What files and formats can Sia handle?

Short answer: a lot. In the AskSia web app you can bring in many files at once — dozens in a single study session — and Sia reads across all of them together. If something doesn't fit, there's almost always a better surface for it. This article shows you what's supported and where to go for the rest.

What the web app accepts

Drop these straight into the web app and Sia handles them:

• Photos and images — snap a page or a whiteboard and upload it.
• Word documents and PowerPoint slides.
• PDF files, including scanned PDFs.
• EPUB, TXT, CSV, RTF, and Markdown files.
• Google Docs and Slides links — paste the share link.
• Public web articles — paste the URL.
• MP3 audio and MP4 video.
• YouTube links — paste the URL and Sia works from the video.

For anything spoken — audio, video, or a live lecture — the web app also does real-time transcribe & translate, so you can capture a class as it happens and read it back in your language.

If a file isn't supported

Run into a format the web app won't take — like a .zip archive? Use the AskSia desktop agent. It's the power tool: it reads almost any file or format and can do almost anything, so it's the right home for the odd files the web app can't open.

Course content from your LMS

For your lectures, syllabi, and course materials, don't hand-upload them one by one — and please don't manually upload recorded lectures. Instead, use the Chrome extension to sync your course straight from your LMS in one click. A few reassurances about how that sync works:

• It's read-only — it never writes anything back to your LMS.
• It uses your existing login session and never sees your password.
• It's fast — roughly 15–45 seconds per course.
• A synced lecture immediately becomes a Sia Note, ready to study.

Quick guide

• Images, Word, PowerPoint, PDF (incl. scanned), EPUB, TXT, CSV, RTF, Markdown, Google Docs & Slides links, public web articles, MP3, MP4, YouTube links, plus live transcribe & translate → web app.
• A format the web app won't take (e.g. .zip) → desktop agent.
• Lectures, syllabi, and course materials from your LMS → Chrome extension (one-click sync).

Not sure which surface fits what you're doing? See Which AskSia should I use?

Still stuck?

If you have a file Sia won't read and none of the above fits, email contact@asksia.ai. During business hours the team replies within one business day.