Saving Agent-Generated Files Externally
Your agents can generate a wide variety of files — reports, spreadsheets, images, and more. Once a file exists in elvex, you often need it somewhere else: a shared Google Drive folder, your team's OneDrive, or an S3 bucket that feeds a downstream pipeline. Manually downloading a file and re-uploading it elsewhere breaks the flow of working with an agent and adds an extra step to workflows that should be automatic.
elvex gives you two ways to get files out of a conversation and into external storage, depending on what you're trying to do:
Save directly from a file with one click — for sending a specific artifact to your personal cloud storage as you're working
Have an agent upload a file as part of a task — for workflows where the agent itself should deliver the file to a destination like an S3 bucket, without you doing anything manually
You might need this when:
You've generated a report or document in a conversation and want a copy saved to your Google Drive or OneDrive without downloading and re-uploading it yourself
Your data pipeline expects processed files to land in a specific S3 bucket automatically
You want an agent to generate a file and deliver it to a destination as part of a larger automated workflow
Method 1: Save to Cloud Storage from a File
Any file an agent generates — a document, spreadsheet, or other artifact — has a Save to [Service] button right on the file itself. This is the fastest way to get a single file into your personal cloud storage.
Before You Begin
You must connect Google Drive and/or OneDrive as a cloud storage account before the Save button will work
You must choose which connected service is your default upload destination
How to Configure Cloud Storage
Go to Settings > Cloud Storage.
Connect Google Drive, OneDrive, or both.
For each connected service, choose a Default upload folder — this is where files land when you save to that service.
Toggle Use as default upload destination for whichever service you want pre-selected when saving files. Only one service can be the default at a time.
How to Save a File
Open the file you want to save (for example, a document generated by an agent).
Click Save to [Service] in the file's toolbar — the button reflects whichever service is set as your default.
The file uploads to your configured default folder for that service.
Method 2: Have an Agent Upload a File via an Integration Action
For workflows where the file needs to land somewhere automatically — without you manually clicking Save — agents can upload files directly using integration actions. This works with services like Amazon S3, and more destinations will be supported over time.
Unlike the Save button (which is a manual, one-click action you trigger), this method is driven by the agent as part of completing a task. You simply ask the agent to save or upload a file, and it takes care of the rest.
How It Works
When an agent uploads a file through an integration action, it encodes the file content in the format that action expects — commonly base64, data_uri, or hex. You don't need to know which encoding is being used or configure it yourself; the agent and the underlying action handle this automatically based on what the destination requires.
Before You Begin
The relevant integration (for example, Amazon S3) must be connected in elvex with credentials that have write access to the destination
The agent must have that integration enabled in its configuration
How to Use It
Open a conversation with an agent that has the relevant integration enabled.
Ask the agent to save or upload a file, specifying the destination (for example, a bucket name and file path for S3).
The agent uploads the file and confirms when it's complete.
For example, you might say: "Generate a summary of this week's sales data and save it to my-company-bucket as reports/weekly-summary-2026-09-03.txt"
Common Questions
Which method should I use?
Use the Save button when you personally want a copy of a file in your own Google Drive or OneDrive. Use an integration action when you want the agent to deliver a file to a destination automatically as part of a task — for example, feeding a data pipeline or shared bucket.
Can I save any file type?
Yes, both methods support the file types agents commonly generate, including documents, spreadsheets, and images.
Do I need to know about encodings like base64 to use this?
No. Encoding only matters behind the scenes for integration actions. The agent and the action definition determine the correct encoding automatically — you just ask for the file to be saved or uploaded.
What's Next
Once your cloud storage is configured, saving files becomes a one-click action across all your conversations. If you're building an automated workflow, consider using integration actions so agents can deliver files to shared destinations without any manual steps.