File storage (Emergent Object Store)
Overview
Emergent provides managed object storage through Emergent Object Store. This lets your apps handle user uploads, avatars, documents, images, and other files without connecting an external AWS account or managing storage credentials.
Emergent Object Store is accessed through the Universal LLM Key, so no separate storage credentials or configuration are required.
Using Emergent Object Store
The simplest way to use object storage is through Emergent's managed infrastructure. When you describe a file-handling requirement in chat, such as:
- "Let users upload profile pictures"
- "Add a document upload form and store PDFs"
- "Store user-generated images"
Emergent automatically provisions and configures the required object storage for your app.
Note
No AWS account, bucket creation, access keys, or environment-variable configuration is required. The agent handles the storage setup and wiring automatically.
Object storage works in preview and production and is managed by Emergent through the Universal LLM Key.
Security and access control
- Private by default - objects are not publicly readable unless you explicitly generate signed URLs or set public ACLs (discouraged).
- Scoped credentials - each organization's access keys can only interact with that organization's bucket.
- No cross-org access - apps in different organizations cannot read each other's files.
Tip
To let users download uploads, generate pre-signed URLs with a short expiry (e.g., 1 hour). This avoids exposing permanent credentials in the browser. Ask the agent: "Generate signed URLs for uploaded files so users can download them securely."
Common use cases
Profile avatars
Store and serve user-uploaded images; resize on upload or on-the-fly.
Document uploads
Accept PDFs, spreadsheets, or text files; parse or index them server-side.
Media galleries
Let users upload photos or videos; list and display thumbnails.
Export artifacts
Generate CSVs, reports, or ZIP archives on the server and store them for async download.
