[BUG] Project “Knowledge files” upload rejects 9.2 MB PDF with “Uploaded file is too large” (expected 30 MB limit)

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

I have created a new Project in the Chat tab of the Claude Desktop app. I tried to upload a file to the knowledge files and I got the error "Upload file is too large. Try uploading a smaller part of the document, or copy/pasting an excerpt from the file".

<img width="521" height="522" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/5a3e1b1f-375e-48d7-85b3-11b1338bd6a3" />

The file is a pdf and it's 9.2MB in size with 1016 pages. The guidelines state that for projects you can upload files up to 30MB each.

What Should Happen?

You should be allowed to upload a file with size 9.2MB.

Error Messages/Logs

Upload file is too large. Try uploading a smaller part of the document, or copy/pasting an excerpt from the file

Steps to Reproduce

1. Go to the Chat tab on the Claude Desktop app
2. Create a new project
3. Upload a pdf file with size 9.2MB and 1016 pages

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.101 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

Please not this is the Claude Desktop app, not CLI.