How to upload a file to an agent thread and have the agent use the file?

Question

How to upload a file to an agent thread and have the agent use the file?

André 40

I have tried to upload a file to a thread both through code and through the playground. While I can see that my Vector Storage was indeed created and the file is indeed uploaded there, the agent doesn't seem to be reading the files at all.

My question, then, is twofold: First, I need to know how to upload a file to a thread and make the agent use it through playground. Again, I can see that the file is uploaded and the vector storage is associated with the thread.

Screenshot from 2025-02-28 10-42-14

Second, how can I do that through code? I'm using the AIProjectClient and I can see that the file I update my thread with creates a new Vector Storage that is associated with the target thread. Do I need to enable a tool call or just sending a question to a thread with a Vector Storage associated with it should be enough?

Saideep Anchuri 4,620 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-02-28T14:43:44.5933333+00:00

Hi André

To upload a file to an agent thread and ensure the agent uses it.

Sorry to see that you are not able to extract information from you file search. You can ask different variety of prompt to look up for answer again. Currently file search features of assistant support extensions mentioned in this document. Please allow uniform file for better experience. You can either upload local files or use blob storage to upload files for vector store in UI/SDK. Attached documentation on UI and SDK (Upload files) for reference. You can also export code option from assistant for sake of simplicity.

Kindly refer below Screenshot:

Thank You.
André 40 Reputation points

2025-02-28T18:01:00.7333333+00:00

Hello @Saideep Anchuri ,

Thank you for the answer. The file I'm using is just a test txt file with a few lines of text inside. I can link it here, but I've used the same file at OpenAI before.

André's dog is white and blue. His name is Big Blue. He likes to run after cars and eating bones. Big Blue does not like lettuce and he likes to chase after cats. He sleeps all afternoon and stretches a lot. Big Blue is a good dog.

Azulão.txt

The knowledge is ticked off because I don't want to upload the file to the agent as a whole, just to this single thread. I've used a similar approach in my code by updating the thread rather than uploading it directly to the agent. However, in both cases I still couldn't get the bot to find anything about the file I sent.
Saideep Anchuri 4,620 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-03T04:37:24.94+00:00

Hi André

Sorry for the misunderstanding. we are able to repro the scenario at our side on AI agent and reaching product team for further investigation.

Kindly refer below screenshot:

This feature should be worked out by PG.

Thank You.

Accepted answer

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Saideep Anchuri 4,620 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-02-28T14:43:44.5933333+00:00

Hi André

To upload a file to an agent thread and ensure the agent uses it.

Sorry to see that you are not able to extract information from you file search. You can ask different variety of prompt to look up for answer again. Currently file search features of assistant support extensions mentioned in this document. Please allow uniform file for better experience. You can either upload local files or use blob storage to upload files for vector store in UI/SDK. Attached documentation on UI and SDK (Upload files) for reference. You can also export code option from assistant for sake of simplicity.

Kindly refer below Screenshot:

Thank You.
André 40 Reputation points

2025-02-28T18:01:00.7333333+00:00

Hello @Saideep Anchuri ,

Thank you for the answer. The file I'm using is just a test txt file with a few lines of text inside. I can link it here, but I've used the same file at OpenAI before.

André's dog is white and blue. His name is Big Blue. He likes to run after cars and eating bones. Big Blue does not like lettuce and he likes to chase after cats. He sleeps all afternoon and stretches a lot. Big Blue is a good dog.

Azulão.txt

The knowledge is ticked off because I don't want to upload the file to the agent as a whole, just to this single thread. I've used a similar approach in my code by updating the thread rather than uploading it directly to the agent. However, in both cases I still couldn't get the bot to find anything about the file I sent.
Saideep Anchuri 4,620 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-03T04:37:24.94+00:00

Hi André

Sorry for the misunderstanding. we are able to repro the scenario at our side on AI agent and reaching product team for further investigation.

Kindly refer below screenshot:

This feature should be worked out by PG.

Thank You.

Answer 1

Hello @André

Thank you for posting your question on Microsoft Q&A. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. let's go with your question one by one.

My question, then, is twofold: First, I need to know how to upload a file to a thread and make the agent use it through playground. Again, I can see that the file is uploaded and the vector storage is associated with the thread.

As this feature is currently in preview, the recommended approach is to upload your files at the thread level (Thread files). For vector storage (Knowledge), you can upload a dummy file with content such as "This is the dummy file." This method should help you achieve the desired resolution, as it has worked for me in similar scenarios.

User's image

Second, how can I do that through code? I'm using the AIProjectClient and I can see that the file I update my thread with creates a new Vector Storage that is associated with the target thread. Do I need to enable a tool call or just sending a question to a thread with a Vector Storage associated with it should be enough?

When you upload a file using the AIProjectClient, it creates a new Vector Storage associated with the target thread. Depending on your implementation, you might need to enable a tool call to ensure the agent can access the files. Also, simply sending a question to a thread with an associated Vector Storage might not be sufficient. Ensure that the agent's logic includes steps to read from the Vector Storage when processing the thread.

I hope this is helpful! Do not hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks!

André 40 Reputation points

2025-03-03T12:23:51.4066667+00:00

Thank you, Vikram!

The solution to both of my problems was just attaching a dummy file to the agent. Without it the thread didn't work over the PG. Then I tested my code implementation and it was indeed working, the agent just needed the dummy to actually read the files in the thread.

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How to upload a file to an agent thread and have the agent use the file?

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