# Ashby Resume Format & 50 MB Limit

> Ashby accepts PDF, DOC and DOCX up to 50 MB but does not support Markdown. Its docs name the two reasons a resume fails to parse, and its better parser is an opt-in feature some employers never switch on.

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| System | Ashby |
| Vendor | Ashby |
| Also known as | AshbyHQ |
| Rendered page | https://atsprep.com/ats/ashby |
| This document | https://atsprep.com/ats/ashby.md |

Ashby is one of the newest applicant tracking systems and one of the more candid: its public documentation names the exact reasons a resume fails to parse, and admits that its stronger parser is something an employer has to opt into. That last detail matters more than any formatting tip.

## Taking the file in

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Accepted file types | PDF, DOC, DOCX |
| Maximum upload size | 50 MB |

Source: [Ashby Docs — candidate files and file categories](https://docs.ashbyhq.com/candidate-files-and-file-categories) (checked Jul 30, 2026)

## Autofill

When a resume is uploaded, Ashby creates a candidate profile, parses the resume details into the summary tab of that profile, and stores the original file in a viewable form beside it.

The original file sits next to the parsed summary, so a recruiter can always see what you actually wrote — but the summary is what gets read first.

Source: [Ashby Docs — bulk import options](https://docs.ashbyhq.com/bulk-import-options) (checked Jul 30, 2026)

## What Ashby does differently

### The better parser is opt-in

Ashby offers “enhanced resume parsing”, which extends the range of supported languages and, in its own words, improves parsing for resumes with more complex layouts or formatting. It is an opt-in feature. Some employers on Ashby have it and some do not, and you have no way to tell which — so the sensible assumption is that you are being read by the standard parser.

Source: [Ashby Docs — AI features and enhanced resume parsing](https://docs.ashbyhq.com/ai-features-in-ashby) (checked Jul 30, 2026)

### A photograph of a resume will not parse

Ashby names this directly as a failure case: a file that is an image of a PDF, where someone photographed a document and converted it. It is a more common accident than it sounds, particularly when applying from a phone.

Source: [Ashby Docs — bulk import options](https://docs.ashbyhq.com/bulk-import-options) (checked Jul 30, 2026)

### An unusual layout defeats it

The second documented failure case is a file in a unique format, which Ashby describes as the candidate's details sitting somewhere the parser did not expect. Anything that moves your name and contact details away from the top of the first page is a candidate for this.

Source: [Ashby Docs — bulk import options](https://docs.ashbyhq.com/bulk-import-options) (checked Jul 30, 2026)

### Markdown is explicitly not supported

Ashby's file documentation calls out executable types and certain text-based formats such as .md as unsupported. Engineers who keep a resume in Markdown need to export before applying rather than attaching the source.

Source: [Ashby Docs — candidate files and file categories](https://docs.ashbyhq.com/candidate-files-and-file-categories) (checked Jul 30, 2026)

### The size ceiling is generous

Ashby allows up to 50 MB, far above what a text-based resume needs. A limit that high means file size will not be your problem here — but it also means an enormous image-heavy export will upload happily and still parse badly.

Source: [Ashby Docs — candidate files and file categories](https://docs.ashbyhq.com/candidate-files-and-file-categories) (checked Jul 30, 2026)

## What to do about it

### Export, do not photograph

Produce the PDF from the document itself. A scan or a photo converted to PDF carries no text layer, and Ashby lists exactly that as a parse failure.

### Keep your name and contact details at the top

Ashby's second documented failure mode is details turning up somewhere unexpected. The top of the first page is where every parser looks first.

### Assume the standard parser

Since enhanced parsing is opt-in, format for the weaker case: a single column, ordinary section headings, and no reliance on the layout to convey meaning.

### Convert Markdown before you apply

If you write your resume in Markdown, export to PDF or DOCX. Ashby names .md among the formats it does not take.

## Questions

### What file types does Ashby accept?

For documents, PDF, DOC and DOCX, with a limit of 50 MB. Ashby's upload questions also accept images such as JPG and PNG and common video formats, but it explicitly does not support executables or certain text-based formats such as Markdown.

### Why did my resume fail to parse in Ashby?

Ashby documents two reasons. The first is that the file is an image of a PDF, meaning someone photographed or scanned a document and converted it, leaving no text to extract. The second is that the file is in a unique format, where details the parser needs sit somewhere it did not expect to find them.

### What is Ashby's enhanced resume parsing?

It is an opt-in feature that extends the range of supported languages — Korean and Hebrew are given as examples — and improves parsing of resumes with more complex layouts or formatting. Because employers have to enable it, you cannot assume it is on.

### How big can a resume be in Ashby?

Up to 50 MB, which is far more than a text-based resume requires. Size is rarely the constraint on Ashby; whether the file contains real text is.

## Exporting from ATSPrep to Ashby

ATSPrep exports a linear, single-column, parser-safe document. Against Ashby's published list of accepted types:

- **PDF** — on Ashby's accepted list
- **DOCX** — on Ashby's accepted list

## The other guides

- [Greenhouse](https://atsprep.com/ats/greenhouse) — Greenhouse takes PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF and TXT, and will not parse a resume larger than 2.5 MB. Its own support docs name what makes a parse fail — columns, contact details in a header, abbreviated job titles and more.
- [Oracle Taleo](https://atsprep.com/ats/taleo) — Oracle ships Taleo with a 1 MB default attachment limit and no resume parser of its own — parsing only works if the employer has enabled a third-party partner integration, so behaviour differs from one Taleo site to the next.
- [SmartRecruiters](https://atsprep.com/ats/smartrecruiters) — SmartRecruiters accepts PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, JPG and PNG at 2 MB per file, and its CEO named Textkernel as the parsing engine — whose own documentation warns about PDFs more bluntly than any resume blog does.
- [Workable](https://atsprep.com/ats/workable) — Workable accepts PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML and ODT for a resume, with a 5 MB ceiling — while other attachments on the same form are allowed four times that size.
- [Manatal](https://atsprep.com/ats/manatal) — Manatal takes PDF, DOC, DOCX and RTF, parses every resume the moment it lands with a parser it built rather than licensed, and keeps the original file where recruiters can open it.

## About ATSPrep

ATSPrep (https://atsprep.com) is a free ATS resume checker and builder. It shows the exact text an applicant tracking system extracts from a resume, then grades each bullet on whether it carries evidence a reader can verify.

- **Price:** free. Checking, importing, editing and exporting are all unpaid. No export paywall or watermark. A separate Job Hunt Pass is only a waitlist today.
- **Account:** none required. An optional email checklist and product waitlist do not block the Studio.
- **Your file:** parsed and exported inside the browser. The resume file itself is never uploaded.
- **Optional:** one button-gated feature, semantic match, sends selected resume lines and job-posting requirement lines to a matching service. Never your name, email, phone, address or links, and nothing is stored.
- **Offline:** works once the page has loaded.
- **Accepts:** PDF, DOCX, TXT, Markdown, or pasted plain text.

Start here: https://atsprep.com/studio