How a user accesses a Workspace depends on their role and how they connect. Site Administrators and Default Workspace users with cross-workspace access use a Workspace switcher to move between Workspaces. Workspace Administrators and Workspace users are created directly in their Workspace and see only that Workspace when they connect. Partner users belong to a Partner organization within a Workspace and see only the folders shared with them through that Partner relationship. A user who is a Workspace Administrator for multiple Workspaces can switch between them using the switcher. Each interface handles Workspace context differently, as described below. See Workspaces for an overview of what Workspaces are.

Workspace Switcher

A Workspace switcher appears in the Web App, Mobile App, and CLI when the logged-in user has access to more than one Workspace. It is hidden when the user has access to only one Workspace.

Users with access to multiple Workspaces include:

Site Administrators, who have access to all Workspaces on the site.
Default Workspace users who have been given access to one or more Custom Workspaces by a Site Administrator. See Managing Workspaces for how workspace access is assigned.
Workspace Administrators who have been designated as an administrator for more than one Workspace.

When a user switches into a Custom Workspace, the Workspace name is shown in the header as a visual indicator that they are no longer in the Default Workspace.

Preferred Workspace

A user with access to multiple Workspaces can mark one as their preferred Workspace. On the next login, the platform routes them to that Workspace instead of the site default. This setting is useful for users who work primarily in a non-default Workspace and would otherwise navigate away from the default at the start of every session. Users with access to only one Workspace see no change.

The preference is set on the My Account page, in the workspace picker. The user marks one of their accessible Workspaces as Preferred.

Site Administrators can set or change the preferred Workspace on any user's record. This setting appears when editing a user's profile. Standard users and Workspace Administrators cannot change another user's preferred Workspace.

If a user loses access to their preferred Workspace, or that Workspace is deleted, the preference clears automatically, and the platform reverts to routing the user to the site default. When a login carries an explicit destination URL for a specific Workspace, that destination takes precedence over the preference.

Web Interface

Site Administrators and users with access to multiple Workspaces use the Workspace switcher in the Web Interface to switch between Workspaces. Users who belong to a single Custom Workspace see only that Workspace when they log in and do not see a switcher.

API

Site Administrators scope API requests to a specific Workspace by including the X-Files-Workspace-Id header with the Workspace ID. This scopes the request to that Workspace's resources without removing the Site Administrator's broader authority.

Default Workspace users who have been given access to a Custom Workspace can also use the X-Files-Workspace-Id header to scope their API requests to that Workspace. The header is honored only for Workspaces the user has been given access to. If the header references a Workspace the user has not been given access to, it is ignored and the request behaves as if no header was sent.

Workspace Administrators authenticate and interact with the API normally. Their API access is automatically scoped to their assigned Workspace.

CLI

Workspace selection requires CLI version 2.15.313 or later.

The Files.com CLI supports Workspace selection in two ways.

Pass --workspace <name or ID> to scope a single command to that Workspace. To set a default Workspace for all subsequent commands, run files-cli config set workspace <name or ID>. To clear the setting, run files-cli config set workspace "". When no Workspace is set, the CLI uses the user's default context.

Both options are available to Site Administrators and to Default Workspace users who have been given access to a Custom Workspace.

SDKs

Every Files.com SDK supports scoping calls to a specific Workspace. See the SDK documentation for details.

Terraform

Workspaces can be provisioned, updated, and managed through the Files.com Terraform provider. This supports infrastructure-as-code workflows where Workspaces are managed alongside other site resources.

File Transfer Protocols

Users who belong to a Workspace access their Workspace files through FTP, SFTP, and WebDAV. The Workspace boundary constrains the visible file system to the Workspace root.

Desktop App

Workspace switching is not yet supported in the Desktop App.

Mobile App

The Mobile App for iOS and Android includes a Workspace switcher for users who have access to more than one Workspace. When the user is inside a Custom Workspace, the Workspace name is shown in the header with a visual indicator. Tapping the indicator opens a Workspace selection modal. The switcher mirrors the Web App behavior.

Accessing Workspaces