ChatGPT Library (2026): Where Your Files Live, Storage by Plan and How to Delete Them

Most people meet Library by accident. They upload a proposal to a chat, delete the chat a week later, and the file's still sitting there. That's the single most useful thing to know about it, and I'll come back to it below.

Where ChatGPT keeps your files

OpenAI's Help Center says ChatGPT automatically saves the files you upload and the files it creates, including documents, spreadsheets, presentations and images you drop into chats, in a dedicated, secure location. Library is that location. You don't switch it on, and you don't choose what goes in. If you uploaded it in a normal chat, it's there.

Two things matter here. First, Library storage is separate from your daily attachment and chat limits, so filling it up isn't the same as hitting your upload cap. Second, the pictures ChatGPT makes for you still appear in the Images tab, which I cover in my guide on whether ChatGPT can generate images. Library is about files.

There are two exceptions where nothing gets saved. Files uploaded in a Temporary Chat aren't saved to your account or Library, and neither are files uploaded while you're using ChatGPT Health, where that's available. If you've connected Google Drive, Drive files can also show up in Library, but they stay connected to the original file in Drive.

How much Library storage each plan gets

Here's what OpenAI lists, as of October 2026:

Plan	Library storage
Free	Up to 500 MB
Go	Up to 4 GB
Plus	Up to 20 GB
Business	Up to 20 GB
Pro	Up to 100 GB
Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces	Files kept under the workspace's own retention policy

To see where you stand, open Library and select the Storage button. It shows your total usage, what's left and whether you're over your limit. Individual files still have their own caps, with 512 MB as the hard limit for any single upload; I've set those out in my ChatGPT file upload limits guide, so I won't repeat them here.

Finding a file you uploaded weeks ago

1. Open Library from the left-hand sidebar on the web.
2. Browse uploaded and generated files together, or type in the search bar.
3. Filter by Uploaded or Generated, then by file type: Images, Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations or PDFs.
4. If a file's missing, try Show all file types where it's offered. It also shows files whose names start with a full stop.
5. To download, select one or more files and click Download.

You can also add files straight into Library without starting a chat: select Upload, or drag files in. If you still can't find something, OpenAI's first suggestion is the obvious one people skip: check you're signed in to the same account and workspace you used when you uploaded it.

Reusing a saved file in a new chat

This is where Library earns its keep. Instead of uploading the same brief or price list into five different chats, you pull it in from Library:

1. Open the composer menu, which is the attachment or add button.
2. Select Add from library.
3. Choose the file you want ChatGPT to use.

With Google Drive connected, you can pick a Drive file from Library, pull it up from the composer, or use an @mention to add it without uploading it again. Select a folder and you can ask ChatGPT to work across every file in it. As of October 2026, Google Drive in Library is rolling out on the web to Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare users, with mobile to follow. It covers My Drive and items shared directly with you; Shared Drives aren't included yet.

Favourites and folders

Library also holds things you've bookmarked. When ChatGPT shows you a product or a place, select its bookmark icon and it's saved to Favorites. On the web, that also opens a folder menu, and picking a folder is optional. You can favourite files in Library too, generated images included. To move a saved item between folders later, open Library and use Move.

Deleting a file: the chat doesn't take it with it

Here's the catch. Deleting a chat that contains a file doesn't delete the separate copy saved in Library. If you want the file gone, you have to delete it from Library itself. Clearing old conversations, which I walk through in how to delete your ChatGPT history, is a different job.

1. Select the file in the Library tab.
2. Click Delete, or the trash icon next to the file.
3. If your Library shows Recently deleted, you can restore the file from there, or remove it sooner with Delete forever or Delete all.
4. Then it's out of your hands. Deleted files are scheduled for permanent deletion from OpenAI's systems within 30 days, unless the chat's already been de-identified and disassociated from you, or OpenAI has to keep it longer for security or legal reasons.

Google Drive files are the exception. They can't be deleted from ChatGPT at all; open the original in Drive to delete or manage it.

Locked chats, PIN resets and Temporary Chat

If you lock a chat, files uploaded or created in it are hidden from Library while it stays locked, and you can only open them inside that same chat. To get to it, go to Projects, then Locked chats, and enter your account PIN or use device authentication. Permanently unlocking the chat makes those files visible in Library again. I explain the locking side in my guide to locking chats in ChatGPT.

The warning worth reading twice: resetting your account PIN permanently deletes files protected only by your previous PIN, and OpenAI Support can't recover them. If you'd rather a sensitive file never lands in Library in the first place, use Temporary Chat, because those uploads aren't saved.

Workspaces, training and who can see your files

• Retention: in Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces, Library files follow the workspace's retention policy. Opening a project, downloading a file or adding it to another chat doesn't restart that clock, so a file can expire even if you use it every day.
• Automatic referencing: workspace owners decide whether ChatGPT automatically references Library files when it answers. Turning that off doesn't remove Library; members can still browse and attach files themselves. In Healthcare workspaces it's off by default.
• Sharing: where Library sharing is available, you can share files and folders with specific people or your whole workspace as Viewer or Editor, and they'll find them under Shared with me.
• Training: on individual plans, OpenAI may use content you submit, uploaded files included, to improve its models if Improve the model for everyone is on. You can switch it off in Settings, then Data Controls.

No Library in your sidebar? You've probably got Space

If you're reading this because you can't find Library, this is likely why. As of October 2026, OpenAI says that if your account has access to Space, Space takes the place of Library, and your Projects carry on separately. If your screen still says Library, everything above applies.

My verdict on using Library for business files

Library's handy for one thing: reusing the same reference file across chats without uploading it again. It's less handy as somewhere to keep things, because it saves everything automatically, and deleting the chat doesn't clear the file.

I'd keep client files out of Library unless you've decided they can sit there, use Temporary Chat for anything you don't want saved, and check the training setting once. Skip it as a filing system; your own drive or document system is still the place for the master copy.

If your team is working out a tidy, safe way to store and reuse files with AI, that's the kind of AI enablement I help with. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement and workflow automation, so the busywork runs itself and people get time back. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.

Frequently asked questions

Does deleting a ChatGPT chat delete its files from Library?

No. Deleting a chat doesn't delete a separate file that's saved in Library. Delete the file from Library itself, and it's then scheduled for permanent deletion within 30 days, with a couple of exceptions OpenAI lists.

Why can't I see Library in ChatGPT?

As of October 2026, if your account has Space, Space takes the place of Library and your Projects stay separate. Library is also a web feature, so look in the left-hand sidebar on chatgpt.com.

How much storage does ChatGPT Library give you?

As of October 2026, Free gets up to 500 MB, Go up to 4 GB, Plus and Business up to 20 GB, and Pro up to 100 GB. The Storage button in Library shows what you've used.

Are files from Temporary Chat saved to Library?

No. Files uploaded in Temporary Chat aren't saved to your account or Library, and the same goes for files uploaded in ChatGPT Health.