Editing LLMs Usage FAQ (section)

== Solving ChatGPT Generated File Not Found Issues ==

📝 Inquiry: Strange, all files generated by ChatGPT fail to download, showing that the file doesn't exist. What's the problem?

💬 Response:

1. When the model switches to using the Code Interpreter tool, Python code will appear in the conversation. Its virtual execution environment has execution time limits<ref>[https://guides.ai/chatgpt-code-interpreter-session-expired/ Answered: ChatGPT "Code interpreter session expired" (2025)]</ref>. While OpenAI Help Center mentions that "generated download file links expire quickly"<ref>[https://help.openai.com/en/articles/7996703-troubleshooting-chatgpt-error-messages Troubleshooting ChatGPT Error Messages | OpenAI Help Center] "Ensure that the file is recently generated, files generated by ChatGPT expire quickly"</ref>, the official documentation does not specify exact time limits. Some users have reported approximately one hour<ref>[https://community.openai.com/t/code-interpreter-maintaining-files-uploaded-to-session-and-session-state/669626 Code Interpreter - maintaining files uploaded to session and session state - ChatGPT - OpenAI Developer Community]</ref>. When the time limit is exceeded, the generated files will disappear.

If you keep hitting the same wall in the same conversation, the only solution is to start a new conversation and try again.

2. An alternative approach is to avoid generating files directly and instead display the file content within the conversation.

If you consistently can't generate files, try changing the approach to display the file content directly in the conversation. This works better for text-based files.

3. Some online tutorials mention that filenames must be changed to English for proper downloads, but according to user testing experiences, changing to English filenames doesn't guarantee successful file downloads.

Models tested that can download files with Traditional Chinese filenames:
# ChatGPT 5
# ChatGPT 4o

Prompt:
<pre>
Generate a sample CSV file with columns: product name, quantity, sale date, total amount.
Please provide a CSV file using a Traditional Chinese filename.
</pre>