1) My goal:
I want to upload image files as app assets and use them in my Retool app, as described in Retool's file upload announcement.
2) Issue:
When I try to upload images through the Chat tab, the uploads fail and the images don't appear to actually be added as assets. However, the process still uses AI credits.
I've now run out of credits. The chat successfully made code changes that reference the images, but the actual image files are not there, so the app is pointing to assets that don't exist.
Is there a way to directly upload assets without going through the AI chat? It feels problematic that a basic asset upload currently requires consuming AI credits, especially when the upload itself fails.
3) Steps I've taken to troubleshoot:
Tried uploading the images through the Chat tab multiple times.
Allowed the AI chat to make the requested code changes.
Checked whether the uploaded images were actually available as app assets.
The code now references the images, but the image files themselves are missing.
Retried the process, which consumed additional credits.
I have now run out of AI credits without successfully uploading the assets.
Tried to drag and drop the images into the Code panel folders
4) Additional info:
Using the new app builder (not a classic app).
The issue is specifically with uploading image assets.
Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a workaround or a direct asset-upload option that doesn't require using AI credits?
Using the new app builder, attempts to upload image files as app assets through the Chat tab fail (the code references the images but the actual files aren't added as assets), yet the process still consumes AI credits — and there appears to be no way to upload assets directly without going through the AI chat.
AI Response
In the new app builder, uploading files as app assets is currently only supported through the Chat tab's 'Attach files' control (click the attach icon or paste files directly into the prompt box); dragging files into the Code panel folders is not a supported upload path, which is why that attempt didn't work. Note the documented limits: images up to 5 MB, documents/videos up to 20 MB, and a maximum of 10 attachments per message — uploads that exceed these can silently fail while the chat still edits code to reference them. There is presently no separate, non-AI direct asset-upload option, so asset uploads do go through the agent. Confirming files stay within the size limits and re-attaching them in a fresh message is the most reliable approach today, and heavy credit consumption in the new builder is a known, actively discussed concern.
Sources
Upload files as app assets
Official Retool announcement confirming that in the new app builder files are uploaded as assets via the Chat tab (the intended workflow), applicable only to the new builder. App Builder eats through AI credits *way* too quickly
An active, related thread corroborating the concern that the new app builder consumes AI credits far too quickly.
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Thank you for sharing these details with us! Really sorry to hear that the image upload has failed in the new app builder, and in this process, you have used up all of your AI credits.
I've shared this internally with our eng team who will be investigating this issue soon.
However, I'm missing your org details. I have DMed you privately to get your org details, so when you get the chance, please reply there so we can take a closer look at your situation and follow-up with you!
@DannyT Just posting here in case anyone else is also having this issue!
1. Issue with image asset uploads failing silently in the Chat tab while still consuming credits and generating code that references missing assets:
The eng team is investigating and working on a fix at the moment. I'll provide more updates as soon as I get them
When you're working in the app builder, there's a sandbox environment that handles your session. That sandbox automatically restarts/churns every 2.5 hours. The upload feature relies on an auth token which is separately valid for about 3 hours.
When the sandbox restarts at the 2.5-hour mark, it doesn't grab a fresh copy of that auth token - it just keeps using the old one. Since the old token is still technically valid for another 30 mins (until it hits its own 3-hour expiration), uploads seem like they should still work but they don't, because the sandbox is now new/reset and isn't correctly wired up with that token anymore.
In the meantime, until a fix is out, a temporary workaround is reloading the page.
2. Is there a non-AI, direct way to upload app assets?
Unfortunately, it does take an agent turn to copy the file from the sandbox machine into the app repo, but this shouldn't be an expensive operation - but please let me know if you are seeing that this process is consuming many credits each time you upload!
3. Refund credits when the agent's action visibly fails (e.g. upload didn't work) but credits were charged?
Refunds are processed on a case-by-case basis after taking a look at the full situation.
In this specific case, where it is an issue on the Retool platform's end, we have worked this out via private message
Hope this helps! Thanks for your patience while we make this fix!
Thanks Jen, I managed to get my images uploaded in the end, using the additional credits.
I did have another issue along the way though. The images initially showed up in the files, but didn't render in the app. The AI confirmed the files and code were correct, then identified the issue as:
"The image was simply added to the folder after the running dev server had already cached the glob module, so Vite hadn't registered the new file."
A normal refresh didn't fix it, but apparently the agent "forcing Vite to re-transform the module" did.
I also managed to upload roughly two batches of 8–10 images before it failed again, although starting a new thread seemed to get things working again.
Hopefully that extra detail is useful!
I think each upload costing between 2-4 credits, but its hard to tell.
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