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You can bring your own images into a canvas as file nodes. Uploaded images become first-class assets — they can be referenced by edges, passed to image-tool models, or used as references on video nodes.

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What’s supported

  • Images — JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, HEIF. HEIC and HEIF originals are preserved for download, with JPEG previews for display and generations (up to 64 MB and 100 megapixels per photo).
  • Videos — upload from Files to keep and play your own footage.
  • Maximum size — limit depends on plan; current limits are shown in the upload dialog.

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What’s not supported

  • Audio uploads are not supported.

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How to upload

  • In the UI — drag an image onto the canvas, or pick Upload from the node toolbar.
  • MCP — call file_upload, curl the file to the returned URL, then call file_upload_complete.
  • CLI — mel upload <path>.
When you drop or select several files for the canvas at once, they appear together in a compact, roughly square grid inside a group. The layout keeps your file order and leaves room for different image sizes.

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Upload images in Cast

Beta — this feature is rolling out gradually. Reach out to support if you’d like access.
After choosing an avatar in Cast, drag an image from your device onto the Background or Prop card. You can also click an empty card’s upload area to choose a file. Dropping an image onto a populated card replaces its selection. Background uploads are saved for your team to reuse; prop uploads select the image for your cast. Each card uses the first supported image from a drop, and shows Uploading… until it finishes.

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Track uploads in Files

Uploads and imports started from Files appear in a queue at the bottom right. Expand the queue to check progress, or collapse it while you work.
  • Device uploads continue when you navigate to another page in Melius. Keep the tab open until they finish.
  • Connected Google Drive imports run durably in the background. If you reload or restart Melius, retained import jobs return to the queue.
  • Failed uploads remain in the queue so you can retry or dismiss them.

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Playback quality for large videos

Large uploaded videos get smaller playback copies at up to 480p, 720p, and 1080p. Playback automatically selects a suitable resolution for your connection and player size. There is no quality setting to manage. The smallest copy becomes available first. The player only lists prepared qualities, and never enlarges a source beyond its original dimensions. Reopen a video to pick up qualities that finished while you were watching it. While preparation runs, Melius plays the original when your browser can decode it. Preparation finishing in the background does not restart an open video. Use Download options to save a prepared 480p, 720p, or 1080p MP4. Each size becomes available as preparation finishes, with its dimensions and file size shown in the menu. Sizes still being prepared are marked Preparing. The Original and, where available, larger Optimized download remain available.

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Sandboxed-agent network allowlist

If you’re running an MCP-driven agent in a sandboxed environment (Claude Code’s sandboxed shell, for example), the sandbox needs network egress to *.melius.com for uploads to succeed. Add this exact entry to the sandbox’s network allowlist:
For Claude Desktop / Claude Code, the toggle lives in Organization Settings → Capabilities → Code execution. See the MCP overview for the full setup.
Last modified on October 6, 2026