> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.flowx.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# File Storage
> Connect to external file storage (FTP, SFTP, S3, or Azure Blob) as a data source and move files in and out of FlowX from your workflows.
## Overview
File Storage is a data source type that lets you connect FlowX workflows to **external file storage your organization manages independently** — an FTP/SFTP server, an S3 (or S3-compatible) bucket, or an Azure Blob Storage container. You configure a connection, define named file operations against it, and call those operations from workflows.
FTP, SFTP, S3 / S3-compatible, and Azure Blob Storage, each with its own connection and authorization settings
Save named List, Download, Upload, Delete, and Move operations scoped to a root path
Browse files in the configured storage and run any operation live before you use it
Reference file operations from a Data Source node alongside other data sources
***
## Prerequisites
* An external file storage system reachable from your FlowX deployment: an FTP/SFTP server, an S3 or S3-compatible bucket (AWS S3, MinIO, Wasabi, Backblaze B2, DigitalOcean Spaces, Cloudflare R2, and similar), or an Azure Blob Storage container.
* Credentials for the storage system with the permissions your operations require (read for List/Download, write for Upload/Move, delete for Delete).
* The **`file-gateway`** service deployed and able to reach both the storage system and the **`document-plugin`** service. See [File Gateway setup](/5.9/setup-guides/file-gateway-setup).
***
## Creating a File Storage data source
Navigate to **Integration Designer** → **Data Sources** in your project.
Click the **+** button to open the **Add Data Source** dialog. In the **Files** category, select **External File Storage**.
New File Storage data sources open on the **Settings** tab, which has three sections:
* **Protocol** — select the storage type: **FTP**, **SFTP**, **S3 / S3-compatible**, or **Azure Blob Storage**.
* **Authorization** — choose an authorization type and supply credentials (see [Authorization](#authorization)).
* **General Settings** — set the **Root Path** of the storage (all operations are scoped under this prefix) and the protocol-specific connection fields (see [Connection settings](#connection-settings)).
Click **Test connection** in the Authorization section to verify the credentials and connectivity. A successful test reports **Established connection**.
Click **Save** to create the data source. Until a valid connection is saved, the **Files** tab shows *File storage is not configured* and the **Settings** tab shows a *Settings are not configured* warning.
***
## Connection settings
The connection fields depend on the protocol you select.
### FTP
| Field | Description | Default |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | --------- |
| **Host** | FTP server hostname or IP (required) | — |
| **Port** | FTP port (required) | `21` |
| **Mode** | Connection mode: **Active** or **Passive** | `Passive` |
| **Encryption** | **None**, **FTPS (Explicit)**, or **FTPS (Implicit)** | `None` |
### SFTP
| Field | Description | Default |
| ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------ |
| **Host** | SFTP server hostname or IP (required) | — |
| **Port** | SFTP port (required) | `22` |
| **Strict host-key checking** | **Accept new** or **Require fingerprint** | `Accept new` |
| **Known-hosts fingerprint** | Optional. The expected host-key fingerprint when requiring verification | — |
### S3 / S3-compatible
| Field | Description |
| --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Endpoint URL** | Optional. Leave blank for AWS S3. Set this only for S3-compatible stores (MinIO, Wasabi, Backblaze B2, DigitalOcean Spaces, Cloudflare R2, Localstack, and similar). |
| **Region** | Required, including for non-AWS stores such as MinIO. |
| **Bucket** | Required. Fixed for the lifetime of this data source. |
| **Path-style access** | Off by default (virtual-host style, the AWS default). Turn **ON** for path-style addressing, required by MinIO, Localstack, and most self-hosted stores. Rule of thumb: AWS S3 → off; MinIO / self-hosted → on. |
### Azure Blob Storage
| Field | Description |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Storage account name** | Required. The Azure storage account. |
| **Container name** | Required. The blob container. |
| **Endpoint** | Optional. A custom endpoint, when not using the default Azure endpoint. |
***
## Authorization
The available authorization types depend on the protocol:
| Protocol | Authorization types |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **FTP** | No authorization, or **Basic** (username / password) |
| **SFTP** | **Basic** (username / password), or **Private key** (username + private key) |
| **S3** | **Access key** (access key ID + secret access key) |
| **Azure Blob Storage** | **Access key** (storage account name + account key), or **Service account** (tenant ID + client ID + client secret) |
For Azure with **Access key**, the credential fields are labeled **Storage Account Name** and **Account Key**.
***
## File operations
Each File Storage data source holds a list of named operations, managed on the **Operations** tab. Click to add an operation, choose its **Operation type**, and give it a **Name** and optional **Description**. Each operation opens a details page where you configure its parameters, and a test modal runs it live against the storage.
| Operation | What it does |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **List** | Lists file metadata inside the root path. Use **File Path** to target a subfolder and **File pattern** to filter results. |
| **Download** | Copies a file from external storage into Document Plugin internal storage for further processing. |
| **Upload** | Copies a file from Document Plugin internal storage to external storage. |
| **Delete** | Removes files from the external storage. |
| **Move** | Moves a file within the external storage. Move can also rename the file. |
### Operation parameters
| Operation | Parameters |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **List** | **File Path** (optional subfolder), **File pattern** (optional wildcard, e.g. `*.csv`, `report-*.xml`, `2026/*.pdf`), **Recursive** toggle |
| **Download** | **Source File Path** (required), **Document folder** (required), **Document type** (optional), **File name override** (optional) |
| **Upload** | **Destination file path** (required), **Document plugin path** (required) |
| **Delete** | **File Path** (required) |
| **Move** | **Source File Path** (required), **Destination path** (required) |
Download and Upload exchange files with the **Document Plugin** internal storage rather than the workflow directly — Download brings an external file into FlowX, Upload sends a stored document out.
### Browsing files
The **Files** tab is a file browser for the configured storage. Once a valid connection is saved, you can navigate the storage, copy file paths, and preview files. The browser is available only after the connection is configured on the Settings tab.
***
## Using in workflows
File operations are called from a **Data Source node** in workflows.
On the workflow canvas, add a **Data Source** node and select your File Storage data source.
Pick one of the operations defined on that data source. The picker lists only the operations saved on the selected data source.
Map workflow inputs to the operation's parameters, and map the operation result (file list, document reference, or status) to a workflow variable.
***
## Deployment
File Storage operations run in the **`file-gateway`** service.
* **`file-gateway`** is MongoDB-backed and connects to the **`document-plugin`** service to exchange files; Download and Upload operations move files between external storage and document-plugin internal storage.
* It does **not** require Redis.
* It authenticates using the **`flowx-file-gateway-sa`** service account.
* The default maximum file size for operations is **1 GiB**.
For deployment configuration, see [File Gateway setup](/5.9/setup-guides/file-gateway-setup).
***
## Related resources
Deployment configuration for the file-gateway service
Overview of all data source types and workflow building
Connect to externally managed Oracle databases
Connect to externally managed MongoDB instances