# Attachements not available on https://agents-course-unit4-scoring.hf.space/docs#

**URL:** <https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/attachements-not-available-on-https-agents-course-unit4-scoring-hf-space-docs/171219>\
**Category:** 🤗 Course Projects\
**Created:** [December 6, 2025, 12:21pm UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/attachements-not-available-on-https-agents-course-unit4-scoring-hf-space-docs/171219 "2025-12-06T12:21:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vsaez](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/user_avatar/discuss.huggingface.co/vsaez/32/55195_2.png) [@vsaez](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/vsaez)\
**Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 12:21pm UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/attachements-not-available-on-https-agents-course-unit4-scoring-hf-space-docs/171219/1 "2025-12-06T12:21:54Z")

</div>

Hi! 👋  
I’m currently working on the GAIA evaluation agent, and I’ve run into an issue with the task attachments (images, audio files, Python code, Excel sheets, etc.).

According to the documentation, these files should be obtainable by calling the attachments endpoint with the task\_id. However, the endpoint consistently returns no file, and it looks like attachments have not been available for quite a while.

Could someone from the Hugging Face team (ping @HuggingFace or the GAIA maintainers) confirm:

Are the task attachments going to be made available again?

If yes, is there an expected timeline for when access will be restored?

If not, should agents be designed to work without attachments for now?

This is blocking full GAIA evaluation support, so any clarification would be very appreciated. Thanks in advance! 🙏

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![John6666](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/user_avatar/discuss.huggingface.co/john6666/32/27664_2.png) [@John6666](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/John6666)\
**Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 1:03pm UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/attachements-not-available-on-https-agents-course-unit4-scoring-hf-space-docs/171219/2 "2025-12-06T13:03:24Z")

</div>

For now, I’ve organized the current situation (what’s happening in the code and the proposed fixes).

* * *

Short answer:

- The Space broke because GAIA changed how it ships data, but the Space still assumes an old layout.
- GAIA now stores `file_path` as a **repo-relative path** and no longer provides a loader script that materializes local files for you.([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/datasets/gaia-benchmark/GAIA/blob/main/README.md "README.md · gaia-benchmark/GAIA at main"))
- The Space checks `os.path.exists(file_path)` directly, so it never finds any file, never fills `task_file_paths`, and `/files/{task_id}` always returns 404.([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/blob/main/main.py "main.py · agents-course/Unit4\_scoring at main"))
- The minimal fix: in `load_questions()`, replace the `os.path.exists` logic with a small `hf_hub_download(...)` call that turns the GAIA `file_path` into a real local path under `/app/.cache`.

Below is the explanation step by step, plus a concrete small patch.

* * *

## 1. What the Space is supposed to do

The scoring Space has three public endpoints (as described in the course materials and forum reply).([Hugging Face Forums](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/get-files-task-id-returning-404-for-every-task-id-with-file-name/170575 "GET /files/{task\_id} returning 404 for every task\_id with file\_name - Beginners - Hugging Face Forums"))

- `GET /questions`

- `GET /files/{task_id}`

- `POST /submit`

All of this is wired in `main.py` of `agents-course/Unit4_scoring`.([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/blob/main/main.py "main.py · agents-course/Unit4\_scoring at main"))

The `/files/{task_id}` endpoint depends completely on `task_file_paths` being filled correctly at startup.

* * *

## 2. What changed on the GAIA side

Two important changes happened on GAIA’s side:

1. **Datasets 4.0 removed dataset-loader scripts.**  
GAIA used to have a `GAIA.py` loader and had to be converted to a “script-free” dataset. The maintainers explicitly mention the need to drop the script and move to Parquet.([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/datasets/gaia-benchmark/GAIA/discussions/39 "gaia-benchmark/GAIA · Datasets 4.0.0 RuntimeError: Dataset scripts are no longer supported, but found GAIA.py"))

2. **GAIA now ships Parquet + repo-relative `file_path`.**  
The updated GAIA dataset card (October 2025) says: ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/datasets/gaia-benchmark/GAIA/blob/main/README.md "README.md · gaia-benchmark/GAIA at main"))

* * *

## 3. How the Space currently loads GAIA and files

Look at the Space’s `load_questions()` in `main.py`: ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/blob/main/main.py "main.py · agents-course/Unit4\_scoring at main"))

```python
dataset = load_dataset("gaia-benchmark/GAIA",
                       "2023_level1",
                       split="validation",
                       trust_remote_code=True)
...
local_file_path = item.get('file_path')
file_name = item.get('file_name')
...
# 3. Store the file path mapping if file details exist and are valid
if local_file_path and file_name:
    # Log if the path from the dataset isn't absolute (might indicate issues)
    if not os.path.isabs(local_file_path):
        logger.warning(
            f"Task {task_id}: Path '{local_file_path}' from dataset is not absolute. "
            "This might cause issues finding the file on the server."
        )

    if os.path.exists(local_file_path) and os.path.isfile(local_file_path):
        task_file_paths[str(task_id)] = local_file_path
        logger.debug(f"Stored file path mapping for task_id {task_id}: {local_file_path}")
    else:
        logger.warning(
            f"File path '{local_file_path}' for task_id {task_id} does NOT exist or is not a file on server. "
            "Mapping skipped."
        )

```

Key points:

- It reads `file_path` from GAIA into `local_file_path`.
- It warns if this path is **not absolute** (so it expects absolute paths).
- Then it directly calls `os.path.exists(local_file_path)` and only stores it if that is true.

Later, `/files/{task_id}` does:

```python
if task_id not in task_file_paths:
    raise HTTPException(status_code=404,
                        detail=f"No file path associated with task_id {task_id}.")
...
abs_file_path = os.path.abspath(local_file_path)
if not abs_file_path.startswith(ALLOWED_CACHE_BASE):
    raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail="File access denied.")
if not os.path.exists(abs_file_path) or not os.path.isfile(abs_file_path):
    raise HTTPException(status_code=404,
                        detail=f"File associated with task_id {task_id} not found on server disk.")
return FileResponse(path=abs_file_path, ...)

```

([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/blob/main/main.py "main.py · agents-course/Unit4\_scoring at main"))

So `/files/{task_id}` will only work if:

- `task_file_paths[task_id]` exists, and
- that path points to a real file _already on disk_ under `/app/.cache`.

* * *

## 4. Why this breaks now

Combine the previous sections:

1. GAIA now exposes `file_path` as **repo-relative** , e.g. `"2023/test/abcd1234.png"`.([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/datasets/gaia-benchmark/GAIA/blob/main/README.md "README.md · gaia-benchmark/GAIA at main"))

2. The scoring Space **never downloads those files nor joins the path with the dataset root**. It simply expects `local_file_path` to be an absolute path that already exists inside the container.([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/blob/main/main.py "main.py · agents-course/Unit4\_scoring at main"))

3. At startup, for each question with an attachment:

4. At request time:

This matches the forum symptom: even using the correct bare `task_id` in the URL, users get 404 for tasks with valid `file_name`.([Hugging Face Forums](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/get-files-task-id-returning-404-for-every-task-id-with-file-name/170575 "GET /files/{task\_id} returning 404 for every task\_id with file\_name - Beginners - Hugging Face Forums"))

So the Space is broken because **its file-path handling is out of date with GAIA’s new Parquet + relative `file_path` design**.

* * *

## 5. Minimal code fix inside the Space

Goal: keep the architecture, change as little as possible.

You already have `hf_hub_download` imported:

```python
from huggingface_hub import HfApi, hf_hub_download

```

([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/blob/main/main.py "main.py · agents-course/Unit4\_scoring at main"))

So the smallest safe fix is to replace the “does this path exist locally?” logic by a call that **resolves GAIA’s relative `file_path` into a real local file**.

### Patch: only change the mapping block in `load_questions()`

Current block (lines 224–238): ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/blob/main/main.py "main.py · agents-course/Unit4\_scoring at main"))

```python
        # 3. Store the file path mapping if file details exist and are valid
        if local_file_path and file_name:
            # Log if the path from the dataset isn't absolute (might indicate issues)

            if not os.path.isabs(local_file_path):
                logger.warning(
                    f"Task {task_id}: Path '{local_file_path}' from dataset is not absolute. "
                    "This might cause issues finding the file on the server."
                )

            if os.path.exists(local_file_path) and os.path.isfile(local_file_path):
                task_file_paths[str(task_id)] = local_file_path
                logger.debug(f"Stored file path mapping for task_id {task_id}: {local_file_path}")
            else:
                logger.warning(
                    f"File path '{local_file_path}' for task_id {task_id} does NOT exist or is not a file on server. "
                    "Mapping skipped."
                )

```

Replace that block with:

```python
        # 3. Store the file path mapping if file details exist and are valid
        if local_file_path and file_name:
            try:
                # GAIA's file_path is relative to the dataset repo root.
                # Download the file into the allowed cache and get its local path.
                resolved_path = hf_hub_download(
                    repo_id="gaia-benchmark/GAIA",
                    filename=local_file_path, # e.g. "2023/test/<attachment-id>.pdf"
                    repo_type="dataset",
                    cache_dir=ALLOWED_CACHE_BASE,
                )

                task_file_paths[str(task_id)] = resolved_path
                logger.debug(
                    f"Stored file path mapping for task_id {task_id}: {resolved_path}"
                )
            except Exception as e:
                logger.warning(
                    f"Could not download file '{local_file_path}' for task_id {task_id}: {e}. "
                    "Mapping skipped."
                )

```

Optional one-liner near the top of `load_questions()` (after `task_file_paths.clear()`):

```python
    os.makedirs(ALLOWED_CACHE_BASE, exist_ok=True)

```

### Why this is enough

- **Resolves GAIA semantics correctly**

- **Keeps security checks intact**

- **No changes to external API**

- **Minimal surface change**

* * *

## 6. Sanity checks after patch

After deploying the patched Space, do three quick manual tests:

1. **Check questions still load**

2. **Pick a known multimodal task**

3. **Call `/files/{task_id}`**

If you still get 404, log output from `load_questions()` will tell you whether `hf_hub_download` failed (dataset gating, network, token, etc.).

* * *

### Final summary

- The Space broke because it assumes GAIA’s `file_path` is an absolute local path, but GAIA now defines `file_path` as a **relative path inside the dataset repo** , with Parquet-backed splits and no loader script.([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/datasets/gaia-benchmark/GAIA/blob/main/README.md "README.md · gaia-benchmark/GAIA at main"))
- At startup, the Space never downloads those files or joins them with a dataset root, so `os.path.exists(file_path)` fails for every attachment, `task_file_paths` stays empty, and `/files/{task_id}` returns 404.([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/blob/main/main.py "main.py · agents-course/Unit4\_scoring at main"))
- The minimal fix is to replace the `os.path.exists` block in `load_questions()` with a call to `hf_hub_download(repo_id="gaia-benchmark/GAIA", filename=local_file_path, repo_type="dataset", cache_dir=ALLOWED_CACHE_BASE)`, then store that returned path in `task_file_paths`.
- This respects GAIA’s new format, keeps security checks and public API unchanged, and restores working attachments for `/files/{task_id}`.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![agenticengineer](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/user_avatar/discuss.huggingface.co/agenticengineer/32/61989_2.png) [@agenticengineer](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/agenticengineer)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2026, 4:39am UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/attachements-not-available-on-https-agents-course-unit4-scoring-hf-space-docs/171219/3 "2026-07-11T04:39:43Z")

</div>

Thanks for the detailed investigation. I can confirm I’m seeing the same behavior.

The `/questions` endpoint correctly returns a `file_name` for attachment-based tasks. For example:

```auto
task_id: 7bd855d8-463d-4ed5-93ca-5fe35145f733
file_name: 7bd855d8-463d-4ed5-93ca-5fe35145f733.xlsx

```

However, requesting:

```auto
GET /files/7bd855d8-463d-4ed5-93ca-5fe35145f733

```

returns:

```auto
{"detail":"No file path associated with task_id 7bd855d8-463d-4ed5-93ca-5fe35145f733."}

```

I also verified this directly in the browser and from my code using `requests.get()`, with the same result (404).

This prevents my agent from supporting Excel (and presumably image, audio, and Python) attachment tasks, even though the questions advertise the corresponding `file_name`.

Has anyone from the Hugging Face team confirmed whether the official Unit4\_scoring Space will be updated to resolve the attachment mapping issue?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![John6666](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/user_avatar/discuss.huggingface.co/john6666/32/27664_2.png) [@John6666](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/John6666)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 3:46am UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/attachements-not-available-on-https-agents-course-unit4-scoring-hf-space-docs/171219/4 "2026-07-12T03:46:08Z")

</div>

Ah… 😮 I only just realized that there was no PR open for this, so I opened one. If you need to unblock yourself immediately, the quickest route is probably to duplicate the scoring Space and apply the same fix. Otherwise, the next option is to wait for HF to review and merge the PR:

* * *

I still do not see a public confirmation or ETA from an HF maintainer. At the time of writing, the public `Unit4_scoring` Space still uses the old attachment-path logic, so the official `/files/{task_id}` endpoint remains affected.

However, there is now a minimal [Space PR: Fix GAIA attachment downloads](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/discussions/2). The same failure is also tracked in [agents-course issue #624](https://github.com/huggingface/agents-course/issues/624) and [issue #647](https://github.com/huggingface/agents-course/issues/647).

| Item | Current status |
| --- | --- |
| HF maintainer confirmation / ETA | I have not seen one publicly |
| Fix PR | Open; currently shown as ready to merge |
| Official scoring Space | Fix not yet applied |
| Private duplicate with the patch | Tested successfully |
| Referenced attachments | 5/5 returned HTTP 200 |

## What appears to be failing

The current [GAIA dataset documentation](https://huggingface.co/datasets/gaia-benchmark/GAIA/blob/main/README.md) describes attachment `file_path` values as paths relative to the dataset repository root, for example:

```plaintext
2023/validation/<task-id>.xlsx

```

The current public [`Unit4_scoring/main.py`](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/blob/main/main.py), however, checks those values directly with `os.path.exists()` as though the files had already been materialized on the Space filesystem.

The resulting flow is approximately:

```plaintext
GAIA returns a repository-relative file_path
    ↓
the scoring Space checks it as an existing local path
    ↓
os.path.exists() returns false
    ↓
no task_id → local file mapping is stored
    ↓
/files/{task_id} returns:
"No file path associated with task_id ..."

```

This appears to be the failure point in the current public code.

The PR keeps the existing behavior for absolute local paths, but resolves repository-relative paths with `hf_hub_download()`. That downloads the attachment into the normal Hugging Face cache and gives the existing file-serving route a real local path.

The change is intentionally narrow: it does not restructure the API, question selection, submission logic, or dataset loader.

## Validation

I tested the change end to end on a private duplicate of the current scoring Space, using the current runtime and a read token with GAIA access.

The duplicate:

- loaded all 20 questions successfully;
- downloaded and mapped all 5 referenced attachments;
- returned HTTP 200 from `/files/{task_id}` for:
  - one PNG;
  - two MP3 files;
  - one Python file;
  - one XLSX file.

Before the patch, the startup log reported:

```plaintext
Stored file path mappings for 0 tasks.

```

After the patch:

```plaintext
Stored file path mappings for 5 tasks.

```

I also checked the returned filenames, byte counts, and basic file signatures, so this was not only a successful startup or metadata-only test.

## The two practical options

### If you can wait

Follow the [Space PR](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/discussions/2) and the existing [#624](https://github.com/huggingface/agents-course/issues/624) / [#647](https://github.com/huggingface/agents-course/issues/647) reports.

Once the PR is merged and the official Space is rebuilt, the public `/files/{task_id}` endpoint can be checked again.

### If you need to continue now

Duplicate the scoring Space privately and apply the same change from the PR.

**Important:** this private scoring-Space duplicate is separate from your actual Agent / Final Assignment Space. Your assignment Space can remain public for the normal course workflow; only the temporary scoring duplicate should be private.

The scoring duplicate uses its owner’s token to retrieve files from the gated GAIA dataset. If its `/files/{task_id}` endpoint were made public, it could unintentionally expose gated validation attachments outside the normal GAIA access flow.

> **Immediate workaround: create a private scoring-Space duplicate**
>
> 1. Open the official [`agents-course/Unit4_scoring` Space](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring).
> 
> 2. Duplicate it into your own account.
> 
> 3. Keep the duplicate **private**.
> 
> 4. Make sure your HF account has accepted the access conditions for the [GAIA dataset](https://huggingface.co/datasets/gaia-benchmark/GAIA).
> 
> 5. Create a read token and add it to the duplicate Space under:
> 
> 6. Apply the change shown in [PR #2](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/discussions/2).
> 
> 7. Rebuild the Space.
> 
> 8. Check the startup log.
> 
> 9. Test one or more attachment routes.
> 
> ### Calling the private duplicate
> 
> Because the duplicate is private, the agent or script calling it must authenticate with a token that can read that Space.
> 
> Store that token as a Secret in the calling environment and send it as a Bearer token. Do not place it in repository files, browser-side JavaScript, logs, or the Space README.
> 
> The same read token may be usable for both the private Space and GAIA when it belongs to an account with access to both, although keeping secrets narrowly scoped is preferable where practical.

> **Alternative workaround: resolve the attachment inside the agent**
>
> If authenticating every request to a private scoring-Space duplicate is inconvenient, the same attachment-resolution step can instead be placed inside the agent itself.
> 
> A reasonable split is:
> 
> ```plaintext
> /questions → official scoring Space
> attachment → authenticated hf_hub_download() from GAIA
> /submit → official scoring Space
> 
> ```
> 
> In that design:
> 
> 1. Use the official `/questions` response as the source of truth for the 20 task IDs.
> 2. Match those task IDs to the corresponding GAIA validation rows.
> 3. Use the row’s actual `file_path`.
> 4. Download the attachment with `hf_hub_download()`.
> 5. Pass the resulting local path to the agent’s file-processing tools.
> 6. Keep the file in the runtime cache; do not publish or mirror it.
> 7. Submit only the generated answers through the official `/submit` route.
> 
> Do **not** replace the official question set with the first 20 GAIA validation rows. The course selection is a filtered set, and a locally selected first-20 subset may not match the task IDs accepted by the scoring endpoint.
> 
> This is still an unofficial workaround, but it avoids exposing a new file-serving endpoint.

> **Why /questions can work while /files fails**
>
> The question endpoint and the attachment endpoint depend on different layers.
> 
> `/questions` only needs metadata such as:
> 
> - `task_id`;
> - question text;
> - level;
> - `file_name`.
> 
> The presence of a `file_name` in metadata does not mean that the corresponding binary file already exists on the Space filesystem.
> 
> The attachment flow additionally requires:
> 
> ```plaintext
> metadata file_path
> ↓
> dataset-repository file
> ↓
> authenticated download
> ↓
> local cache path
> ↓
> task_id mapping
> ↓
> FileResponse
> 
> ```
> 
> The current failure occurs in that metadata-to-local-file transition. This is why `/questions` can return the correct XLSX filename while `/files/{task_id}` still returns a mapping-related 404.
> 
> The [Hugging Face Hub download API](https://huggingface.co/docs/huggingface_hub/guides/download) is already designed for this transition: `hf_hub_download()` retrieves one repository file, stores it in the Hub cache, and returns its local path.

> **Scope and limitations**
>
> A few distinctions are worth keeping clear:
> 
> - I am not an HF maintainer, and this is not an official confirmation.
> - The PR being shown as “ready to merge” means that it is technically mergeable; it does not mean that it has been reviewed or approved.
> - The end-to-end validation was performed on a private duplicate of the current Space, not on the official production Space.
> - The official Space’s token and deployment configuration are not visible externally, so the maintainers still need to verify that configuration when merging.
> - Until the change is merged and the official Space is rebuilt, the public endpoint should still be treated as unfixed.
> - The PR deliberately does not include unrelated cleanup such as dependency pinning, loader refactoring, revision management, or broader error-response changes.
> 
> Those may be useful follow-up improvements, but they are not required to restore the attachment endpoint.

Useful references:

- [Attachment fix PR for `Unit4_scoring`](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/discussions/2)
- [Existing bug report #624](https://github.com/huggingface/agents-course/issues/624)
- [Existing bug report #647](https://github.com/huggingface/agents-course/issues/647)
- [Current scoring-Space implementation](https://huggingface.co/spaces/agents-course/Unit4_scoring/blob/main/main.py)
- [GAIA dataset README and current file-layout guidance](https://huggingface.co/datasets/gaia-benchmark/GAIA/blob/main/README.md)
- [Agents Course Unit 4 hands-on documentation](https://huggingface.co/learn/agents-course/unit4/hands-on)
- [Spaces visibility, duplication, variables, and Secrets](https://huggingface.co/docs/hub/spaces-overview)
- [Gated dataset access](https://huggingface.co/docs/hub/datasets-gated)
- [`HF_TOKEN` environment variable](https://huggingface.co/docs/huggingface_hub/package_reference/environment_variables)
- [Downloading files from the Hub](https://huggingface.co/docs/huggingface_hub/guides/download)