How to give ChatGPT or Claude access to your PDFs

A lease, three research papers, a supplier contract and last year’s tax return are all PDFs, and sooner or later each one becomes a question for ChatGPT or Claude. The usual routine is to dig out the file, drag it into the chat, ask the question, and then do the same thing again next week when that document comes up in a new conversation.

This guide covers the common ways people hand PDFs to an AI chat, where those methods get tiring, and how to keep your PDFs in Fabric and connect them to ChatGPT or Claude through the Fabric MCP server, so either one can find and read them when you ask.

How people usually get PDFs into ChatGPT or Claude

Attaching the file to a message is the default, and it works well for a single question about a single document. It slows down when the answer depends on several PDFs, because each one has to be located and attached, and the attachment belongs to that conversation only.

Projects in ChatGPT and Claude let you upload a set of files once and reuse them across chats in that project. That suits a stable reference set, such as an employee handbook. The uploaded files are copies, though, so a revised contract or an updated paper has to be uploaded again, and PDFs used in several projects end up stored in several places.

Some people copy the relevant pages as text and paste them in, which gives tight control over what the model sees and takes a while. Others connect a cloud drive to the AI tool. That covers the PDFs already in that drive, while the ones in email attachments or a downloads folder stay outside it.

Step 1: Put your PDFs in Fabric

Drag PDFs into the Fabric web or desktop app, paste them, or click Upload a file. Uploading handles large numbers of files at once, so a folder of papers or a year of statements can go in together. File uploads are included on the free plan.

With the Fabric desktop app installed, Fabric mounts as a virtual drive on Mac, Windows and Linux, and you can move PDFs into it from Finder or File Explorer as you would with any folder. PDF attachments can be forwarded to your Fabric email address, and on iOS or Android the share sheet sends a PDF from any app straight to Fabric.

PDFs that already live in Google Drive can stay there. A Google Drive connection syncs those files with Fabric in both directions, and ChatGPT or Claude can then read them through Fabric too. Connections need a paid plan.

Step 2: Let Fabric index what’s inside them

As each PDF arrives, Fabric makes the text inside it searchable, creates embeddings so search can match by meaning, writes a short summary, and extracts attributes such as content type and topics. Renaming files like scan_0032.pdf isn’t required for any of this. The smart organization features also suggest tags, and smart collections you set up fill themselves with matching PDFs.

It’s worth a quick check before involving another tool. Press Cmd+F (Mac) / Ctrl+F (Windows) and search Fabric for a phrase you know is in one of your PDFs. Results open at the exact page, and if Fabric finds it, the AI tool you connect next will be working from the same index.

Folders are optional. They help when you want to point the AI at a defined set, such as one client’s contracts or the papers for one chapter, because you can mention the folder by name in your prompt.

Step 3: Connect Fabric to Claude or ChatGPT

The Fabric MCP server is the link between your library and the AI tool. Its address is https://mcp.api.fabric.so/mcp. Sign-in uses OAuth, so there’s no API key to copy around, and setup takes under a minute.

For Claude, Fabric is listed in Claude’s official connector directory, so the simplest route is to add it from there. To add it by hand in Claude Desktop, open Settings, go to Connectors, choose to add a custom connector, enter a name and the server URL, and follow the sign-in prompts.

For ChatGPT, open Settings, go to Connectors and choose Add Connector. Enter the server URL, give it a name and save. Then start a new conversation, click More, choose Add Connectors, select Fabric and sign in when prompted.

If sign-in fails in either tool, remove the Fabric server and add it again.

Step 4: Ask questions across your PDFs

Once connected, ChatGPT or Claude can search your Fabric library and read the contents of the files it finds. Ask in plain language, and name the document or folder when you know it: “Find my apartment lease in Fabric and tell me the notice period for ending it early,” or “Read the papers in my Fabric folder Sleep research and compare their sample sizes.”

Since the model pulls the PDFs from Fabric, a follow-up about a different document in the same conversation needs no attachment. When a revised version of a contract replaces the old one in Fabric, the next question reads the new file.

The connection also works in the other direction. The AI tool can create notes, tasks, folders, bookmarks and tags in Fabric, so you can ask it to save a summary of three papers as a note or add a task for a renewal date it found. Items created this way count against your Fabric storage and AI usage, which you can check at fabric.so/settings/usage. For background on what a model does with your files, see how LLMs use your files.

Frequently asked questions

Can ChatGPT read PDFs stored in Fabric?

Yes. After you add the Fabric MCP server as a connector, ChatGPT can search your Fabric library and read the contents of files, including PDFs.

Do I have to upload PDFs to ChatGPT or Claude for every chat?

No. Once Fabric is connected, the AI tool reads PDFs from your library when a question needs them. How to use ChatGPT with your own files compares this with uploading.

How do I connect Fabric to Claude?

Add Fabric from Claude’s official connector directory, or in Claude Desktop go to Settings, then Connectors, add a custom connector, and enter https://mcp.api.fabric.so/mcp. Claude Code users can run claude mcp add fabric --transport http https://mcp.api.fabric.so/mcp and restart.

Do I need an API key to connect Fabric to an AI tool?

No. Sign-in is OAuth, so you approve access in the browser and there’s no key to store.

Can ChatGPT or Claude read PDFs that are in my Google Drive?

Yes, if Google Drive is connected to Fabric. The AI tool can read files from connected apps like Google Drive through the Fabric MCP server. Connections need a paid plan.

Can I ask questions about my PDFs without leaving Fabric?

Yes. Open a folder and open the AI assistant, and it limits itself to that folder. Answers cite the PDFs they came from, and one subscription covers models from several labs, including OpenAI and Claude.

Which other AI tools can read my PDFs through Fabric?

Cursor, Codex, VS Code with Copilot and any other MCP client that supports remote HTTP servers can use the same server URL. Sign-in is discovered automatically.

What should I do if the Fabric connector won’t sign in?

Remove the Fabric server from the AI tool and add it again, then go through the sign-in prompts.

Can I store PDFs in Fabric for free?

Yes. File uploads are on the free plan, which has storage and file size caps. Connections to other apps need a paid plan, and pricing lists what each plan includes.