diff --git a/src/personal_docs.py b/src/personal_docs.py
index 2183ee7..80eb4cb 100644
--- a/src/personal_docs.py
+++ b/src/personal_docs.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class PersonalDocsConfig:
     """Configuration for personal documents management."""
     CHUNK_SIZE: int = 1000
     CHUNK_OVERLAP: int = 200
-    DEFAULT_EXTENSIONS: Tuple[str, ...] = (".txt", ".md", ".json")
+    DEFAULT_EXTENSIONS: Tuple[str, ...] = (".txt", ".md", ".json", ".pdf")
     DEFAULT_K: int = 5
     STOP_WORDS: Set[str] = None
     
@@ -85,7 +85,8 @@ def load_personal_index(
             if not any(name.lower().endswith(ext) for ext in extensions):
                 continue
             size = os.path.getsize(p)
-            text = read_text_file(p)
+            ext = os.path.splitext(name)[1].lower()
+            text = extract_pdf_text(p) if ext == ".pdf" else read_text_file(p)
             chunks = split_chunks(text)
             display = os.path.relpath(p, personal_dir)
             files.append({"name": display, "path": p, "size": size, "chunks": chunks})
diff --git a/static/js/chat.js b/static/js/chat.js
index 118399c..564c53a 100644
--- a/static/js/chat.js
+++ b/static/js/chat.js
@@ -512,6 +512,9 @@ import createResearchSynapse from './researchSynapse.js';
     let timedOut = false;
     let processingProbeTimer = null;
     let processingProbeAbort = null;
+    let _renderStream = () => {};
+    let _cancelThinkingTimer = () => {};
+    let _removeThinkingSpinner = () => {};
     const clearProcessingProbe = () => {
       if (processingProbeTimer) {
         clearTimeout(processingProbeTimer);
@@ -986,13 +989,13 @@ import createResearchSynapse from './researchSynapse.js';
       }
       const esc = uiModule.esc;
       // Remove thinking spinner helper
-      function _removeThinkingSpinner() {
+      _removeThinkingSpinner = () => {
         const el = document.querySelector('.agent-thinking-dots');
         if (el) {
           if (el._spinner) el._spinner.destroy();
           el.remove();
         }
-      }
+      };
 
       // Tool-aware thinking spinner
       let _lastToolName = '';
@@ -1056,9 +1059,9 @@ import createResearchSynapse from './researchSynapse.js';
           }
         }, 400);
       }
-      function _cancelThinkingTimer() {
+      _cancelThinkingTimer = () => {
         if (_textPauseTimer) { clearTimeout(_textPauseTimer); _textPauseTimer = null; }
-      }
+      };
 
       // Document streaming state (text-fence detection)
       let _docFenceOpened = false;
@@ -1085,7 +1088,7 @@ import createResearchSynapse from './researchSynapse.js';
       }
 
       // Direct render helper for streaming text
-      function _renderStream() {
+      _renderStream = () => {
         let dt = stripToolBlocks(roundText);
         const bodyEl = roundHolder.querySelector('.body');
         const contentEl = _ensureStreamLayout(bodyEl);
@@ -1184,7 +1187,7 @@ import createResearchSynapse from './researchSynapse.js';
         contentEl._prevTextLen = contentEl.textContent.length;
         if (window.hljs) contentEl.querySelectorAll('pre code').forEach((b) => window.hljs.highlightElement(b));
         uiModule.scrollHistory();
-      }
+      };
 
       // Walk text nodes, skip past `prevLen` characters of old text,
       // wrap everything after that in <span class="token-new"> for fade-in
diff --git a/tests/test_chat_stream_scope.py b/tests/test_chat_stream_scope.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a726c77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_chat_stream_scope.py
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+def test_stream_render_helpers_are_visible_to_catch_block():
+    source = Path("static/js/chat.js").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    try_start = source.index("    try {\n      // Re-enable auto-scroll")
+    catch_start = source.index("    } catch (err) {", try_start)
+
+    outer_scope = source[:try_start]
+    try_body = source[try_start:catch_start]
+
+    assert "let _renderStream = () => {};" in outer_scope
+    assert "let _cancelThinkingTimer = () => {};" in outer_scope
+    assert "let _removeThinkingSpinner = () => {};" in outer_scope
+
+    assert "_renderStream = () => {" in try_body
+    assert "_cancelThinkingTimer = () => {" in try_body
+    assert "_removeThinkingSpinner = () => {" in try_body
+    assert "function _renderStream()" not in try_body
diff --git a/tests/test_personal_docs_pdf_index.py b/tests/test_personal_docs_pdf_index.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3cf155a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_personal_docs_pdf_index.py
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from src import personal_docs
+
+
+def test_personal_index_includes_pdf_uploads(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    pdf_path = tmp_path / "notes.pdf"
+    pdf_path.write_bytes(b"%PDF-1.4 fake test pdf")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        personal_docs,
+        "extract_pdf_text",
+        lambda path: "readable pdf text" if Path(path) == pdf_path else "",
+    )
+
+    files = personal_docs.load_personal_index(str(tmp_path))
+
+    assert [item["name"] for item in files] == ["notes.pdf"]
+    assert files[0]["path"] == str(pdf_path)
+    assert files[0]["chunks"] == ["readable pdf text"]
+
+
+def test_personal_index_default_extensions_advertise_pdf_support():
+    assert ".pdf" in personal_docs.config.DEFAULT_EXTENSIONS