Guide File Formats

Supported File Formats

Scholarly accepts a wide range of file types. Here is what you can upload and what features are available for each format.

Documents

FormatExtensionsFlashcardsPodcastVideo LectureAI SlidesAI Chat
PDF.pdfYesYesYesYesYes
Word.docxYesYesYesYesYes
PowerPoint.pptx, .pptYesYesYesYesYes
Text.txt, .mdYesYesYesYesYes

Text, Data, and Code (Library Files)

These are saved automatically as editable library files — each gets its own page where you can preview, edit, chat with it, or reuse it as a source for any AI tool.

CategoryExtensions
Plain text.txt, .md
Spreadsheet / data.csv, .tsv, .json
Calendars.ics
Diagrams / vector.svg, .mmd (Mermaid), .tex (LaTeX)
Web.html
CodePython (.py), JavaScript (.js), TypeScript (.ts/.tsx), Java (.java), C/C++ (.c/.cpp/.h), Rust (.rs), Go (.go), Ruby (.rb), PHP (.php), Swift (.swift), Kotlin (.kt), SQL (.sql), and 30+ more

Images

FormatExtensionsFlashcardsAI Chat
JPEG.jpg, .jpegYesYes
PNG.pngYesYes
GIF.gifYesYes
WebP.webpYesYes

Upload photos of handwritten notes, textbook pages, whiteboards, or diagrams to create flashcards or discuss them with the AI.

Audio

FormatExtensionsRecordingFlashcards
MP3.mp3YesYes
M4A.m4aYesYes
WAV.wavYesYes
WebM.webmYesYes
OGG.oggYesYes

Audio files create a recording page with automatic transcription, summary, and AI chat.

URLs

SourceFlashcardsPodcastAI Chat
Website URLYesYesYes
YouTube video URLYesYesYes
Direct file URL (audio, PDF, etc.)YesDepends on typeYes

Paste a URL in the upload modal. Scholarly detects the content type and routes it to the right feature.

Pasted Text

Not a file at all? Paste notes, a transcript, or an article into the Paste text tab of the Add content dialog and it becomes a source like any upload. See Paste Text.

Google Drive Files

If you connect Google Drive, you can pick files straight from Drive instead of uploading them. The Drive picker supports:

TypeExamples
Google WorkspaceGoogle Docs, Sheets, Slides
DocumentsPDF, Word (.docx)
PresentationsPowerPoint (.pptx, .ppt)
Text and dataPlain text, Markdown, CSV

Picked Drive files work as sources in any create window, in AI chat, and in Deep Research — see Connected Apps to connect Drive and manage access.

Scanned PDFs

Image-only PDFs (scanned documents with no selectable text) are fully supported. They work with AI chat, flashcard generation, podcast creation, video lectures, and all other PDF features.

File Size

On the free plan, each file can be up to 8 MB. Premium raises this to 300 MB per file. Large Word and PowerPoint files are converted before processing, so a very large .docx or .pptx may be rejected with a clear message even if it is under the size limit. See Plans and Limits for the full breakdown.

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