diff --git a/apps/sim/blocks/utils.test.ts b/apps/sim/blocks/utils.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..58d77d19036
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/sim/blocks/utils.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { normalizeFileInput } from './utils'
+
+describe('normalizeFileInput', () => {
+  describe('URL string handling', () => {
+    it('should return URL string as-is for single option', () => {
+      const url = 'https://example.com/photo.jpg'
+      const result = normalizeFileInput(url, { single: true })
+      expect(result).toBe(url)
+    })
+
+    it('should return URL in array for non-single option', () => {
+      const url = 'https://example.com/photo.jpg'
+      const result = normalizeFileInput(url, { single: false })
+      expect(result).toEqual([url])
+    })
+
+    it('should handle HTTP URLs', () => {
+      const url = 'http://example.com/photo.jpg'
+      const result = normalizeFileInput(url, { single: true })
+      expect(result).toBe(url)
+    })
+
+    it('should trim whitespace from URLs', () => {
+      const url = '  https://example.com/photo.jpg  '
+      const result = normalizeFileInput(url, { single: true })
+      expect(result).toBe('https://example.com/photo.jpg')
+    })
+
+    it('should return undefined for non-URL strings that fail JSON parse', () => {
+      const notAUrl = 'just some text'
+      const result = normalizeFileInput(notAUrl, { single: true })
+      expect(result).toBeUndefined()
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('JSON string handling', () => {
+    it('should parse JSON string to object for single option', () => {
+      const fileObj = { name: 'test.jpg', url: 'https://example.com/test.jpg' }
+      const result = normalizeFileInput(JSON.stringify(fileObj), { single: true })
+      expect(result).toEqual(fileObj)
+    })
+
+    it('should parse JSON string array for non-single option', () => {
+      const fileArray = [
+        { name: 'test1.jpg', url: 'https://example.com/test1.jpg' },
+        { name: 'test2.jpg', url: 'https://example.com/test2.jpg' },
+      ]
+      const result = normalizeFileInput(JSON.stringify(fileArray), { single: false })
+      expect(result).toEqual(fileArray)
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('Object and array handling', () => {
+    it('should return single object wrapped in array for non-single option', () => {
+      const fileObj = { name: 'test.jpg', url: 'https://example.com/test.jpg' }
+      const result = normalizeFileInput(fileObj, { single: false })
+      expect(result).toEqual([fileObj])
+    })
+
+    it('should return single object as-is for single option', () => {
+      const fileObj = { name: 'test.jpg', url: 'https://example.com/test.jpg' }
+      const result = normalizeFileInput(fileObj, { single: true })
+      expect(result).toEqual(fileObj)
+    })
+
+    it('should return array as-is for non-single option', () => {
+      const fileArray = [
+        { name: 'test1.jpg', url: 'https://example.com/test1.jpg' },
+        { name: 'test2.jpg', url: 'https://example.com/test2.jpg' },
+      ]
+      const result = normalizeFileInput(fileArray, { single: false })
+      expect(result).toEqual(fileArray)
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('Edge cases', () => {
+    it('should return undefined for null', () => {
+      const result = normalizeFileInput(null, { single: true })
+      expect(result).toBeUndefined()
+    })
+
+    it('should return undefined for undefined', () => {
+      const result = normalizeFileInput(undefined, { single: true })
+      expect(result).toBeUndefined()
+    })
+
+    it('should return undefined for empty string', () => {
+      const result = normalizeFileInput('', { single: true })
+      expect(result).toBeUndefined()
+    })
+
+    it('should throw error for multiple files when single is true', () => {
+      const fileArray = [
+        { name: 'test1.jpg', url: 'https://example.com/test1.jpg' },
+        { name: 'test2.jpg', url: 'https://example.com/test2.jpg' },
+      ]
+      expect(() => normalizeFileInput(fileArray, { single: true })).toThrow(
+        'File reference must be a single file'
+      )
+    })
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/sim/blocks/utils.ts b/apps/sim/blocks/utils.ts
index 373538b50e3..2a5de3e0729 100644
--- a/apps/sim/blocks/utils.ts
+++ b/apps/sim/blocks/utils.ts
@@ -326,18 +326,24 @@ const DEFAULT_MULTIPLE_FILES_ERROR =
 export function normalizeFileInput(
   fileParam: unknown,
   options: { single: true; errorMessage?: string }
-): object | undefined
+): object | string | undefined
 export function normalizeFileInput(
   fileParam: unknown,
   options?: { single?: false }
-): object[] | undefined
+): object[] | string | undefined
 export function normalizeFileInput(
   fileParam: unknown,
   options?: { single?: boolean; errorMessage?: string }
-): object | object[] | undefined {
+): object | object[] | string | undefined {
   if (!fileParam) return undefined
 
   if (typeof fileParam === 'string') {
+    // Check if it's a plain URL (http/https) - return as-is for tools that accept URLs
+    const trimmed = fileParam.trim()
+    if (trimmed.startsWith('http://') || trimmed.startsWith('https://')) {
+      return options?.single ? trimmed : [trimmed]
+    }
+
     try {
       fileParam = JSON.parse(fileParam)
     } catch {