--- layout: markdown_page title: Provide large files to GitLab support description: "How to share large files with the GitLab support team." --- # Provide large files to GitLab support Zendesk has a [maximum attachment size](https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/235860287-What-is-the-maximum-attachment-size-I-can-include-in-ticket-comments-) of 20MB _per file_. Zendesk will not allow us to increase this limit any further. You have a handful of options for sharing a file that is larger than 20MB: ## Compression If you're sending a text file or an archive with mostly text files, then please compress it. Use either bz2(preferred) or gzip(faster) compression and it should compress to a small percentage of its original size. Zip compression is fine if you're on Windows. If this brings your file under the 20MB limit, then simply attach it to the ticket and be done. If not, then see below for more options. ## File sharing services Please feel free to use your own choice of file sharing service. Be aware that submitting potentially sensitive data to 3rd parties does carry a risk, so be sure to check with your security team for properly vetted choice. ## GitLab private project This is a fairly straight-forward option. [Sign up for a gitlab.com account](https://gitlab.com/users/sign_in#register-pane) if you don't already have one. Then create a private project and invite the Support Engineer(s) helping you to it. ## Use GNU split Since the attachment is applied _per file_, we can split that one file into many and attach all of them to a ticket. The `split` command is bundled in GNU coreutils, which should be installed on all Unix-like operating systems by default. Please avoid using alternatives like winzip, winrar, 7zip, etc. We've included an example below: ```sh # split -b split -b 19M source-file.tar.bz2 "target-file.tar.bz2." ``` This will create many files in your current directory such as `target-file.tar.bz2.aa` and `target-file.tar.bz2.ab`. These files can be later joined with the `cat` command. ```sh cat target-file.tar.bz2.* > joined-file.tar.bz2 ```