Gemini 3.8 Flash is now available. Try it out.

File search

The Gemini API enables Retrieval Augmented Generation ("RAG") through the File Search tool. File Search imports, chunks, and indexes your data to enable fast retrieval of relevant information based on a provided prompt. This retrieved information is then used as context for the model, allowing it to provide more accurate and relevant answers. File search is also able to provide multimodal capabilities with text embeddings supported by gemini-embedding-001, and image/multimodal embedding supported by gemini-embedding-2.

File storage and embedding generation at query time is free, and you'll only pay for creating embeddings when you first index your files and the normal Gemini model input / output tokens cost. This new billing paradigm makes the File Search Tool both easier and more cost-effective to build and scale with. See pricing section for details.

Directly upload to File Search store

This example shows how to directly upload a file to the file search store:

Python

from google import genai
from google.genai import types
import time

client = genai.Client()

file_search_store = client.file_search_stores.create(
    config={
        'display_name': 'your-fileSearchStore-name',
        'embedding_model': 'models/gemini-embedding-2'
    }
)

operation = client.file_search_stores.upload_to_file_search_store(
  file='sample.txt',
  file_search_store_name=file_search_store.name,
  config={
      'display_name' : 'display-file-name',
  }
)

while not operation.done:
    time.sleep(5)
    operation = client.operations.get(operation)

interaction = client.interactions.create(
    model="gemini-3.8-flash",
    input="Can you tell me about [insert question]",
    tools=[{
        "type": "file_search",
        "file_search_store_names": [file_search_store.name]
    }]
)

for step in interaction.steps:
    if step.type == "model_output":
        for content_block in step.content:
            if content_block.type == "text":
                print(content_block.text)
                if content_block.annotations:
                    print("\nSources:")
                    for annotation in content_block.annotations:
                        if annotation.type == "file_citation":
                            print(f"  - {annotation.file_name}: {annotation.source}")

JavaScript

import { GoogleGenAI } from '@google/genai';

const ai = new GoogleGenAI({});

async function run() {
  const fileSearchStore = await ai.fileSearchStores.create({
    config: {
      displayName: 'your-fileSearchStore-name',
      embeddingModel: 'models/gemini-embedding-2'
    }
  });

  let operation = await ai.fileSearchStores.uploadToFileSearchStore({
    file: 'file.txt',
    fileSearchStoreName: fileSearchStore.name,
    config: {
      displayName: 'file-name',
    }
  });

  while (!operation.done) {
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 5000));
    operation = await ai.operations.get({ operation });
  }

  const interaction = await ai.interactions.create({
    model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
    input: "Can you tell me about [insert question]",
    tools: [{
      type: "file_search",
      file_search_store_names: [fileSearchStore.name]
    }]
  });

  for (const step of interaction.steps) {
    if (step.type === 'model_output') {
      for (const contentBlock of step.content) {
        if (contentBlock.type === 'text') {
          console.log(contentBlock.text);
          if (contentBlock.annotations) {
            console.log("\nSources:");
            for (const annotation of contentBlock.annotations) {
              if (annotation.type === 'file_citation') {
                console.log(`  - ${annotation.file_name}: ${annotation.source}`);
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

run();

Java

import com.google.genai.Client;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Annotation;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Content;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.CreateModelInteraction;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.FileCitation;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.FileSearch;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Interaction;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.InteractionsInput;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Model;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.ModelOutputStep;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Step;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.TextContent;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.operations.CreateInteractionRequestBody;
import com.google.genai.types.CreateFileSearchStoreConfig;
import com.google.genai.types.FileSearchStore;
import com.google.genai.types.UploadToFileSearchStoreConfig;
import com.google.genai.types.UploadToFileSearchStoreOperation;
import java.util.Arrays;

Client client = new Client();

FileSearchStore fileSearchStore =
    client.fileSearchStores.create(
        CreateFileSearchStoreConfig.builder()
            .displayName("your-fileSearchStore-name")
            .embeddingModel("models/gemini-embedding-2")
            .build());

UploadToFileSearchStoreOperation operation =
    client.fileSearchStores.uploadToFileSearchStore(
        fileSearchStore.name().get(),
        "sample.txt",
        UploadToFileSearchStoreConfig.builder().displayName("display-file-name").build());

while (!operation.done().orElse(false)) {
  Thread.sleep(5000);
  operation = client.operations.get(operation, null);
}

CreateModelInteraction params =
    CreateModelInteraction.builder()
        .model(Model.of("gemini-3.8-flash"))
        .input(InteractionsInput.of("Can you tell me about [insert question]"))
        .tools(
            Arrays.asList(
                FileSearch.builder()
                    .fileSearchStoreNames(Arrays.asList(fileSearchStore.name().get()))
                    .build()))
        .build();

Interaction interaction =
    client.interactions.create(CreateInteractionRequestBody.of(params)).interaction().get();

if (interaction.steps().isPresent()) {
  for (Step step : interaction.steps().get()) {
    if (step instanceof ModelOutputStep) {
      ModelOutputStep outputStep = (ModelOutputStep) step;
      if (outputStep.content().isPresent()) {
        for (Content contentBlock : outputStep.content().get()) {
          if (contentBlock instanceof TextContent) {
            TextContent textContent = (TextContent) contentBlock;
            System.out.println(textContent.text().orElse(""));
            if (textContent.annotations().isPresent()
                && !textContent.annotations().get().isEmpty()) {
              System.out.println("\nSources:");
              for (Annotation annotation : textContent.annotations().get()) {
                if (annotation instanceof FileCitation) {
                  FileCitation citation = (FileCitation) annotation;
                  System.out.printf(
                      "  - %s: %s%n",
                      citation.fileName().orElse(""), citation.source().orElse(""));
                }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

REST

# 1. Create a File Search store
curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/fileSearchStores?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "displayName": "your-file-search-store-name",
      "embeddingModel": "models/gemini-embedding-2"
    }' > store_res.json

FILE_SEARCH_STORE_NAME=$(jq -r ".name" store_res.json)

# 2. Upload directly to File Search store using resumable upload
NUM_BYTES=$(wc -c < "sample.txt")
curl "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/upload/v1beta/fileSearchStores/$FILE_SEARCH_STORE_NAME:uploadToFileSearchStore?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -D upload-header.tmp \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Protocol: resumable" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: start" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Length: $NUM_BYTES" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Type: text/plain" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"displayName": "sample.txt"}' 2> /dev/null

upload_url=$(grep -i "x-goog-upload-url: " upload-header.tmp | cut -d" " -f2 | tr -d "\r")
rm upload-header.tmp

curl "${upload_url}" \
    -H "Content-Length: $NUM_BYTES" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Offset: 0" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: upload, finalize" \
    --data-binary "@sample.txt" 2> /dev/null > upload_response.json

cat upload_response.json

# 3. Query using the File Search store
curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
    -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
      "input": "Can you tell me about [insert question]",
      "tools": [{
        "type": "file_search",
        "file_search_store_names": ["'"$FILE_SEARCH_STORE_NAME"'"]
      }]
    }'

Check the API reference for uploadToFileSearchStore for more information.

Importing files

Alternatively, you can upload an existing file and import it to your file search store:

Python

from google import genai
from google.genai import types
import time

client = genai.Client()

sample_file = client.files.upload(file='sample.txt', config={'display_name': 'display_file_name'})

file_search_store = client.file_search_stores.create(
    config={
        'display_name': 'your-fileSearchStore-name',
        'embedding_model': 'models/gemini-embedding-2'
    }
)

operation = client.file_search_stores.import_file(
    file_search_store_name=file_search_store.name,
    file_name=sample_file.name
)

while not operation.done:
    time.sleep(5)
    operation = client.operations.get(operation)

interaction = client.interactions.create(
    model="gemini-3.8-flash",
    input="Can you tell me about [insert question]",
    tools=[{
        "type": "file_search",
        "file_search_store_names": [file_search_store.name]
    }]
)

for step in interaction.steps:
    if step.type == "model_output":
        for content_block in step.content:
            if content_block.type == "text":
                print(content_block.text)

JavaScript

import { GoogleGenAI } from '@google/genai';

const ai = new GoogleGenAI({});

async function run() {
  const sampleFile = await ai.files.upload({
    file: 'sample.txt',
    config: { displayName: 'file-name' }
  });

  const fileSearchStore = await ai.fileSearchStores.create({
    config: {
      displayName: 'your-fileSearchStore-name',
      embeddingModel: 'models/gemini-embedding-2'
    }
  });

  let operation = await ai.fileSearchStores.importFile({
    fileSearchStoreName: fileSearchStore.name,
    fileName: sampleFile.name
  });

  while (!operation.done) {
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 5000));
    operation = await ai.operations.get({ operation: operation });
  }

  const interaction = await ai.interactions.create({
    model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
    input: "Can you tell me about [insert question]",
    tools: [{
      type: "file_search",
      file_search_store_names: [fileSearchStore.name]
    }]
  });

  for (const step of interaction.steps) {
    if (step.type === 'model_output') {
      for (const contentBlock of step.content) {
        if (contentBlock.type === 'text') {
          console.log(contentBlock.text);
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

run();

Java

import com.google.genai.Client;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Content;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.CreateModelInteraction;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.FileSearch;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Interaction;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.InteractionsInput;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Model;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.ModelOutputStep;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Step;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.TextContent;
import com.google.genai.gaos.models.operations.CreateInteractionRequestBody;
import com.google.genai.types.CreateFileSearchStoreConfig;
import com.google.genai.types.File;
import com.google.genai.types.FileSearchStore;
import com.google.genai.types.ImportFileOperation;
import com.google.genai.types.UploadFileConfig;
import java.util.Arrays;

Client client = new Client();

File sampleFile =
    client.files.upload(
        "sample.txt", UploadFileConfig.builder().displayName("display_file_name").build());

FileSearchStore fileSearchStore =
    client.fileSearchStores.create(
        CreateFileSearchStoreConfig.builder()
            .displayName("your-fileSearchStore-name")
            .embeddingModel("models/gemini-embedding-2")
            .build());

ImportFileOperation operation =
    client.fileSearchStores.importFile(
        fileSearchStore.name().get(), sampleFile.name().get(), null);

while (!operation.done().orElse(false)) {
  Thread.sleep(5000);
  operation = client.operations.get(operation, null);
}

CreateModelInteraction params =
    CreateModelInteraction.builder()
        .model(Model.of("gemini-3.8-flash"))
        .input(InteractionsInput.of("Can you tell me about [insert question]"))
        .tools(
            Arrays.asList(
                FileSearch.builder()
                    .fileSearchStoreNames(Arrays.asList(fileSearchStore.name().get()))
                    .build()))
        .build();

Interaction interaction =
    client.interactions.create(CreateInteractionRequestBody.of(params)).interaction().get();

if (interaction.steps().isPresent()) {
  for (Step step : interaction.steps().get()) {
    if (step instanceof ModelOutputStep) {
      ModelOutputStep outputStep = (ModelOutputStep) step;
      if (outputStep.content().isPresent()) {
        for (Content contentBlock : outputStep.content().get()) {
          if (contentBlock instanceof TextContent) {
            TextContent textContent = (TextContent) contentBlock;
            System.out.println(textContent.text().orElse(""));
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

REST

# 1. Upload file using the Files API
NUM_BYTES=$(wc -c < "sample.txt")
curl "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/upload/v1beta/files?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -D upload-header.tmp \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Protocol: resumable" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: start" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Length: $NUM_BYTES" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Type: text/plain" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"file": {"displayName": "sample.txt"}}' 2> /dev/null

upload_url=$(grep -i "x-goog-upload-url: " upload-header.tmp | cut -d" " -f2 | tr -d "\r")
rm upload-header.tmp

curl "${upload_url}" \
    -H "Content-Length: $NUM_BYTES" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Offset: 0" \
    -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: upload, finalize" \
    --data-binary "@sample.txt" 2> /dev/null > file_info.json

FILE_NAME=$(jq -r ".file.name" file_info.json)

# 2. Create a File Search store
curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/fileSearchStores?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "displayName": "your-file-search-store-name",
      "embeddingModel": "models/gemini-embedding-2"
    }' > store_res.json

FILE_SEARCH_STORE_NAME=$(jq -r ".name" store_res.json)

# 3. Import the file into the File Search store
curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/fileSearchStores/$FILE_SEARCH_STORE_NAME:importFile?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"fileName": "'"$FILE_NAME"'"}'

# 4. Query using the File Search store
curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
    -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
      "input": "Can you tell me about [insert question]",
      "tools": [{
        "type": "file_search",
        "file_search_store_names": ["'"$FILE_SEARCH_STORE_NAME"'"]
      }]
    }'

Check the API reference for importFile for more information.

Chunking configuration

When you import a file into a File Search store, it's automatically broken down into chunks, embedded, indexed, and uploaded to your File Search store. If you need more control over the chunking strategy, you can specify a