
          .mimeType(DocumentContentMimeType.APPLICATION_PDF)
          .build();
  Content textContent = TextContent.builder().text(prompt).build();
  
  List<Content> contents = Arrays.asList(docContent, textContent);
  
  CreateModelInteraction params =
      CreateModelInteraction.builder()
          .model(Model.of("gemini-3.8-flash"))
          .input(InteractionsInput.ofContent(contents))
          .build();
  
  Interaction interaction =
      client.interactions.create(CreateInteractionRequestBody.of(params)).interaction().get();
  System.out.println(interaction.outputText().orElse(""));
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Go" %}
  ```go
  package main
  
  import (
      "context"
      "encoding/base64"
      "fmt"
      "io"
      "log"
      "net/http"
  
      "google.golang.org/genai"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/interactions"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/operations"
  )
  
  func main() {
      ctx := context.Background()
      client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, nil)
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      docURL := "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10089234/1/343019_3_art_0_py4t4l_convrt.pdf"
      resp, err := http.Get(docURL)
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
      defer resp.Body.Close()
      docData, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
      base64Pdf := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(docData)
  
      prompt := "Summarize this document"
  
      res, err := client.Interactions.Create(ctx, operations.CreateInteractionRequest{
          Body: operations.NewCreateInteractionRequestBody(interactions.CreateModelInteraction{
              Model: interactions.Model("gemini-3.8-flash"),
              Input: interactions.NewInteractionsInput([]interactions.Content{
                  interactions.NewContent(interactions.DocumentContent{
                      Data:     genai.Ptr(base64Pdf),
                      MimeType: interactions.DocumentContentMimeTypeApplicationPdf.ToPointer(),
                  }),
                  interactions.NewContent(interactions.TextContent{
                      Text: prompt,
                  }),
              }),
          }),
      })
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
      if res.Interaction.OutputText != nil {
          fmt.Println(*res.Interaction.OutputText)
      }
  }
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  ```shell
    DOC_URL="https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10089234/1/343019_3_art_0_py4t4l_convrt.pdf"
    PROMPT="Summarize this document"
    DISPLAY_NAME="base64_pdf"
  
    # Download the PDF
    wget -O "${DISPLAY_NAME}.pdf" "${DOC_URL}"
  
    # Check for FreeBSD base64 and set flags accordingly
    if [[ "$(base64 --version 2>&1)" = *"FreeBSD"* ]]; then
      B64FLAGS="--input"
    else
      B64FLAGS="-w0"
    fi
  
    # Base64 encode the PDF
    ENCODED_PDF=$(base64 $B64FLAGS "${DISPLAY_NAME}.pdf")
  
    # Create JSON payload file
    cat <payload.json
  {
    "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
    "input": [
      {"type": "document", "data": "${ENCODED_PDF}", "mime_type": "application/pdf"},
      {"type": "text", "text": "${PROMPT}"}
    ]
  }
  EOF
  
      # Generate content using interactions
      curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
          -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
          -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
          -H "Api-Revision: 2026-05-20" \
          -d @payload.json 2> /dev/null > response.json
  
      cat response.json
      echo
  
      jq ".outputs[] | select(.type == \"text\") | .text" response.json
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

## Gemini File API  {% id="file-api" %}

The File API is designed for larger files (up to 2GB) or files you intend to
use in multiple requests.

### Standard file upload  {% id="standard-file-upload" %}

Upload a local file to the Gemini API. Files uploaded this way are stored
temporarily (48 hours) and processed for efficient retrieval by the model.

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  from google import genai
  
  client = genai.Client()
  
  doc_file = client.files.upload(file="path/to/your/sample.pdf")
  prompt = "Summarize this document"
  
  interaction = client.interactions.create(
      model="gemini-3.8-flash",
      input=[
          {"type": "text", "text": prompt},
          {"type": "document", "uri": doc_file.uri, "mime_type": doc_file.mime_type}
      ]
  )
  print(interaction.output_text)
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  import { GoogleGenAI } from "@google/genai";
  
  const client = new GoogleGenAI({});
  const prompt = "Summarize this document";
  
  async function main() {
    const filePath = "path/to/your/sample.pdf";
  
    const myfile = await client.files.upload({
      file: filePath,
      config: { mimeType: "application/pdf" },
    });
  
    const interaction = await client.interactions.create({
      model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
      input: [
          { type: "text", text: prompt },
          { type: "document", uri: myfile.uri, mime_type: myfile.mimeType }
      ]
    });
    console.log(interaction.output_text);
  }
  
  await main();
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Java" %}
  ```java
  import com.google.genai.Client;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Content;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.CreateModelInteraction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.DocumentContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.DocumentContentMimeType;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Interaction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.InteractionsInput;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Model;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.TextContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.operations.CreateInteractionRequestBody;
  import com.google.genai.types.File;
  import com.google.genai.types.UploadFileConfig;
  import java.util.Arrays;
  import java.util.List;
  
  Client client = new Client();
  
  File docFile =
      client.files.upload(
          new java.io.File("path/to/your/sample.pdf"),
          UploadFileConfig.builder().mimeType("application/pdf").build());
  
  String prompt = "Summarize this document";
  
  Content textContent = TextContent.builder().text(prompt).build();
  Content docContent =
      DocumentContent.builder()
          .uri(docFile.uri().orElse(""))
          .mimeType(DocumentContentMimeType.of(docFile.mimeType().orElse("application/pdf")))
          .build();
  
  List<Content> contents = Arrays.asList(textContent, docContent);
  
  CreateModelInteraction params =
      CreateModelInteraction.builder()
          .model(Model.of("gemini-3.8-flash"))
          .input(InteractionsInput.ofContent(contents))
          .build();
  
  Interaction interaction =
      client.interactions.create(CreateInteractionRequestBody.of(params)).interaction().get();
  System.out.println(interaction.outputText().orElse(""));
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Go" %}
  ```go
  package main
  
  import (
      "context"
      "fmt"
      "log"
  
      "google.golang.org/genai"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/interactions"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/operations"
  )
  
  func main() {
      ctx := context.Background()
      client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, nil)
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      docFile, err := client.Files.UploadFromPath(ctx, "path/to/your/sample.pdf", &genai.UploadFileConfig{
          MIMEType: "application/pdf",
      })
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      prompt := "Summarize this document"
  
      res, err := client.Interactions.Create(ctx, operations.CreateInteractionRequest{
          Body: operations.NewCreateInteractionRequestBody(interactions.CreateModelInteraction{
              Model: interactions.Model("gemini-3.8-flash"),
              Input: interactions.NewInteractionsInput([]interactions.Content{
                  interactions.NewContent(interactions.TextContent{
                      Text: prompt,
                  }),
                  interactions.NewContent(interactions.DocumentContent{
                      URI:      genai.Ptr(docFile.URI),
                      MimeType: interactions.DocumentContentMimeType(docFile.MIMEType).ToPointer(),
                  }),
              }),
          }),
      })
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
      if res.Interaction.OutputText != nil {
          fmt.Println(*res.Interaction.OutputText)
      }
  }
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  ```shell
  FILE_PATH="path/to/sample.pdf"
  MIME_TYPE=$(file -b --mime-type "${FILE_PATH}")
  NUM_BYTES=$(wc -c < "${FILE_PATH}")
  DISPLAY_NAME=DOCUMENT
  
  tmp_header_file=upload-header.tmp
  
  # Initial resumable request defining metadata.
  curl "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/upload/v1beta/files" \
    -D "${tmp_header_file}" \
    -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Protocol: resumable" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: start" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Length: ${NUM_BYTES}" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Type: ${MIME_TYPE}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d "{'file': {'display_name': '${DISPLAY_NAME}'}}" 2> /dev/null
  
  upload_url=$(grep -i "x-goog-upload-url: " "${tmp_header_file}" | cut -d" " -f2 | tr -d "\r")
  rm "${tmp_header_file}"
  
  # Upload the actual bytes.
  curl "${upload_url}" \
    -H "Content-Length: ${NUM_BYTES}" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Offset: 0" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: upload, finalize" \
    --data-binary "@${FILE_PATH}" 2> /dev/null > file_info.json
  
  file_uri=$(jq ".file.uri" file_info.json)
  
  # Now use in an interaction
  curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
      -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
      -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
      -H "Api-Revision: 2026-05-20" \
      -d '{
        "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
        "input": [
          {"type": "text", "text": "Summarize this document"},
          {"type": "document", "uri": '$file_uri', "mime_type": "'${MIME_TYPE}'"}
        ]
      }'
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

### Register Google Cloud Storage files  {% id="registration" %}

If your data is already in Google Cloud Storage, you don't need to
download and re-upload it. You can register it directly with the File API.

1.   Grant **Service Agent** access to each bucket

2.     Enable the Gemini API in your Google Cloud project.

3.     Create the Service Agent:


`gcloud beta services identity create --service=generativelanguage.googleapis.com --project=<your_project>`

1.     **Grant the Gemini API Service Agent permissions** to read your storage
  buckets.

  The user needs to assign the `Storage Object Viewer`
  [IAM role](https://docs.cloud.google.com/storage/docs/access-control/iam-roles#storage.objectViewer)
  to this service agent on the specific storage buckets they intend to use.


This access doesn't expire by default, but can be changed at any time. You can
also use the
[Google Cloud Storage IAM SDK](https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/write-policy-client-libraries)
commands to grant permissions.

1.   Authenticate your service

  **Prerequisites**

  * Enable API
  * Create a service account or agent with appropriate permissions.


You first need to authenticate as the service that has storage object viewer
permissions. How this happens depends on the environment in which your file
management code will be running.

**Outside of Google Cloud**

If your code is running from outside of Google Cloud, such as your desktop,
download the account credentials from the Google Cloud Console with the
following steps:

1.   Browse to the [Service Account console](https://console.cloud.google.com/iam-admin/serviceaccounts)
2.   Select the relevant service account
3.   Select the **Keys** tab and choose **Add key, Create new key**
4.   Choose the **JSON** key type, and note where the file was downloaded to on
  your machine.

For more details, see the official Google Cloud documentation on
[service account key management](https://docs.cloud.google.com/iam/docs/keys-create-delete).

Then use the following commands to authenticate. These commands assume your
service account file is in the current directory, named
`service-account.json`.

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  from google.oauth2.service_account import Credentials
  
  GCS_READ_SCOPES = [
    'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only',
    'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform'
  ]
  
  SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE = 'service-account.json'
  
  credentials = Credentials.from_service_account_file(
      SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE,
      scopes=GCS_READ_SCOPES
  )
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Javascript" %}
  ```javascript
  const { GoogleAuth } = require('google-auth-library');
  
  const GCS_READ_SCOPES = [
    'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only',
    'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform'
  ];
  
  const SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE = 'service-account.json';
  
  const auth = new GoogleAuth({
    keyFile: SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE,
    scopes: GCS_READ_SCOPES
  });
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="CLI" %}
  ```bash
  gcloud auth application-default login \
    --client-id-file=service-account.json \
    --scopes='https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only'
  ```

  **On Google Cloud**

  If you are running directly in Google Cloud, for example by using [Cloud
    Run functions](https://cloud.google.com/functions) or a
    [Compute Engine instance](https://cloud.google.com/products/compute), you will
    have implicit credentials but will need to re-authenticate to grant the
    appropriate scopes.

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Python" %}
  This code expects that the service is running in an environment where
    [Application Default Credentials](https://docs.cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/application-default-credentials)
    can be obtained automatically, such as Cloud Run or Compute Engine.

  ```
  ```python
  ```

  import google.auth

  GCS_READ_SCOPES = [
    'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only',
    'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform'
    ]

  credentials, project = google.auth.default(scopes=GCS_READ_SCOPES)
    ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  This code expects that the service is running in an environment where
    [Application Default Credentials](https://docs.cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/application-default-credentials)
    can be obtained automatically, such as Cloud Run or Compute Engine.

  ```
  ```javascript
  ```

  const { GoogleAuth } = require('google-auth-library');

  const auth = new GoogleAuth({
    scopes: [
    'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only',
    'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform'
    ]
    });
    ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Java" %}
  ```java
  import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
  import java.io.FileInputStream;
  import java.util.Arrays;
  import java.util.List;
  
  List<String> gcsReadScopes =
      Arrays.asList(
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only",
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform");
  
  String serviceAccountFile = "service-account.json";
  
  GoogleCredentials credentials =
      GoogleCredentials.fromStream(new FileInputStream(serviceAccountFile))
          .createScoped(gcsReadScopes);
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="CLI" %}
  This is an interactive command. For services like Compute Engine you can attach
    scopes to the running service at the config level. See the
    [user-managed service docs](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/access/create-enable-service-accounts-for-instances#using)
    for an example.

  ```
  ```bash
  ```

  gcloud auth application-default login   
    --scopes="https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only"
    ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

1.   File registration (Files API)

  Use the Files API to register files and produce a Files API path that can
  directly be used in the Gemini API.


{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  from google import genai
  
  client = genai.Client(credentials=credentials)
  
  registered_gcs_files = client.files.register_files(
      uris=["gs://my_bucket/some_object.pdf", "gs://bucket2/object2.txt"]
  )
  prompt = "Summarize this file."
  
  for f in registered_gcs_files.files:
    print(f.name)
    interaction = client.interactions.create(
      model="gemini-3.8-flash",
      input=[
        {"type": "text", "text": prompt},
        {"type": "document", "uri": f.uri, "mime_type": f.mime_type}
      ],
    )
    print(interaction.output_text)
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  import { GoogleGenAI } from "@google/genai";
  
  const ai = new GoogleGenAI({});
  
  async function main() {
      const registeredGcsFiles = await ai.files.registerFiles({
          uris: ["gs://my_bucket/some_object.pdf", "gs://bucket2/object2.txt"]
      });
  
      const prompt = "Summarize this file.";
  
      for (const file of registeredGcsFiles.files || []) {
          console.log(file.name);
          const interaction = await ai.interactions.create({
              model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
              input: [
                  { type: "text", text: prompt },
                  { type: "document", uri: file.uri, mime_type: file.mimeType }
              ]
          });
  
          console.log(interaction.output_text);
      }
  }
  
  await main();
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Java" %}
  ```java
  import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
  import com.google.genai.Client;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Content;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.CreateModelInteraction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.DocumentContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.DocumentContentMimeType;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Interaction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.InteractionsInput;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Model;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.TextContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.operations.CreateInteractionRequestBody;
  import com.google.genai.types.File;
  import com.google.genai.types.RegisterFilesResponse;
  import java.io.FileInputStream;
  import java.util.Arrays;
  import java.util.Collections;
  import java.util.List;
  
  GoogleCredentials credentials =
      GoogleCredentials.fromStream(new FileInputStream("service-account.json"))
          .createScoped(
              Arrays.asList(
                  "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only",
                  "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform"));
  
  Client client = Client.builder().credentials(credentials).build();
  
  RegisterFilesResponse registeredGcsFiles =
      client.files.registerFiles(
          credentials,
          Arrays.asList("gs://my_bucket/some_object.pdf", "gs://bucket2/object2.txt"),
          null);
  
  String prompt = "Summarize this file.";
  
  for (File f : registeredGcsFiles.files().orElse(Collections.emptyList())) {
    System.out.println(f.name().orElse(""));
  
    Content textContent = TextContent.builder().text(prompt).build();
    Content docContent =
        DocumentContent.builder()
            .uri(f.uri().orElse(""))
            .mimeType(DocumentContentMimeType.of(f.mimeType().orElse("application/pdf")))
            .build();
  
    CreateModelInteraction params =
        CreateModelInteraction.builder()
            .model(Model.of("gemini-3.8-flash"))
            .input(InteractionsInput.ofContent(Arrays.asList(textContent, docContent)))
            .build();
  
    Interaction interaction =
        client.interactions.create(CreateInteractionRequestBody.of(params)).interaction().get();
    System.out.println(interaction.outputText().orElse(""));
  }
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Go" %}
  ```go
  package main
  
  import (
      "log"
  
      "google.golang.org/genai"
  )
  
  func main() {
      cc := &genai.ClientConfig{}
      if err := cc.UseDefaultCredentials(); err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
      _ = cc.Credentials
  }
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="CLI" %}
  ```bash
  access_token=$(gcloud auth application-default print-access-token)
  project_id=$(gcloud config get-value project)
  curl -X POST https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/files:register \
      -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer ${access_token}" \
      -H "x-goog-user-project: ${project_id}" \
      -d '{"uris": ["gs://bucket/object1", "gs://bucket/object2"]}'
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

## External HTTP / Signed URLs  {% id="external-urls" %}

You can pass publicly accessible HTTPS URLs or pre-signed URLs directly in your
request. The Gemini API will fetch the content securely during processing.
This is ideal for files that you don't want to re-upload. Each file can be up
to 15 MB. For larger files, use the
[File API](/docs/file-input-methods#file-api).

{% callout type="note" %}
  Gemini 2.0 family of models are not supported

{% /callout %}

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  from google import genai
  
  uri = "https://ontheline.trincoll.edu/images/bookdown/sample-local-pdf.pdf"
  prompt = "Summarize this file"
  
  client = genai.Client()
  
  interaction = client.interactions.create(
      model="gemini-3.8-flash",
      input=[
          {"type": "document", "uri": uri, "mime_type": "application/pdf"},
          {"type": "text", "text": prompt}
      ]
  )
  print(interaction.output_text)
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Java" %}
  ```java
  import com.google.genai.Client;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Content;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.CreateModelInteraction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.DocumentContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.DocumentContentMimeType;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Interaction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.InteractionsInput;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Model;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.TextContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.operations.CreateInteractionRequestBody;
  import java.util.Arrays;
  import java.util.List;
  
  String uri = "https://ontheline.trincoll.edu/images/bookdown/sample-local-pdf.pdf";
  String prompt = "Summarize this file";
  
  Client client = new Client();
  
  Content docContent =
      DocumentContent.builder()
          .uri(uri)
          .mimeType(DocumentContentMimeType.APPLICATION_PDF)
          .build();
  Content textContent = TextContent.builder().text(prompt).build();
  
  List<Content> contents = Arrays.asList(docContent, textContent);
  
  CreateModelInteraction params =
      CreateModelInteraction.builder()
          .model(Model.of("gemini-3.8-flash"))
          .input(InteractionsInput.ofContent(contents))
          .build();
  
  Interaction interaction =
      client.interactions.create(CreateInteractionRequestBody.of(params)).interaction().get();
  System.out.println(interaction.outputText().orElse(""));
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Go" %}
  ```go
  package main
  
  import (
      "context"
      "fmt"
      "log"
  
      "google.golang.org/genai"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/interactions"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/operations"
  )
  
  func main() {
      ctx := context.Background()
      cc := &genai.ClientConfig{}
      if err := cc.UseDefaultCredentials(); err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
      client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, cc)
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      registeredGcsFiles, err := client.Files.RegisterFiles(
          ctx,
          []string{"gs://my_bucket/some_object.pdf", "gs://bucket2/object2.txt"},
          cc.Credentials,
          nil,
      )
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      prompt := "Summarize this file."
  
      for _, f := range registeredGcsFiles.Files {
          fmt.Println(f.Name)
          res, err := client.Interactions.Create(ctx, operations.CreateInteractionRequest{
              Body: operations.NewCreateInteractionRequestBody(interactions.CreateModelInteraction{
                  Model: interactions.Model("gemini-3.8-flash"),
                  Input: interactions.NewInteractionsInput([]interactions.Content{
                      interactions.NewContent(interactions.TextContent{
                          Text: prompt,
                      }),
                      interactions.NewContent(interactions.DocumentContent{
                          URI:      genai.Ptr(f.URI),
                          MimeType: interactions.DocumentContentMimeType(f.MIMEType).ToPointer(),
                      }),
                  }),
              }),
          })
          if err != nil {
              log.Fatal(err)
          }
          if res.Interaction.OutputText != nil {
              fmt.Println(*res.Interaction.OutputText)
          }
      }
  }
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Javascript" %}
  ```javascript
  import { GoogleGenAI } from '@google/genai';
  
  const client = new GoogleGenAI({});
  
  const uri = "https://ontheline.trincoll.edu/images/bookdown/sample-local-pdf.pdf";
  
  async function main() {
    const interaction = await client.interactions.create({
      model: 'gemini-3.8-flash',
      input: [
        { type: "document", uri: uri, mime_type: "application/pdf" },
        { type: "text", text: "summarize this file" }
      ]
    });
  
    console.log(interaction.output_text);
  }
  
  await main();
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  ```bash
  curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
        -H 'x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY' \
        -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
        -H "Api-Revision: 2026-05-20" \
        -d '{
            "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
            "input": [
              {"type": "text", "text": "Summarize this pdf"},
              {
                "type": "document",
                "uri": "https://ontheline.trincoll.edu/images/bookdown/sample-local-pdf.pdf",
                "mime_type": "application/pdf"
              }
            ]
          }'
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

### Accessibility  {% id="accessibility" %}

Verify that the URLs you provide don't lead to pages that require a login or
are behind a paywall. For private databases, ensure you create a signed URL
with the correct access permissions and expiry.

### Safety checks  {% id="safety-checks" %}

The system performs a content moderation check on the URL to confirm they meet
safety and policy standards. If the URL fails this check, you will get an
`url_retrieval_status` of `URL_RETRIEVAL_STATUS_UNSAFE`.

### Supported content types  {% id="supported-content-types" %}

This list of supported file types and limitations is intended as initial
guidance and is not comprehensive. The effective
set of supported types is subject to change and can vary based on the specific
model and tokenizer version in use. Unsupported types will result in an error.
Additionally, content retrieval for these file types
only supports publicly accessible URLs.

#### Text file types  {% id="text-file-types" %}

* `text/html`
* `text/css`
* `text/plain`
* `text/xml`
* `text/csv`
* `text/rtf`
* `text/javascript`

#### Application file types  {% id="application-file-types" %}

* `application/json`
* `application/pdf`

#### Image file types  {% id="image-file-types" %}

* `image/bmp`
* `image/jpeg`
* `image/png`
* `image/webp`

#### Video file types  {% id="video-file-types" %}

* `video/mp4`
* `video/mpeg`
* `video/quicktime`
* `video/avi`
* `video/x-flv`
* `video/mpg`
* `video/webm`
* `video/wmv`
* `video/3gpp`

## Best practices  {% id="best-practices" %}

*   **Choose the right method:** Use inline data for small, transient files.
  Use the File API for larger or frequently used files. Use external URLs
  for data already hosted online.

*   **Specify MIME Types:** Always provide the correct MIME type for the file
  data to ensure proper processing.

*   **Handle Errors:** Implement error handling in your code to manage
  potential issues like network failures, file access problems, or API
  errors.


## Limitations  {% id="limitations" %}

*   File size limits vary by method (see [comparison table](/docs/file-input-methods#method-comparison))
  and file type.

*   Inline data increases request payload size.

*   File API uploads are temporary and expire after 48 hours.

*   External URL fetching is limited to 15 MB per file and supports specific
  content types.


## What's next  {% id="whats-next" %}

*   Try writing your own multimodal prompts using
  [Google AI Studio](http://aistudio.google.com/).

*   For information on including files in your prompts, see the
  [Vision](/docs/image-understanding),
  [Audio](/docs/audio), and
  [Document processing](/docs/document-processing)
  guides.