Storage Engines
The storage backend for the Storage API supports two engines: Local Storage and Object Storage.
Choosing the right engine for each environment and use case lets you balance development simplicity with production reliability.
Engine Comparison
| Engine | Data Persistence | Recommended Environments | Primary Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Storage | None (resets on restart) | TestEnv / DevelopEnv | Testing, development, verifying file handling behavior |
| Object Storage | Yes (dedicated storage) | StagingEnv / ProductionEnv | Production operations, staging verification |
Local Storage Engine
An engine that saves files to local disk.
Data resets whenever the service restarts or its lifecycle ends, making it easy to try out file upload and download processing without overhead.
Suitable for
- Verifying file handling — Check the full flow of upload, download, and URL generation without needing cloud storage
- Demos and development — Build and test screens that handle real files and assemble UI without a production storage setup
Advantages
- Start immediately without configuring cloud storage
- Zero-cost file reset (just restart)
- Test files don't accumulate during development
Object Storage Engine
An engine provisioned as a dedicated object storage for your organization.
Because files are persisted, it provides the durability and availability required for production operations.
Suitable for
- Production operations — Safely store images, PDFs, videos, CSVs, and other files persistently
- Staging verification — Run final verification of file operations with a production-equivalent storage configuration
- Long-term file accumulation — Managing, serving, and archiving files uploaded by users
Advantages
- No file loss from restarts or failures
- Provisioned as dedicated storage per organization, fully isolated from other tenants
- Works with public URL generation, user scope, and organization scope access control
- Scales to store and serve large volumes of files
Engine and Environment Combinations
| Environment | Recommended Engine | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| TestEnv | Local Storage | Ideal for testing and demo file operations. Resets between runs |
| DevelopEnv | Local Storage | Develop and verify file handling without cloud configuration |
| StagingEnv | Object Storage | Run final verification of file operations with a production-equivalent storage setup |
| ProductionEnv | Object Storage | File persistence, durability, and availability are required |
Each Storage API is provisioned with its own dedicated storage area per organization,
so files from other organizations are never mixed in.