File Upload Adapters

NOW.TS comes with a flexible file upload system using adapters. You can easily switch between different storage providers without changing your application code.

How It Works

The upload system uses an adapter pattern defined in src/lib/files/upload-file.ts:

export type UploadFileAdapter = {
  uploadFile: (params: { file: File; path: string }) => Promise<
    | { error: null; data: { url: string } }
    | { error: Error; data: null }
  >;
  uploadFiles: (params: { file: File; path: string }[]) => Promise<
    { error: Error | null; data: { url: string } | null }[]
  >;
};

The active adapter is imported in src/features/images/upload-image.action.ts.

Available Adapters

Vercel Blob (Default)

Vercel Blob is the default and recommended option. It's automatically configured when deploying to Vercel.

Setup:

1. Go to your Vercel Dashboard > Storage > Create Database > Blob
2. Connect it to your project
3. The BLOB_READ_WRITE_TOKEN is automatically added to your environment

For local development:

1. Go to Vercel Dashboard > Storage > Blob > Tokens
2. Copy the token to your .env file:

BLOB_READ_WRITE_TOKEN="vercel_blob_..."

Adapter code (already included at src/lib/files/vercel-blob-adapter.ts):

import { put } from "@vercel/blob";
import type { UploadFileAdapter } from "./upload-file";

export const fileAdapter: UploadFileAdapter = {
  uploadFile: async (params) => {
    try {
      const blob = await put(params.file.name, params.file, {
        access: "public",
      });
      return { error: null, data: { url: blob.url } };
    } catch (error) {

---

Cloudflare R2 / AWS S3

Use Cloudflare R2 or AWS S3 for more control over your storage or to avoid vendor lock-in.

Setup:

1. Install dependencies:

pnpm add @aws-sdk/client-s3 mime-types
pnpm add -D @types/mime-types

2. Add environment variables to .env:

AWS_ENDPOINT="https://your-account-id.r2.cloudflarestorage.com"
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="your-access-key"
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="your-secret-key"
AWS_S3_BUCKET_NAME="your-bucket-name"
R2_URL="https://your-public-bucket-url.com"

3. Create the adapter at src/lib/files/r2-adapter.ts:

import { PutObjectCommand, S3Client } from "@aws-sdk/client-s3";
import type { UploadFileAdapter } from "./upload-file";

const s3 = new S3Client({
  region: "auto",
  endpoint: process.env.AWS_ENDPOINT,
  credentials: {
    accessKeyId: process.env.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID!,
    secretAccessKey: process.env.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY!,
  },
});

export const fileAdapter: UploadFileAdapter = {
  uploadFile

4. Update the import in src/features/images/upload-image.action.ts:

// Change this:
import { fileAdapter } from "@/lib/files/vercel-blob-adapter";

// To this:
import { fileAdapter } from "@/lib/files/r2-adapter";

Video tutorials:

• Cloudflare R2 Setup
• AWS S3 Setup

---

UploadThing

UploadThing is a developer-friendly file upload service with a generous free tier.

Setup:

1. Install the package:

pnpm add uploadthing

2. Add your token to .env:

UPLOADTHING_TOKEN="your-uploadthing-token"

3. Create the adapter at src/lib/files/uploadthing-adapter.ts:

import { UTApi } from "uploadthing/server";
import type { UploadFileAdapter } from "./upload-file";

export const utapi = new UTApi({});

export const fileAdapter: UploadFileAdapter = {
  uploadFile: async (params) => {
    const response = await utapi.uploadFiles([params.file]);

    if (response[0].error) {
      return

4. Update the import in src/features/images/upload-image.action.ts:

import { fileAdapter } from "@/lib/files/uploadthing-adapter";

---

Switching Adapters

To switch between adapters, simply change the import in src/features/images/upload-image.action.ts:

// Vercel Blob (default)
import { fileAdapter } from "@/lib/files/vercel-blob-adapter";

// Cloudflare R2 / AWS S3
import { fileAdapter } from "@/lib/files/r2-adapter";

// UploadThing
import { fileAdapter } from "@/lib/files/uploadthing-adapter";

Enabling Image Upload

By default, image upload is disabled. To enable it:

1. Open src/site-config.ts
2. Set enableImageUpload to true:

export const SiteConfig = {
  // ...
  features: {
    enableImageUpload: true,
    // ...
  },
};

This enables drag-and-drop and click-to-upload functionality throughout the app.