diff --git a/src/interface/web/app/components/chatInputArea/chatInputArea.tsx b/src/interface/web/app/components/chatInputArea/chatInputArea.tsx
index 88a4fcae..1c86a1b6 100644
--- a/src/interface/web/app/components/chatInputArea/chatInputArea.tsx
+++ b/src/interface/web/app/components/chatInputArea/chatInputArea.tsx
@@ -237,26 +237,28 @@ export const ChatInputArea = forwardRef<HTMLTextAreaElement, ChatInputProps>((pr
             ? Array.from(nonImageFiles).concat(Array.from(attachedFiles || []))
             : Array.from(attachedFiles || []);
 
-        // Ensure files are below size limit (10 MB)
-        for (let i = 0; i < newFiles.length; i++) {
-            if (newFiles[i].size > 10 * 1024 * 1024) {
-                setWarning(
-                    `File ${newFiles[i].name} is too large. Please upload files smaller than 10 MB.`,
-                );
-                return;
+        if (newFiles.length > 0) {
+            // Ensure files are below size limit (10 MB)
+            for (let i = 0; i < newFiles.length; i++) {
+                if (newFiles[i].size > 10 * 1024 * 1024) {
+                    setWarning(
+                        `File ${newFiles[i].name} is too large. Please upload files smaller than 10 MB.`,
+                    );
+                    return;
+                }
             }
+
+            const dataTransfer = new DataTransfer();
+            newFiles.forEach((file) => dataTransfer.items.add(file));
+
+            // Extract text from files
+            extractTextFromFiles(dataTransfer.files).then((data) => {
+                props.setUploadedFiles(data);
+                setAttachedFiles(dataTransfer.files);
+                setConvertedAttachedFiles(data);
+            });
         }
 
-        const dataTransfer = new DataTransfer();
-        newFiles.forEach((file) => dataTransfer.items.add(file));
-        setAttachedFiles(dataTransfer.files);
-
-        // Extract text from files
-        extractTextFromFiles(dataTransfer.files).then((data) => {
-            props.setUploadedFiles(data);
-            setConvertedAttachedFiles(data);
-        });
-
         // Set focus to the input for user message after uploading files
         chatInputRef?.current?.focus();
     }
diff --git a/src/khoj/processor/content/pdf/pdf_to_entries.py b/src/khoj/processor/content/pdf/pdf_to_entries.py
index 7d2bd384..2b7122ea 100644
--- a/src/khoj/processor/content/pdf/pdf_to_entries.py
+++ b/src/khoj/processor/content/pdf/pdf_to_entries.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import logging
 import tempfile
-from io import BytesIO
-from typing import Dict, List, Tuple
+from typing import Dict, Final, List, Tuple
 
 from langchain_community.document_loaders import PyMuPDFLoader
 
@@ -15,6 +14,9 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 class PdfToEntries(TextToEntries):
+    # Class-level constant translation table
+    NULL_TRANSLATOR: Final = str.maketrans("", "", "\x00")
+
     def __init__(self):
         super().__init__()
 
@@ -112,8 +114,6 @@ class PdfToEntries(TextToEntries):
 
     @staticmethod
     def clean_text(text: str) -> str:
-        # Remove null bytes
-        text = text.replace("\x00", "")
-        # Replace invalid Unicode
-        text = text.encode("utf-8", errors="ignore").decode("utf-8")
-        return text
+        """Clean PDF text by removing null bytes and invalid Unicode characters."""
+        # Use faster translation table instead of replace
+        return text.translate(PdfToEntries.NULL_TRANSLATOR)
diff --git a/src/khoj/routers/api_chat.py b/src/khoj/routers/api_chat.py
index 33476a97..6752de78 100644
--- a/src/khoj/routers/api_chat.py
+++ b/src/khoj/routers/api_chat.py
@@ -1133,7 +1133,6 @@ async def chat(
                 online_results=online_results,
                 query_images=uploaded_images,
                 train_of_thought=train_of_thought,
-                attached_file_context=attached_file_context,
                 raw_query_files=raw_query_files,
                 tracer=tracer,
             )
@@ -1194,7 +1193,6 @@ async def chat(
                 online_results=online_results,
                 query_images=uploaded_images,
                 train_of_thought=train_of_thought,
-                attached_file_context=attached_file_context,
                 raw_query_files=raw_query_files,
                 tracer=tracer,
             )