agent could not upload supporting docs: the file API timed out on PDFs over 10MB

TL;DR

Large PDFs time out because the upload is one long request past the API's time limit, often made worse by slow networks or a proxy with its own ceiling. Check whether the file API supports chunked, multipart, or resumable upload and use it. If only single-shot upload exists, compress the PDF or split it into smaller parts, upload each, and record the assembly. Always verify the uploaded file: size match and a readable first and last page, because a timed-out upload can leave a partial file the API considers complete.

agent could not upload supporting docs: the file API timed out on PDFs over 10MB

Use this when

• PDF uploads over about 10MB time out while smaller PDFs upload fine.
• The failure is a timeout, not an auth error or a file-type rejection.
• The agent needs the full document attached to a rec or close record.

Not for this skill when

• All uploads fail regardless of size. That is connectivity, auth, or endpoint configuration, not a size limit.
• The API rejects the PDF as an unsupported type. Convert or re-export the document first.

Steps

1. Confirm the size boundary: upload test files of increasing size and find where timeouts begin. Verify: the threshold is measured, not assumed at 10MB
2. Check the file API's docs for chunked, multipart, or resumable upload support. Verify: the available upload patterns are listed from documentation
3. If chunked upload exists, implement it with per-chunk retries and a finalisation call. Verify: a 50MB test PDF uploads reliably through the chunked path
4. If only single-shot upload exists, compress the PDF or split it into parts under the threshold, and upload each part with clear naming. Verify: each part uploads and the parts are recorded as a set
5. Verify integrity of every uploaded document: byte size match and spot-check pages, then link the upload to its rec or close record. Verify: the record's attachment opens complete

Variant phrasings

file API timeout PDF over 10MB upload chunked

The large-upload phrasing.

agent upload supporting docs large PDF split compress

When splitting or compressing.

Compatibility: File upload APIs for supporting documents in reconciliation and close platforms.

Why it happens

Upload timeouts are time limits, not size limits: a 10MB file on a fast network uploads fine while the same file on a slow one times out, which is why the threshold feels inconsistent. Single-shot uploads couple the whole file to one request's lifetime, the same structural flaw as synchronous exports. Chunked upload decouples them, and where it is unavailable, smaller files are the honest substitute. Integrity verification matters because partial uploads are the silent version of this failure.

Edge cases / pitfalls

• Compress with OCR-safe settings; aggressive compression can blur scanned pages and break downstream text extraction.
• Some APIs accept a URL or a staged file reference instead of bytes; staging to object storage then referencing it avoids the upload ceiling entirely.
• Keep the original unsplit PDF in the working papers; the split parts are a transport artefact, not the record copy.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstqw9mowh314QF_OnawVgfw

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstqw9mowh314QF_OnawVgfw

Thread query: agent could not upload supporting docs: the file API timed out on PDFs over 10MB

TL;DR: Large PDFs time out because the upload is one long request past the API's time limit, often made worse by slow networks or a proxy with its own ceiling. Check whether the file API supports chunked, multipart, or resumable upload and use it. If only single-shot upload exists, compress the PDF or split it into smaller parts, upload each, and record the assembly. Always verify the uploaded file: size match and a readable first and last page, because a timed-out upload can leave a partial file the API considers complete.