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Storage - Upload Files

Upload Files​

To upload a file to Firebase Storage, you first create a reference to the full path of the file, including the file name.

var reference:StorageReference = FirebaseStorage.service.getInstance().child( "images/upload.png" );

Once you've created an appropriate reference, you then call the following to upload to Firebase Storage:

  • putBytes(): Upload from data in memory
  • putFile(): Upload a file on the file system

Upload from data in memory​

The putBytes() method is the simplest way to upload a file to Firebase Storage. putBytes() takes a ByteArray and returns an UploadTask that you can use to manage and monitor the status of the upload.

// Data from some source, eg encoding bitmap data to jpg
var bytes:ByteArray = ...; 

var task:UploadTask = reference.putBytes( bytes );

Because putBytes() accepts a ByteArray, it requires your app to hold the entire contents of a file in memory at once.

Upload from a local file​

You can upload local files on the device, such as photos and videos from the camera, with the putFile() method. putFile() takes a File url and returns an UploadTask which you can use to manage and monitor the status of the upload.

var file:File = File.applicationStorageDirectory.resolvePath( "plane.png" );

var task:UploadTask = reference.putFile( file );

Add File Metadata​

You can also include metadata when you upload files. This metadata contains typical file metadata properties such as name, size, and contentType (commonly referred to as MIME type). The putFile() method automatically infers the MIME type from the File extension, but you can override the auto-detected type by specifying contentType in the metadata. If you do not provide a contentType and Firebase Storage cannot infer a default from the file extension, Firebase Storage uses application/octet-stream.

See the [File Metadata|Storage - File Metadata] section for more information about file metadata.

var reference:StorageReference = FirebaseStorage.service.getReference().child( "images/test" );

var metadata:StorageMetadata = new StorageMetadata();
metadata.contentType = "image/jpg";

var task:UploadTask = reference.putFile( file, metadata );

Manage Uploads​

In addition to starting uploads, you can pause, resume, and cancel uploads using the pause(), resume(), and cancel() methods. Pause and resume events raise pause and progress state changes respectively. Canceling an upload causes the upload to fail with an error indicating that the upload was canceled.

// Pause the upload
task.pause();

// Resume the upload
task.resume();

// Cancel the upload
task.cancel();

Monitor Upload Progress​

An upload task dispatches UploadTaskEvents to indicate completion, progress, and errors:

task.addEventListener( UploadTaskEvent.SUCCESS, uploadSuccessHandler );
task.addEventListener( UploadTaskEvent.ERROR, uploadErrorHandler );

Events are dispatched with a UploadTaskSnapshot object. This object is an immutable view of the task at the time the event occurred.

private function uploadSuccessHandler( event:UploadTaskEvent ):void 
{
    // event.snapshot contains details about the completed upload
}

private function uploadErrorHandler( event:UploadTaskEvent ):void 
{
    // Handle unsuccessful uploads
    // event.errorMessage contains the reason for the error
}