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File Management

Bucket Buddy provides a user-friendly interface for browsing, uploading, and managing files in your S3 buckets.

File Browser Interface

The file browser is the main interface for interacting with your bucket files.

Accessing the File Browser

Steps:

  1. Click on a site in the sidebar
  2. The file browser opens automatically
  3. You'll see the root directory of the currently selected bucket

Bucket Tabs

Each site has at least one bucket accessible via tabs at the top. If you use Cloudflare R2 as a provider you'll see a private and public tab

Click a tab to switch between buckets.

Grid vs List View

Bucket Buddy offers two view modes for browsing files:

Grid View

  • Best for: Image-heavy buckets, visual browsing
  • Shows: Thumbnail previews for images, large icons for files
  • Layout: Grid of cards with file names below
  • Toggle: Click the grid icon in the toolbar

List View

  • Best for: Large numbers of files, detailed information
  • Shows: File name, size, type, last modified date
  • Layout: Compact table view
  • Toggle: Click the list icon in the toolbar

Your preference is saved and will persist across sessions.

Navigation

Breadcrumb Trail

At the top of the file browser, you'll see a breadcrumb trail showing your current location:

Home > uploads > 2024 > images
  • Click any segment to jump to that directory
  • Click "Home" to return to the root

Folders

  • Double-click a folder to open it
  • The breadcrumb trail updates to show your current path

Search and Filtering

Search

Use the search bar to find files and folders:

  1. Click into the search bar
  2. Type your search query
  3. Results filter in real-time
  4. Search looks at file names only (not content)

Example searches:

  • photo - finds "photo.jpg", "my-photo.png", "photos/..."
  • .pdf - finds all PDF files
  • 2024 - finds files/folders with "2024" in the name

Sorting

Use the sort button to sort by:

  • Name: Alphabetical order
  • Size: Smallest to largest (or reverse)
  • Modified: Most recent first (or oldest first)

Click again to reverse the sort order.

Viewing File Details

Click on any file to open a detailed view modal with more information about the file.

What You'll See

When you click on a file, a modal opens showing:

  • File name and extension
  • File size (e.g., 2.4 MB)
  • File type (e.g., image/jpeg, application/pdf)
  • Last modified date and time
  • File URL - A URL you can copy and use to access the file

Image Preview

For image files (JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG, WebP), the modal displays a larger preview of the image, making it easy to verify you have the right file before downloading or sharing.

Using the File URL

The file URL shown in the modal can be used to:

  • Access the file directly in your browser
  • Reference in your application code (don't forget to swap it for the real thing when deploying!)
  • Test S3 file serving locally

Simply click the URL or copy button to copy it to your clipboard.

File Operations

Uploading Files

There are multiple ways to upload files to Bucket Buddy:

Method 1: Drag and Drop

  1. Open the folder where you want to upload
  2. Drag files from your computer
  3. Drop them anywhere in the file browser
  4. Files upload automatically

Supports:

  • Single files
  • Multiple files at once
  • Nested folder structures (preserves hierarchy)

Method 2: Upload Button

  1. Click the "Upload" button in the toolbar
  2. Select files from the file picker dialog
  3. Click "Open"
  4. Files upload to the current directory

Method 3: API Upload

Upload files programmatically using the S3 API

Downloading Files

Download files from your buckets to your local machine:

Single File Download

  1. Right-click on a file
  2. Select "Download" from the context menu

The file downloads to your default Downloads folder.

Renaming Files

Change a file or folder's name:

Steps:

  1. Right-click on the file or folder
  2. Select "Rename" from the context menu
  3. Type the new name
  4. Press Enter or click "Save"

Copying Files

Create a duplicate of a file in a different location:

Steps:

  1. Right-click on the file
  2. Select "Copy" from the context menu
  3. Input the destination path.
  4. Press Copy

Moving Files

Move a file or folder to a different location:

Steps:

  1. Right-click on the file
  2. Select "Move" from the context menu
  3. Input the destination path.
  4. Press Move

Deleting Files

Remove files or folders from your bucket:

Single File/Folder Delete

  1. Right-click on the file or folder
  2. Select "Delete" from the context menu
  3. Confirm the deletion

Confirmation Dialog

Before deletion, you'll see:

  • Name of the file/folder being deleted
  • Warning that this action cannot be undone

Warning: Deleted files are permanently removed from local storage. There is no trash/recycle bin.

Bulk Operations

Perform actions on multiple files at once.

Selecting Multiple Files

  1. Hover over a file to reveal the checkbox
  2. Click checkboxes to select multiple files
  3. Selected files are highlighted

Bulk Delete

Delete multiple files at once:

Steps:

  1. Select multiple files using checkboxes
  2. Click the "Delete" button in the action bar
  3. Confirm the bulk deletion

Folder Management

Ok we mean paths, but let's face it, most of us look at them as directories and folders.

Creating Folders

Create new folders to organize your files:

Steps:

  1. Navigate to where you want to create a folder
  2. Either right-click for the context menu or select the dropdown next to the Upload button.
  3. Select Create Folder
  4. Enter a folder name
  5. Press Enter or click "Create"

Nested Folders

Bucket Buddy supports deeply nested folder structures:

uploads/ └── 2024/ └── january/ └── week-1/ └── photo.jpg

Next Steps