Configuring File Adapters

Configuring File Adapters

Parse Server allows developers to choose from several options when hosting files:

• GridStoreAdapter, which is backed by MongoDB;
• S3Adapter, which is backed by Amazon S3; or
• GCSAdapter, which is backed by Google Cloud Storage

GridStoreAdapter is used by default and requires no setup, but if you're interested in using S3 or Google Cloud Storage, additional configuration information is available below.

Configuring S3Adapter

If you'd like to use Amazon S3, follow these instructions to configure Parse Server to use S3Adapter.

Set up your bucket and permissions

First you will create a bucket in S3 to hold these files.

1. Log into your AWS account or create a new one.

2. Head to the S3 service and choose Create Bucket

3. Fill out a unique Bucket Name and click Create. The bucket name should not contain any period '.' for directAccess to work. All other defaults are OK.

4. Now head to the Identity and Access Management (IAM) service.

5. Click the Users tab, then Create New User.

6. Fill out at least one user name and make sure Generate an access key for each user is selected before clicking Create.

7. Make sure to Download Credentials on the next screen.

8. Now select the Policies tab, then Create Policy.

9. Select Create Your Own Policy, fill out a Policy Name.

10. Copy the following config in Policy Document, changing BUCKET_NAME for the name of the bucket you created earlier. (note: this is a little more permissive than Parse Server needs, but it works for now)

    {
        "Version": "2012-10-17",
        "Statement": [
            {
                "Effect": "Allow",
                "Action": [
                    "s3:*"
                ],
                "Resource": [
                    "arn:aws:s3:::BUCKET_NAME/*"
                ]
            }
         ]
     }

11. Make sure to Validate Policy first, then click Create Policy.

12. Go back to the Users tab and select the user you created earlier.

13. In Permissions, select Attach Policy and find the policy we just created to attach it.

Configuration options

Writing to your Amazon S3 bucket from Parse Server is as simple as configuring and using the S3 files adapter.

Using environment variables

If you're running a standalone Parse Server, you can use the following environment variables to configure the S3 adapter:

PARSE_SERVER_FILES_ADAPTER  # Set this variable to './Files/S3Adapter.js'. Required.
S3_ACCESS_KEY               # The AWS access key for a user that has the required permissions. Required.
S3_SECRET_KEY               # The AWS secret key for the user. Required.
S3_BUCKET                   # The name of your S3 bucket. Needs to be globally unique in all of S3. Required.
S3_REGION                   # The AWS region to connect to. Optional. (Default: 'us-east-1')
S3_BUCKET_PREFIX            # Create all the files with the specified prefix added to the filename. Can be used to put all the files for an app in a folder with 'folder/'. Optional. (Default: '')
S3_DIRECT_ACCESS            # Whether reads are going directly to S3 or proxied through your Parse Server. Optional. (Default: false)

Passing as options

If you're using Node.js/Express:

...
var S3Adapter = require('parse-server').S3Adapter;

var api = new ParseServer({
  databaseURI: databaseUri || 'mongodb://localhost:27017/dev',
  appId: process.env.APP_ID || 'APPLICATION_ID',
  masterKey: process.env.MASTER_KEY || 'MASTER_KEY',
  ...
  filesAdapter: new S3Adapter(
    "S3_ACCESS_KEY",
    "S3_SECRET_KEY",
    "S3_BUCKET",
    {directAccess: true}
  ),
  ...
});

Don't forget to change S3_ACCESS_KEY, S3_SECRET_KEY and S3_BUCKET to their correct value.

S3Adapter constructor options

new S3Adapter(accessKey, secretKey, bucket, options)

Required:

• accessKey: the AWS access key for a user that has the required permissions
• secretKey: the AWS secret key for the user
• bucket: the name of your S3 bucket. Needs to be globally unique in all of S3

options is a Javascript object (map) that can contain:

• region: the AWS region to connect to. Default: 'us-east-1'
• bucketPrefix: create all the files with the specified prefix added to the filename. Can be used to put all the files for an app in a folder with 'folder/'. Default: ''
• directAccess: whether reads are going directly to S3 or proxied through your Parse Server. Default: false

Configuring GCSAdapter

Unlike the S3 adapter, you must create a new Cloud Storage bucket, as this is not created automatically. See https://googlecloudplatform.github.io/gcloud-node/#/docs/master/guides/authentication for more details.

Configuration options

Writing to your Google Cloud Storage bucket from Parse Server is as simple as configuring and using the GCS files adapter.

Using environment variables

You can use Google Cloud Storage to host your static files by setting the following environment variables:

PARSE_SERVER_FILES_ADAPTER  # Set this variable to './Files/GCSAdapter.js'. Required.
GCP_PROJECT_ID              # Required.
GCP_KEYFILE_PATH            # Required.
GCS_BUCKET                  # Required.
GCS_BUCKET_PREFIX
GCS_DIRECT_ACCESS

Passing as options

If you're using Node.js/Express:

...
var GCSAdapter = require('parse-server').GCSAdapter;

var api = new ParseServer({
  databaseURI: databaseUri || 'mongodb://localhost:27017/dev',
  appId: process.env.APP_ID || 'APPLICATION_ID',
  masterKey: process.env.MASTER_KEY || 'MASTER_KEY',
  ...
  filesAdapter: new GCSAdapter(
    "GCP_PROJECT_ID",
    "GCP_KEYFILE_PATH",
    "GCS_BUCKET",
    {directAccess: true}
  ),
  ...
});

GCSAdapter constructor options

new GCSAdapter(projectId, keyfilePath, bucket, options)

Required:

• projectId
• keyfilePath
• bucket

options is a Javascript object (map) that can contain:

• bucketPrefix: create all the files with the specified prefix added to the filename. Can be used to put all the files for an app in a folder with 'folder/'. Default: ''
• directAccess: whether reads are going directly to GCS or proxied through your Parse Server. Default: false