Code interpreter - Unable to access files in agents

Question

Code interpreter - Unable to access files in agents

Stew Welsh 20

We are experiencing an issue when using the code_interpreter tool with GPT-4.1 model with both AzureOpenaiAgents and Azure AI Foundry Agents.

CSV files are uploaded and attached to the agent as expected. However, when the agent triggers the code_interpreter tool and attempts to read the uploaded file from the mounted environment, the execution fails because the file cannot be accessed.

In other words, the files appear to be uploaded successfully but are not available inside the code interpreter runtime when the tool executes.

Additional notest

We tested the file_search tool to read PDF files and it works as expected. The issue appears to be specific to the code interpreter tool.
We also attempted to reproduce the issue directly from the Azure portal, where the behavior was the same.

SRILAKSHMI C 16,785 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-10T11:51:59.36+00:00
Hello Stew Welsh,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A and Thank you for the detailed description.

From what you’ve shared, it appears that the CSV files are uploading successfully and attaching to the agent, but they are not available inside the runtime when the code interpreter tool executes. Since the file_search tool works correctly, the issue is likely related to how the files are mounted or referenced within the code interpreter runtime rather than the upload itself.

Below are the few things to verity

Confirm the file upload purpose and file ID When uploading files through the API or SDK, ensure the file is uploaded with the correct purpose (for example, purpose="assistants"). After the upload, capture the returned fileId. The code interpreter environment mounts files using this ID, so if the run does not reference the correct fileId, the runtime will not be able to access the file.

Explicitly attach the file to the Code Interpreter tool The uploaded file must be explicitly attached to the agent run or tool configuration. For example, in an API request you may need to include a files array such as:

{ "files": ["<fileId>"] }

If you are using the SDK, the fileId should be passed when creating the Code Interpreter tool resources so that the runtime mounts it during execution.

Verify file access within the runtime environment The Code Interpreter environment exposes files only within its managed workspace. If the script attempts to read the CSV from an external path or an incorrect location, the runtime may fail to locate it.

Check model and region support Ensure the model you are using (for example GPT-4.1) supports the Code Interpreter capability in your region. Not all model/region combinations currently enable this tool.

Inspect the API call payload If possible, capture a network trace from the portal or application and inspect the runs.create request. Confirm that the fileId is included in the payload under the files or tool resources section so the runtime knows to mount it.

Verify permissions and storage access If your environment uses private networking, VNet integration, or customer-managed storage, confirm that the agent identity has appropriate permissions (for example Blob Data Reader) so the runtime sandbox can access the uploaded files.

Test with a smaller sample file Please try uploading a very small CSV file and run a simple read operation. This can help determine whether the issue is file-specific or related to the runtime configuration.

Please refer this

Code Interpreter tool (Azure AI Foundry) https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/agents/how-to/tools/code-interpreter

Code Interpreter (Azure OpenAI Service) https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-services/openai/how-to/code-interpreter?tabs=python

Best practices for invoking tools https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/agents/how-to/tools/overview#best-practices

File Search tool (for comparison) https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/agents/how-to/tools/file-search

I Hope this helps. Do let me know if you have any further queries.

Thank you!
Bharath, Aashish 0 Reputation points

2026-03-10T19:09:15.28+00:00

Are there any updates on this? I have the same issue accessing files via the built in code interpreter in my code and in my playgrounds. This code has been stable for months and has not been updated.
Stew Welsh 20 Reputation points

2026-03-10T19:14:05.7233333+00:00

Same case for us, not made any changes in over a month and yesterday morning started to experience this, I've got a ticket open with support who are investigating but I believe this is due to a wider issue
Manas Mohanty 16,105 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-27T18:57:15.63+00:00

Hi Stew Welsh

Good day.

Issue is replicable at our side in web chat (not able to download files from code interpreter)

Already informed product group via internal channel.

But We needed to escalate to engineering team after creation of support ticket. Could you fill the details on this link for support ticket creation.

Duplicate thread received earlier on same context.

We could not prioritize earlier without presence of a support ticket.

Thank you for your inputs.
Manas Mohanty 16,105 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-30T02:49:05.4533333+00:00

Hi Stew Welsh and all

I have re-tagged Subject matter experts internally and shall update here as we progress.

Thank you for your inputs.
Derek Joy 0 Reputation points

2026-03-31T11:21:40.6+00:00

I cannot upload files into code interpreter as it says service is down. Additionally, any agents that has code interpreter with files uploaded already from a few days ago no longer works. The agent throws up an error.

1 answer

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Bharath, Aashish 0 Reputation points

2026-03-10T19:09:15.28+00:00

Are there any updates on this? I have the same issue accessing files via the built in code interpreter in my code and in my playgrounds. This code has been stable for months and has not been updated.
Stew Welsh 20 Reputation points

2026-03-10T19:14:05.7233333+00:00

Same case for us, not made any changes in over a month and yesterday morning started to experience this, I've got a ticket open with support who are investigating but I believe this is due to a wider issue
Manas Mohanty 16,105 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-27T18:57:15.63+00:00

Hi Stew Welsh

Good day.

Issue is replicable at our side in web chat (not able to download files from code interpreter)

Already informed product group via internal channel.

But We needed to escalate to engineering team after creation of support ticket. Could you fill the details on this link for support ticket creation.

Duplicate thread received earlier on same context.

We could not prioritize earlier without presence of a support ticket.

Thank you for your inputs.
Manas Mohanty 16,105 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-30T02:49:05.4533333+00:00

Hi Stew Welsh and all

I have re-tagged Subject matter experts internally and shall update here as we progress.

Thank you for your inputs.
Derek Joy 0 Reputation points

2026-03-31T11:21:40.6+00:00

I cannot upload files into code interpreter as it says service is down. Additionally, any agents that has code interpreter with files uploaded already from a few days ago no longer works. The agent throws up an error.

Answer 1

Manas Mohanty 16,105 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Stew Welsh and all

Not sure it was working earlier but this feature is not fully supported yet as per SME's who reviewed. Fixes are in progress.

User's image

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry/agents/how-to/publish-copilot#limitations

Thank you for your inputs here on forum.

Derek Joy 0 Reputation points

2026-03-31T11:21:19.45+00:00

I cannot upload files into code interpreter as it says service is down. Additionally, any agents that has code interpreter with files uploaded already from a few days ago no longer works. The agent throws up an error.

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Code interpreter - Unable to access files in agents

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