Files and analysis

Attaching files makes Lunar answer with your own material in context, not just general knowledge.

What you can attach

Lunar accepts readable documents — PDF, plain text, Word — plus a broad range of code files and images. Type detection uses both the file's MIME type and its extension, so files with generic metadata still get recognized by name.

What happens when you attach a file

1. The attachment enters a queue and moves through stages: queued → uploading → extracting → ready (or a processing error).
2. For PDFs, text extraction happens in your browser, limited to 12 pages per file — that is what the "processing" state is doing, not just uploading.
3. Lunar works with the extracted, readable text — never the original binary.

While any attachment is still processing, the send button stays disabled. If a document (not an image) ends in a processing error, sending is also blocked — a failed image does not block, because the document is the context Lunar needs to read.

[!IMPORTANT] For semester-long material, upload it to your Space library instead of a single message: every conversation in the Space will be able to use it.

How to reference your files in chat

• Be explicit. "According to the attached PDF, how is X defined?" works far better than "what do you think?". Naming the document anchors the answer to your material.
• Ask about specific sections or concepts rather than the whole file at once — targeted questions get sharper answers.
• Wait for processing to finish, then ask. A question fired while the file is still extracting cannot use its content.

[!TIP] Combine files with a mode: attach your lecture notes and switch to Review to turn them into a guided recap, or to Research to stress-test their claims.