Making files searchable (indexing)

For the AI assistant to search and analyze a file, that file must be indexed — Albatross extracts and prepares its content after upload. This happens automatically; no button to press.

Each file shows one of three states:

• Indexing — a spinner labeled "Indexing"; the file appears dimmed. The app checks automatically and clears this when done (seconds to minutes depending on size).
• Searchable / Ready — full brightness; the assistant can search it.
• Not searchable — a warning icon; the file is dimmed. Hover the label for the specific reason. Common causes:
  • A scanned PDF that is images-only with no extractable text ("No searchable content found").
  • An unsupported or corrupt file.
  • Certain media that couldn't be processed.

If a user asks the assistant about a file that's still indexing, the assistant will say it can't search it yet and to wait for indexing to finish. Transient indexing failures are retried automatically a few times; a file stuck at "Not searchable" usually means the content genuinely can't be extracted (e.g. a scan with no text layer).