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 it as a Files.com Remote Server, a connection type built specifically for moving files between two Files.com sites. Once connected, both Remote Server Mounts and Syncs work normally.

Connect this way rather than linking the two sites over SFTP, FTPS, or WebDAV. Those protocols move each file as a single stream through a protocol login that one side has to provision, monitor, and rotate. The Files.com connection speaks the platform's own API, so it transfers file parts in parallel for faster results, authenticates with one permission-bounded API key instead of a separate protocol credential, and confirms the connection works at creation time instead of failing on the first transfer.

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 a Files.com 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 Remote Server.

An administrator on the partner site controls what your site can access. The connection authenticates with an API key generated on the partner site, so your site inherits that key's permissions and any path restriction on it, and sees nothing beyond them.

Setup

1. An administrator on the partner site creates a user account limited 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 a User API Key for that user with the Files Only permission set, then sends you the key through a secure channel. A Files Only key covers everything the connection does, and a Full key would also grant API access to users, permissions, and site settings that the connection never needs.

3. On your site, add a new Remote Server with the Files.com type and enter the partner site's key. The key is accepted once and never shown again, and afterward only the key's prefix is displayed, so you can tell which key is in use. 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, and 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 permissions of the API key generated on the partner site control what your site can read, write, and list. If the partner site needs to change your access, they adjust the folder permissions of the user the key belongs to. 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 and API key for each connecting site. This keeps credential rotation and revocation contained to a single key without affecting other integrations on the partner site.

If yours is the site being connected to, the same rules protect you. Issue each connecting site its own Files Only key from a user account that can reach only the folders you are sharing. The connecting site can never see more than that user's folder permissions allow, and when the relationship ends, disabling that one key cuts off exactly that partner and nothing else.