Title: Issue with PDF Download Link in ChatGPT – “sandbox:/mnt/data” Not Accessible

ChatGPT Bugs
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Post:

Hi OpenAI Community,

I’m encountering a consistent issue when working with ChatGPT, specifically related to downloadable PDFs generated by the assistant.

When I request ChatGPT to generate a downloadable PDF (e.g., long-form articles or documents), the assistant responds with a link like this:

sandbox:/mnt/data/Generated_Document_Test.pdf

Click here to view the sample link

The problem is that this link is not accessible or clickable from the user interface. It does not initiate a file download, redirect to a new page, or offer any way to access the file directly. I’ve attempted to access the link in different browsers and sessions, but the result is the same each time.

Has anyone else encountered this issue?

If so:

• Were you able to find a workaround?

• Is this a known limitation with sandboxed file paths?

• Does OpenAI plan to provide a secure public download option for generated content?

This issue significantly affects the usability of ChatGPT for those of us using it for content creation, long-form writing, and document-based work.

Would love to hear from the community—or anyone from the OpenAI team—about this.

Thanks in advance!

Wholetruth

9 Likes
2

I am having the same issue. Haven’t found a solution yet

3 Likes
3

I am having the same issue too.

2 Likes
4

Same issue since weeks!
Incredible that there are no solutions to this issue.
It’s basically impossible to download any document generated by chat gpt, pdf, excel, word and so on.
keep getting the same error:

A red error message indicates an inability to retrieve the loading status of "Brief_Grafico_Timelapse_Altalook.pdf". (Captioned by AI)
A red error message indicates an inability to retrieve the loading status of "Brief_Grafico_Timelapse_Altalook.pdf". (Captioned by AI)605×141 2.92 KB

all the provided alternatives by chat gpt are not working of course.

3 Likes
5

If you’re using Google Chrome and have extensions like AdBlock enabled, you need to disable them and check the website’s permissions. Once you fix that, you shouldn’t have any more issues.

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6

What do you mean? Can you help me solve this issue?

1 Like
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Hey guys, I found it man its working in web browser but not in the app,

Since chatgpt have no use of our storage as it use temporary storage within the app its couldnt be sufficient for it.

This is my point of view in it .

Try to generate it in the web browser chatgpt.
It works for me ,

Let me know about it , guys

2 Likes
8

Same issue. "Not found " error. It is not good

2 Likes
9

نمیتونم فایل رو باز کنم چی کار کنم ـتمام راه حل ها رو رفتم

10

Try to tell chat gpt to change and give you alternative link becouse this doenst work and chat give you alternative working link :slight_smile:

12

Im having the same issue and cant find a workaround

13

I have some issues.
Downland problme and image convert very Lizzy

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Right click and ‘Save Image As’.

15

Also having this issue. No matter how ChatGPT tries to get me the image, it doesn’t show up. Using the web browser. No Ad Blockers.

16

same i tried yesterday it didnt work,

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I have been struggling with this today. However I eventually asked GPT to analyze itself and figure out why it wasnt working, and to provide a good workaround. It resolved the issue. I asked it what the problem was and what it did to resolve it. Here is the response:
What went wrong before:

  • The code execution environment had reset , which means all previously generated files were lost , including the ZIP file you tried to download.
  • The link still looked active , but it pointed to a file that no longer existed in the backend.
  • That’s why you were seeing “session expired” or similar errors when clicking.

:hammer_and_wrench: What I did to fix it:

  1. Re-executed the entire process from scratch:
  • Re-generated all 12 invoices using your exact formatting.
  • Stored them again as fresh PDFs.
  1. Created a new ZIP file :
  • Using zipfile , I bundled the newly generated PDFs.
  • This ZIP was saved again in the current session.
  1. Verified and presented a fresh link :
  • Ensured the ZIP actually existed in the filesystem.
  • Provided a valid direct download link to the new file.
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This worked for me, thank you!

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sandbox:/mnt/data/file_000000005d846243829254a1b71ed33a

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سلام بگو برات گوگل درایو بفرسته و لینک عمومی بفرسته

1 Like
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We✅ WORKAROUND for AI-Generated Audio Downloads (ChatGPT/Developer Use)

If your AI or assistant generates an .mp3 sound file but you can’t download it from the link (sandbox or forum restrictions), here’s what you can do:

:repeat_button: Solution: Convert MP3 to M4A (mobile-friendly format)

Ask your AI (if it has coding or Python capabilities):

“Can you convert the MP3 file to an .m4a (AAC) format using Python and Pydub so it’s easier to download and play on smartphones?”

If it’s using pydub, the code looks like this:

from pydub import AudioSegment
sound = AudioSegment.from_mp3(“your_file_path.mp3”)
sound.export(“your_file_name.m4a”, format=“ipod”)

:white_check_mark: This will create an .m4a version that plays smoothly on Android, iOS, and Spotify-type apps
:white_check_mark: These often download more reliably from ChatGPT’s sandbox environment too