# Files that should not be included in a project Including some file types in a project can cause conflicts with Overleaf's LaTeX compilation/build process, be a source of confusion, or contribute unnecessarily towards project file limits. ## Best practice: only include files required to compile your project An Overleaf project should not be used to store additional resources related to your project, such as PDFs of articles that you are referencing, or other documents. The contents of your Overleaf project should just be the "source" files that are needed to compile the PDF output. ## Best practice: do not upload a copy of the compiled PDF Overleaf does not add the compiled PDF to your project's source files. The PDF is always regenerated and downloaded separately. If you include a copy of the PDF in your source files, this can cause confusion, as this original version of the PDF will never be overwritten by Overleaf's compile process. The older PDF that you add to your project will remain, and may potentially cause confusion when downloaded or viewed. To avoid confusion we recommend that PDF files with the same name as your local project's main `.tex` file be removed from your local project prior to upload. You can download the up-to-date PDF by clicking on the "Download PDF" button near the "Recompile button" or, alternatively, click on the Overleaf menu on the upper-left and then "Download PDF". ## Local project files to remove before uploading a ZIP file to Overleaf * `*.aux` (unless you're using the `xr` package) * Table of contents, list of figures/tables:`*.toc`, `*.lof`, `*.lot` * References and citations auxiliary and output files `*.bbl` (unless you are *not* using a `.bib` file and rely on the `.bbl` only), `*.bcf`, `*.blg` * Beamer auxiliary files `*.snm`, `*.out`, `*.nav`, `*.vrb` * Glossaries/nomenclature/acronyms `*.ind`, `*.ilg`,`*.ist` (unless it's your custom index style file), `*.glg`,`*.gls`, `*.glo`, `*.acn`, `*.acr`, `*.alg` * SyncTeX file `*.synctex.gz` * `latexmk` auxiliary files files`*.run.xml`, `*.fls` * Other generated file extensions created by various packages. Manually uploading these files into your project list may cause problems with the build tool, especially `*.run.xml`! ## Git folders and files Uploading `.git` folders can cause problems when working with the Git integration or GitHub Synchronization. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.overleaf.com/managing-projects-and-files/adding-files-to-a-project/uploading-files-to-a-project/files-that-should-not-be-included-in-a-project.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.