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What a Child Site Contains

This page covers what each Child Site has on its own and what is shared across the Parent Site and its Child Sites. See Child Sites for an overview of what Child Sites are and when to use them.

Full Site Configuration, Independently

A Child Site is a complete Files.com Site. Every site-level configuration that exists on the Parent Site exists independently on each Child Site, including:

CategoryResources
IdentitySubdomain, custom domain, IP addresses, branding, custom SMTP
AuthenticationSSO providers, 2FA requirements, password policies
Security and ProtocolsSecurity settings, protocol configuration (FTP, SFTP, WebDAV), ciphers, host keys, certificates
FilesFolders, files, folder settings, and folder permissions
SharingShare Links, Inboxes, Share Groups, Custom Forms, and Public Hosting
User AccountsUsers, Groups, and Partners
EncryptionSFTP/SSH keys and GPG keys for the Child Site's users
AutomationsAutomations and Expectations
ServicesAS2 identities and trading partners
IntegrationsRemote Servers, remote server mounts, and Syncs
NotificationsEmail notifications, Webhooks, Amazon SNS, Google Pub/Sub, Slack, and Microsoft Teams Notifications
Data GovernanceStorage regions, retention policies, file restrictions, and file organization rules
LoggingSite-level logs, SIEM integrations, and audit trails

Each Child Site has its own configuration for every category above. Two Child Sites under the same Parent Site can run different security policies, different SSO providers, different storage regions, and different branding.

What's Shared Across the Hierarchy

A few things span the Parent Site and all of its Child Sites:

  • Plan and feature level. Each Child Site offers the same level of features as the Parent Site's plan.
  • Usage and billing. Storage, bandwidth, billable users, and API calls are aggregated across the Parent Site and all Child Sites for billing. See Child Sites Usage.
  • Parent Site Administrator access. A Parent Site Administrator has full Site Administrator access to every Child Site and can reach Child Site content through the Parent Site's underscore folder.
  • Child Site Management Policies. Settings included in a Parent Site's Management Policy are enforced across Child Sites in scope, and Child Site Administrators cannot override them.

The Underscore Folder Bridge

The Parent Site's underscore folder exposes each Child Site's content as a subfolder under _/Sites. Parent Site Administrators can browse, copy, move, and run automations and syncs against Child Site content from within the Parent Site. The underscore folder is the only bridge between sites; Child Sites cannot reach each other and cannot reach the Parent Site.

Hierarchy Restrictions

The Child Site hierarchy is two levels deep:

  • A Files.com account has one Parent Site, and every other site is a Child Site of that Parent Site.
  • Child Sites cannot have Child Sites of their own.
  • Each Child Site belongs to exactly one Parent Site.

The two-level model fits site-level separation, where each Child Site needs its own site-wide configuration. Deeper nesting would not change what separation Child Sites provide.