bitvid/content/upload-content.md

How to Upload Content

bitvid is a decentralized platform, but for larger video files, we currently support Cloudflare R2 as a storage backend. This allows you to upload files directly from your browser to a high-performance, affordable storage bucket.

Prerequisites

• A Cloudflare Account (free to create).
• An activated R2 Plan (there is a generous free tier, but you may need to add a payment method).

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Create a Bucket & Enable Public Access

1. Log in to your Cloudflare Dashboard.
2. Navigate to R2 in the sidebar.
3. Click "Create Bucket".
4. Give it a name (e.g., my-bitvid-videos) and click "Create Bucket".
5. Go to the Settings tab of your new bucket.
6. Scroll down to "Public Access" and click "Enable" under "R2.dev subdomain".
7. Copy the Public Bucket URL (it looks like https://pub-xxxxxx.r2.dev). You will need this later.

2. Configure CORS

To allow your browser to upload files directly to Cloudflare, you must allow Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS).

1. Still in your bucket's Settings tab, scroll down to "CORS Policy".
2. Click "Add CORS Policy" (or Edit).
3. Paste the following JSON configuration and explicitly list every allowed app origin (the scheme, host, and port must match exactly):

[
  {
    "AllowedOrigins": ["http://127.0.0.1:5500", "https://bitvid.network"],
    "AllowedMethods": ["GET", "PUT", "POST", "DELETE", "HEAD"],
    "AllowedHeaders": [
      "authorization",
      "content-type",
      "x-amz-*",
      "x-amz-content-sha256",
      "x-amz-date"
    ],
    "ExposeHeaders": ["ETag", "Content-Length", "Content-Range", "Accept-Ranges"],
    "MaxAgeSeconds": 3600
  }
]

Note: Replace the AllowedOrigins values with the exact origins you use in development and production (the scheme and port must match exactly). Set this policy on the R2 bucket CORS settings, and remember that uploads go through the S3 API endpoint (<account>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com), not the public r2.dev URL.

4. Click "Save".

3. Create an API Token

1. Go back to the R2 Overview page.
2. Click "Manage R2 API Tokens" (right sidebar).
3. Click "Create API Token".
4. Configure the token:
   • Token name: e.g., "bitvid-upload".
   • Permissions: Select "Object Read & Write". This is the minimal permission needed to upload and delete files.
   • Specific Bucket(s): Select the bucket you created in Step 1.
   • TTL: "Forever".
5. Click "Create API Token".

4. Configure bitvid

1. Copy the Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, and your Account ID (found on the R2 Overview page).
2. Return to the Upload Video modal in bitvid.
3. Click "Configure R2 Storage".
4. Enter your:
   • Account ID
   • Access Key ID
   • Secret Access Key
   • Public Bucket URL (from Step 1)
5. Click "Verify & Save".

bitvid will verify your credentials by uploading a small test file. Once verified, you are ready to upload!