---
title: "The File step, and a media library for your files"
description: "A new File step opens an uploaded PDF, image or MP4 video straight from a QR code. Every uploaded file now lives in a media library with its kind, usage and a storage allowance per plan."
canonical: "https://linkbreakers.com/help/article/file-step-and-media-library"
last-updated: 2026-10-15
---

# The File step, and a media library for your files

> A new File step opens an uploaded PDF, image or MP4 video straight from a QR code. Every uploaded file now lives in a media library with its kind, usage and a storage allowance per plan.

## Short answer

A QR code can now open a file you uploaded to Linkbreakers. The new **File** step takes the visitor straight to a PDF, an image or an MP4 video, with no Google Drive or Dropbox link in between, and the file can be swapped at any time without reprinting. Every uploaded file now lives in a **media library** with its kind, its usage and a share of your plan's storage.

## What we shipped

### The File step

Add a **File** step to a workflow, pick a file from the media library or upload one from the step, and the visitor scanning the QR code is taken straight to it: a PDF opens in the browser, and so does an image or a video. The file's address is signed at the moment of the scan, so the printed code never carries a link that could go stale.

The QR code never changes. A restaurant that updates its menu every week points the File step at the new PDF, or uploads the new one in the step, and the next scan opens it.

Each opening is tracked like any other step. The link's activity timeline shows **File opened** with the name of the file, and the step counts in visitor journeys and step analytics.

See [how to share a file from a QR code](/help/article/how-to-share-a-file-from-a-qr-code) for the full guide.

### A File link type

When the link only needs to open a file, choose the **File** link type while creating it. The same is available everywhere else you create links:

- The API: `POST /v1/links/file` (`CreateFileLink`)
- The MCP server: the `links_create_file` tool
- The Assistant, which picks the file from your media library

### Several documents behind one QR code

A multi-link page whose buttons each lead to their own File step puts a menu, a wine list and an allergen sheet behind one code. Add a [Back to menu button](/help/article/how-to-add-a-back-to-menu-button) to the pages behind it and visitors can move between them. Files hosted elsewhere, such as a Google Drive link, keep using a redirect step.

### The media library

Every file a workspace uploads, whether a QR code center image, a page theme image or a file for visitors, now has two properties:

- A **kind**: image (PNG, JPEG, WebP, SVG), document (PDF) or video (MP4), read from the file itself
- A **usage**: what the file is for, which sets the accepted kinds and sizes. Images for QR codes and page themes go up to 3 MB; files for visitors go up to 10 MB for images, 25 MB for PDFs and 50 MB for MP4 videos

A **Media** section appears in the dashboard menu once the workspace has a file. It lists every file with filters by kind and usage, drag and drop uploads, opening and deleting, and a storage bar against the plan's allowance. A file a File step still uses cannot be deleted until the step points elsewhere, and the message names the links that use it.

### Storage per plan

Each plan now includes media storage: a total for all the files in the workspace. The Free plan includes 50 MB, Light 1 GB and Pro 10 GB. Enterprise storage is set per contract. The numbers are also on the [pricing page](/pricing).

An upload that would go over the allowance is refused with a message showing your usage. Nothing is ever deleted automatically, deleting a file frees its space at once, and the QR code images Linkbreakers generates do not count.

See [your media library](/help/article/your-media-library-files-kinds-usages-and-storage) for the details.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do my existing QR codes that redirect to a PDF keep working?

Yes. Redirect steps are unchanged. Move a PDF into a File step when you want to stop maintaining the external link, or keep the redirect for files hosted elsewhere.

### Do I need to reprint a QR code to change the file?

No. Point the File step at the new file. The QR code and the link stay the same.

### Do the files I already uploaded count toward storage?

Yes. QR code center images and page theme images already in your workspace are part of the media library and count toward storage. The QR code images Linkbreakers generates do not.

### What happens when storage is full?

New uploads are refused with a message showing your usage. Nothing is removed. Delete files you no longer need, or move to a plan with more storage.

### Can the Assistant upload a file for me?

Upload the file in the dashboard first. The Assistant can then build a link or a workflow step that hands it out.

## Limits and caveats

- The File step hands out PDFs, MP4 videos and PNG, JPEG, WebP or SVG images
- A File step is an exit step: nothing runs after it in the workflow
- The Assistant uses files already in the media library; it does not upload them
- Storage is a total across the workspace and does not reset each month