File storage

Shaperail provides built-in file upload, storage, and retrieval backed by the object_store crate. Files are validated on upload, stored through a pluggable backend, and tracked as metadata in your database.

Schema: declaring file fields

Use type: file on any schema field that should hold a stored file reference:

resource: avatars
version: 1

schema:
  id:         { type: uuid, primary: true, generated: true }
  user_id:    { type: uuid, ref: users.id, required: true }
  avatar_url: { type: file, required: true }
  created_at: { type: timestamp, generated: true }

A file field stores the storage path string in the database. The actual binary data lives in the configured storage backend.

Upload configuration on endpoints

Add an upload: block to any endpoint that accepts file uploads:

endpoints:
  create:
    method: POST
    path: /avatars
    auth: [member, admin]
    input: [user_id, avatar_url]
    upload:
      field: avatar_url
      storage: s3
      max_size: 5mb
      types: [jpg, png, webp]

Key	Required	Description
field	Yes	Schema field that stores the file reference.
storage	Yes	Backend name: s3, gcs, azure, or local.
max_size	Yes	Maximum upload size. Accepts kb, mb, gb, or plain bytes (e.g., 5mb, 100kb, 1gb, 1024).
types	No	Allowed file types. Accepts extensions (jpg, png, pdf), full MIME types (image/png, application/pdf), or wildcards (image/*). Omit to allow all types.

When a request exceeds max_size or sends a disallowed MIME type, Shaperail returns a 422 Validation error with a structured FieldError identifying the problem.

Storage backends

Shaperail supports four backends. All implement the same interface: upload, download, delete, and signed_url.

Backend	Value	Use case
Local filesystem	local	Development and testing. Default when no env var is set.
Amazon S3	s3	Production object storage on AWS.
Google Cloud Storage	gcs	Production object storage on GCP.
Azure Blob Storage	azure	Production object storage on Azure.

Backend selection

Set the SHAPERAIL_STORAGE_BACKEND environment variable:

# Development (default if unset)
SHAPERAIL_STORAGE_BACKEND=local

# Production examples
SHAPERAIL_STORAGE_BACKEND=s3
SHAPERAIL_STORAGE_BACKEND=gcs
SHAPERAIL_STORAGE_BACKEND=azure

The backend is resolved once at startup via StorageBackend::from_env(). An unrecognized value causes an immediate startup error.

Configuration in shaperail.config.yaml

Configure backend-specific settings in the storage section of your project config:

storage:
  backend: s3
  local:
    root_dir: ./uploads
  s3:
    bucket: my-app-uploads
    region: us-east-1
    # Credentials from AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID / AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY env vars
  gcs:
    bucket: my-app-uploads
    # Credentials from GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS env var
  azure:
    container: my-app-uploads
    account: mystorageaccount
    # Credentials from AZURE_STORAGE_KEY env var

The backend key in the config file is overridden by SHAPERAIL_STORAGE_BACKEND if set, allowing per-environment control without changing the config file.

Signed URL generation

Generate time-limited download URLs for stored files:

let url = upload_handler.signed_url("uploads/abc-photo.jpg", 3600).await?;
// Returns a pre-signed URL valid for 3600 seconds

All backends support signed URLs. The local backend returns file:// URLs (useful for development). S3, GCS, and Azure return standard pre-signed HTTPS URLs.

The expires_secs parameter controls how long the URL remains valid.

File metadata in the database

Every uploaded file produces a FileMetadata record with four fields:

Column	Type	Description
path	String	Storage key relative to the backend root (e.g., uploads/uuid-filename.jpg).
filename	String	Original filename as uploaded by the client.
mime_type	String	Detected MIME type (e.g., image/png).
size	u64	File size in bytes.

The path value is what gets stored in the schema field marked type: file. Use it to generate signed URLs or perform storage operations later.

Filenames are sanitized on upload: only alphanumeric characters, dots, hyphens, and underscores are kept. Everything else is replaced with _. Directory traversal attempts like ../../../etc/passwd become .._.._.._etc_passwd.

Orphan cleanup on resource deletion

When a resource with file fields is deleted, Shaperail automatically deletes the associated files from storage. The UploadHandler::delete method removes the file at the stored path:

upload_handler.delete(&file_metadata.path).await?;

For soft-deleted resources (soft_delete: true), files are retained until the record is permanently purged. This ensures soft-deleted records can still be restored with their files intact.

Image processing

Shaperail includes built-in image processing for resize and thumbnail generation, powered by the image crate.

Thumbnails

Generate a thumbnail that fits within the given dimensions while preserving aspect ratio:

let thumb = upload_handler.create_thumbnail(
    "uploads/uuid-photo.jpg",  // original file path
    200,                        // max width
    200,                        // max height
    "thumbnails",              // storage prefix for output
).await?;
// thumb.path => "thumbnails/thumb-<uuid>.png"

Resizing

Resize an image to specific dimensions using Lanczos3 filtering:

let resized = upload_handler.resize_image(
    "uploads/uuid-photo.jpg",  // original file path
    800,                        // target width
    600,                        // target height
    "resized",                 // storage prefix for output
).await?;
// resized.path => "resized/resized-<uuid>.png"

Both operations download the original from storage, process it in memory, and upload the result as a new PNG file. Each returns a FileMetadata with the new path, size, and MIME type.