Feature: Object Operations in Browser¶

When to use¶

Use this guide for object-level actions in the standalone Browser workspace.

Prerequisites¶

Access to /browser and an eligible Browser storage context.
Effective permissions for target bucket/prefix.

Before you start¶

Select the execution context before choosing a bucket. The same bucket name may exist in another account or connection, and object actions always use the current context credentials.

Steps¶

Open /browser and choose the storage context.
Navigate to the target bucket and prefix.
On /browser, use the left buckets panel to switch bucket directly and inspect folders for the active bucket.
Non-active buckets stay collapsed; inaccessible buckets are dimmed until selected.
Use actions as needed:
Use the context menu for the full action set on the current path, object, or selection.
Click anywhere on a row or mobile card, outside its interactive controls, to open the primary destination. A folder navigates, a file opens on Preview, and a deleted object opens Versions.
Use the checkbox only for selection. On desktop, selection actions replace the right side of the stable context bar so the list does not move. The mobile bottom bar exposes the essential actions without horizontal scrolling. Use More for every secondary action.
With Technical S3 tools, use More > Columns to choose which object columns are visible. The default column set stays unchanged until you customize it.
Drag a column separator in the objects table header to resize Name and visible object columns. Double-click a separator to restore that column default width.
On /browser, use More > Folders panel to enable Folders. Object details open in one contextual drawer that is independent from row selection.
With Technical S3 tools, Details on a folder and Path details for the current context open the same drawer shell with the effective bucket and S3 prefix. An on-demand recursive count reports the current objects and, when relevant, versions and delete markers without changing the listing. The Standard profile does not expose this technical path view.
Upload files
Download objects
Preview supported files
Delete objects or delete markers
Manage versions, restores, metadata, tags, ACL, retention, signed URLs, and archive restore workflows from the unified details drawer for files
Use bulk actions when handling many objects.
You can copy or cut items and paste into the target bucket or prefix.
Same-context paste keeps the existing storage-side copy path.
Cross-context paste is available only in the Advanced profile. It is frontend-driven and transfers items one by one.
Cross-context move deletes the source only after the destination copy is verified.

The following short capture shows the complete multi-object selection and delete workflow through the completed entry in Operations overview.

Action access¶

Path actions include upload, folder creation, paste, versions, restore, cleanup, copy path, and Advanced path details.
The desktop selection bar exposes primary selection shortcuts only while a selection exists. Mobile uses a safe-area bottom bar and bottom sheet.
Selection actions include download, ZIP, open, copy URL, copy, cut, bulk attributes, advanced actions, restore, and delete when the current selection allows them.
File entry points such as Preview, Versions, and advanced object actions converge into the same details drawer, each opening the most relevant tab first.
Long-running bulk actions surface in Operations overview, where queued, active, completed, and failed work stays visible without leaving Browser.
On the main /browser page, More lets every user choose Comfortable or Compact and controls the Folders panel. Compact keeps the path and icon actions on one row; Comfortable keeps labeled actions on that row when the window is wide and moves them to a second row when space is tighter. These choices are stored for the root Browser only. The default is a compact view with Folders hidden, suitable for small windows and dense object lists.
With Technical S3 tools, object columns available from More > Columns include base listing columns such as Size, Modified, Storage class, and ETag, plus lazy detail columns such as Content-Type, Tags, Metadata, Cache-Control, Expires, and Restore status.
Custom column widths are stored locally in the current browser.
Reset columns restores both the default visible columns and the default widths.
Only base listing columns are sortable. Lazy detail columns are display-only and load on demand for visible rows.
Actions can be disabled for the current state. For example, Copy URL is disabled when SSE-C is active, and deleted items must be restored from versions before direct download or delete operations.
Standard includes normal file operations and read-only properties. Advanced adds technical S3 tools, editable properties, bulk and cross-context operations, multipart supervision, and path details. Bucket details in standalone Browser remains a read-only summary.
A row click always opens its primary destination. Selection is explicit via the checkbox, including Shift-click for a range, so clicking another column no longer changes selection unexpectedly.

Expected result¶

Object-level operations are executed with current context credentials and reflected immediately.

Names are exact: "report.txt" and " report.txt " identify different objects. Metadata/tag columns and object history keep these distinctions, including names composed only of spaces. Opening an object's history does not substitute the history of a trimmed name or a neighboring prefix.

Object tag keys and values are also literal. Leading or trailing spaces are preserved, including a key made only of spaces. An empty tag key or a duplicate tag key is rejected instead of being silently removed or merged.

Folder navigation also preserves spaces and leading or repeated / characters. For example, docs/, /docs/, and docs// are distinct prefixes. The URL, editable path, suggestions, recent paths, parent navigation, and path details keep these distinctions. An empty path (or the root button) selects the bucket root; entering / selects the literal / prefix. A missing final / is added when entering a folder path. Recursive searches and sorted listings keep empty path segments as distinct folders as well. Existing objects are never renamed.

An error does not mean that every requested change was rolled back. After a failed deletion, copy, move, or upload, refresh the list before retrying. For writes handled by the backend, affected object listings and metadata/tag columns are expired from its cache even when the write reports an error.

You are done when¶

The object list, details drawer, or Operations overview shows the expected completed state for the selected object or prefix.

If you do not see this action¶

Check the selected object state, Browser profile, feature settings, and IAM/S3 permissions. Some actions appear only for a file, only for a folder, or only when versioning is available.

Limits / feature flags¶

Note

Browser availability and operation sets depend on Browser settings, the selected context, and endpoint capabilities. Administrators can independently allow direct uploads, STS uploads, and backend proxy transfers; at least one upload mode must remain enabled. BucketReef prefers STS when it is allowed and available, then direct backend-presigned uploads, then the backend proxy. SSE-C disables STS for that upload and falls back through the remaining allowed modes.

Direct and STS uploads require bucket CORS rules for the Browser origin. Multipart uploads also require those rules to expose ETag. When CORS is explicitly disabled, BucketReef uses the proxy when it is allowed; otherwise uploads are disabled for that bucket. An STS-only configuration likewise disables uploads for contexts where STS is unavailable. These upload controls do not change Browser download selection.

Direct requests use a worker restricted to the selected S3 endpoint. This also applies to the file browser inside Portal. Changing projects or execution contexts does not require reloading the page to update its CSP. Copies between endpoints use separate source and destination workers. Bucket CORS remains required, and direct writes are not automatically replayed through the proxy after a network failure.

Selection scope¶

The selection count covers loaded items only. Selecting all does not select unloaded results. Folder contents are enumerated only when an operation, such as ZIP, needs them; no selection-volume calculation runs in the background.

Uploads and clipboard writes¶

Uploads and pasted objects use the provider's normal S3 write behavior. An existing key is replaced, or a new current version is created when versioning is enabled. There is no name-conflict prompt or automatic numbered destination.

Use Copy or Cut, navigate to the destination, and choose Paste. Cross-context transfers require the Advanced profile. A move removes the source only after the copy passes the existing verification; failed transfers remain visible in Operations. Folder and object names retain their exact S3 spelling.

Search options¶

The Advanced profile exposes the original search-options menu: current path or whole bucket, recursive matching, exact match, case sensitivity, object type and storage class. Whole-bucket and recursive search require a text query; changing scope clears incompatible recursion. Size, date and extension filters are no longer supported.

Listing and sorted pagination keep their existing bounds. A sorted scan can reach its scan limit; narrow the search or use ascending-name pagination to continue.

Personal path favorites¶

The standalone sidebar has Buckets / Favorites tabs. Each favorite shows its storage location, path and context in a subtitle. Storage Space contexts use the Storage Space name instead of the technical bucket name. Search the list and select a favorite to open it.

Use the star in the current-path bar to add or remove the exact location. An outlined star means the path is not saved; a filled yellow star means it is a favorite. The same yellow star appears beside saved locations in the Favorites sidebar and removes that location directly. New favorites are named automatically from the current folder, or from the bucket/Storage Space at its root. Favorites synchronize through your UI account and refresh when the window regains focus. Duplicate records for the same exact location are treated as one favorite and removed together. Unavailable locations remain identifiable and never silently change execution identity.

Temporary S3 sessions cannot synchronize favorites. Favorites do not save search, filters, sorting or columns. Previously saved views are removed by the path-favorites migration; existing path favorites retain their IDs and revision history.

ZIP for a mixed selection¶

Download as ZIP accepts files and folders together. Browser recursively enumerates the selected folders, deduplicates overlapping objects and preserves paths relative to the starting location. Preparation, transfer and packaging appear in Operations and can be cancelled.

Unsafe archive paths (including traversal, absolute/ambiguous paths and case/Unicode or file/folder collisions) are excluded with an explanation in operation details. Objects are never silently overwritten inside the archive. Large selections use streaming to a file when supported. Without streaming, a selection at or above the configured ZIP threshold is blocked before downloading its contents; select fewer files or use a browser with streaming file support. The threshold concerns the total input bytes; archive packaging also needs working memory.

ZIP failures and exclusions remain visible in the operation details. ZIP generation does not resume after closing the browser.

CSV files display an inert table, including quoted and multiline cells. JSON files display a collapsible tree. Raw text is always available; invalid, truncated or excessively complex structures automatically fall back to source text. Find in displayed text searches only the loaded text and highlights its first 200 matches. Markup and spreadsheet formulas are displayed as text, never executed.

Previous and Next navigate among the current listing's loaded, non-deleted files without changing the selection or loading additional pages. The file being viewed has a persistent highlight and a vertical marker in the list, independent of checked items and keyboard focus. Checked rows retain their selection background when hovered. Keyboard navigation outlines the focused control only; that outline does not indicate selection. Navigation keeps that row visible and retains focus on an available navigation control. Closing details returns focus to the last viewed file, or to the list if that file is no longer present. Pending changes in an editable details drawer still require the existing discard confirmation. Preview limits remain 50 MiB per object and 64 KiB of text in UTF-8 bytes. There is no Office renderer or active HTML preview.

Transfer progress¶

Transfers show their progress and results during the current session. Stop cancels an active operation. Failed transfers can be started again through the normal upload, download or clipboard actions; no failed-item replay or persistent history is kept.

Closing or reloading the Browser interrupts transfers. Multipart uploads are not resumable after returning. BucketReef does not read, open, or maintain the retired local recovery database; authorized operators can inspect and abort orphaned multiparts through the existing multipart tools.