Buffered Uploads

Buffered Uploads lets Files.com accept a file independently of the speed or availability of its Remote Server destination. Files.com first receives the complete upload into Native Storage, then forwards it to the remote system in the background. This is useful when the destination receives data slowly, pauses, or rate-limits incoming work.

Upload completion confirms that Files.com has received the file. It does not confirm that the file is available on the Remote Server. A workflow that depends on remote arrival must check onward delivery before starting its next step.

Buffering is one transfer arrangement. A relayed upload can instead stream through Files.com without first storing the complete file, while Direct Routing sends eligible client uploads straight to the provider. The retained file can end up at the same remote destination in all three cases.

Buffering Choices

The Buffered Uploads setting applies per Remote Server and takes effect for new uploads when you save it. It does not affect uploads to Files.com Native Storage folders.

We recommend Buffered Uploads for Box, Dropbox, Azure Files, OneDrive, and WebDAV destinations. It lets the client finish without remaining connected for the remote system's entire receiving period. The tradeoff is the separate delivery stage and temporary Files.com storage.

Required File Processing

GPG encryption, decryption, or recryption, Auto Unzip, and Malware Scanning on a mount require staged uploads, even with Never selected. Copies, moves, and Syncs into a mount with GPG or Auto Unzip also stage files for processing before remote delivery. Malware Scanning retains its upload-only scope.

These requirements follow the destination's processing settings, including when the mount is reached through a Partner Channel Route Path or a Child Site or Connected Site view. Review Folder Settings Within Remote Server Mount when a workflow has requirements for where contents may be temporarily stored.

Selecting Never therefore disables an optimization; it does not override required processing or the destination's capabilities. For a workflow that prohibits temporary Files.com storage, the destination must also be usable without buffering or staged processing.

Delivery Status and the Temporary Copy

The staged copy is in an internal Files.com Native Storage location outside the user file tree. Users cannot browse, share, or edit that copy as a Files.com folder. It exists to complete onward delivery and follows Files.com's data-handling and encryption controls.

Files.com forwards the file at the rate the destination supports, with retries for failed delivery. The staged copy is retained for that delivery and deleted after success, or after all three retries fail. A buffered upload is not an independent backup or a retained working copy.

Check External Logs and the Outbound Connections log for delivery results. Upload Notifications fire when Files.com finishes receiving the file into the buffer, before onward delivery completes. The file is available at its remote path after delivery to that destination.

File Size Requirements for Box and OneDrive

Box and OneDrive uploads larger than 1 GB need buffering when the upload protocol does not provide the exact file size in advance. FTP and SFTP do not require clients to declare that size. With Never selected, those uploads fail.

Use Automatic or Always for those deliveries. Disabling buffering can also reduce compatibility with the other destinations listed under Automatic.