Cloud Storage
Cloud Storage lets you keep uploaded media on a cloud object-storage provider instead of the server's local disk. It was introduced in WaDesk v1.2 and lives at Admin → Storage (/admin/storage). It is off by default — WaDesk uses the local disk until you choose and enable a provider.
What it is
By default, every file a customer or user uploads is written to the disk of the server WaDesk runs on. Cloud Storage changes the destination: once configured, those uploads go to an external object-storage bucket, and public links are built to point at that bucket. The application's media helpers handle the routing, so the switch is transparent to the rest of the platform.
Why and when to use it
Local disk is fine for small deployments, but it does not scale well. Use Cloud Storage to:
- Offload large media volumes off the application server so the disk does not fill up.
- Scale beyond one server — object storage is effectively unlimited and is shared rather than tied to a single machine's disk.
- Serve via a CDN for faster downloads to customers, since the provider's public URLs can sit behind a content-delivery network.
How it works
On the Storage page you pick a provider and enter its credentials — typically the bucket name, region, access key and secret, and an endpoint where the provider needs one. Once a provider is configured and enabled, every customer and user upload automatically routes to the cloud through the app's media helpers, and the public URLs WaDesk shows are built for that provider.
Supported providers
- Amazon S3
- Wasabi
- Backblaze / Bunny
- DigitalOcean Spaces
- Cloudflare R2
- MinIO (S3-compatible)
What gets stored in the cloud
When enabled, Cloud Storage covers uploads from across the platform:
| Area | Media |
|---|---|
| Chat & Team Inbox | Media sent and received in conversations. |
| Templates | Template header and body media. |
| Campaigns & Broadcasts | Media attached to bulk sends. |
| Store | Product images. |
| Contacts | Contact photos. |
| Account | User avatars. |
| Blog | Blog post images. |
Admin branding and logo assets intentionally stay on the local disk, so the platform's own identity does not depend on an external provider being reachable.
Note: Cloud Storage is off by default — WaDesk uses the local disk until you enable a provider. Turning it on or off is non-destructive: it does not move, rewrite, or break files that are already stored locally. New uploads simply follow whichever destination is active when they are uploaded.
Step by step
- Create a bucket with your chosen provider (Amazon S3, Wasabi, Backblaze / Bunny, DigitalOcean Spaces, Cloudflare R2, or MinIO) and get its access credentials.
- Open Admin → Storage (
/admin/storage). - Select the provider.
- Enter the credentials it asks for — bucket, region, key and secret, and an endpoint where required.
- Save and enable the provider. From that point, new uploads across the platform route to the cloud and public URLs are built for that provider.
- To go back to local disk, disable the cloud provider — existing local files are untouched and continue to work.
Caution: Double-check the bucket name, region, and keys before enabling. Wrong credentials mean new uploads cannot be saved or served. Because switching is non-destructive, files uploaded under one configuration keep being served from wherever they were originally stored.
Where to find it
The control is in the admin sidebar under Storage, reachable directly at /admin/storage.
Plan & permissions
Cloud Storage is a platform-admin-only tool. The provider you configure is a platform-wide setting that applies to all workspaces; it is not a per-workspace option.
Related Pages
- System Settings — where platform-wide settings and secrets are stored (encrypted at rest).
- Security & Audit Log — platform security policy and the record of sensitive admin actions.