Connecting to Another Files.com Site

Two separate Files.com sites can exchange files using a Remote Server connection. Connect to your partner's site by adding their S3-compatible endpoint as an S3 Compatible Remote Server. Once connected, both Remote Server Mounts and Syncs work normally.

This pattern suits separate organizations that each run their own Files.com site and need to push or pull files between them.

If one of the sites is a child site of the other, or both sites are child sites under the same parent, this setup is not necessary. A parent site administrator can move files between child sites directly using Automations and Syncs on the parent site, without any Remote Server configuration.

Connection Model

Your site connects to the partner site by adding the partner site's S3-compatible endpoint as an S3 Compatible Remote Server. Your site can then mount a folder from the partner site or run Syncs that transfer files to or from it, the same way it would with any other cloud storage provider.

An administrator on the partner site controls what your site can access. The connection uses a User API Key tied to a specific user account on the partner site, so your site inherits that user's folder permissions and sees nothing beyond them.

Setup

1. An administrator on the partner site creates a user account scoped to the folders your site needs to reach. Do not use an administrator account for this purpose. For example, if your site needs access to /incoming/your-site/ on the partner site, the administrator grants that user permission to that folder and nothing else.

2. An administrator on the partner site generates an S3-compatible API Key associated with that user, then sends you the Access Key ID and Secret Key through a secure channel.

3. On your site, add a new S3 Compatible Remote Server using the following values:

   Setting	Value
   Endpoint	The S3-compatible endpoint URL for the partner site. Use https://s3-<partner_subdomain>.files.com, where <partner_subdomain> is the partner site's Custom Subdomain.
   Bucket name	Use default.
   Region	Use us-east-1. Files.com ignores the region setting.
   Access Key	The Access Key ID from step 2.
   Secret Key	The Secret Key from step 2.

   Give the Remote Server a descriptive internal name so it's easy to identify when configuring Mounts and Syncs.

4. With the Remote Server in place, your site can connect to the partner site's files using Syncs, Automations, Mounts, or any combination that fits your needs. Choose based on whether access needs to be real-time or batch-oriented.

   Using a Remote Server Mount, you can mount a folder on your site to a path inside the partner site. Files placed in or read from that mounted folder pass through directly to the partner site in real time. Use this when your site needs live, interactive access to the partner site's folder contents.

   A Sync can run on a schedule or when triggered by an Automation. It transfers files from a source to a destination; your site can be either end. Use this when you want to transfer files on a recurring basis.

   Automations can also directly target folders on the Remote Server without first mounting it.

Access Control

The user account on the partner site associated with the API key controls what your site can read, write, and list. If the partner site needs to change your access, they adjust that user's folder permissions. To revoke access entirely, they delete or disable the API Key.

The key generated on the partner site does not grant access to the partner site's parent or child sites, and it has no effect on your own user accounts.

Security Considerations

The partner site must use a dedicated user account for each connecting site. This keeps credential rotation and revocation contained to a single key without affecting other integrations on the partner site.