A request link is the other half of Dropbucket. Instead of you sending files, your client sends them to you. They open a branded page, drop in their files and press Send. The files go straight from their browser into your bucket.
Use it for raw footage from a client’s shoot, logo files and brand guides, signed contracts, or anything else that’s too big for email.
Before you start
- Connect your storage under Settings → Storage, and make sure both status steps show a tick: Keys work and Browser uploads allowed (CORS). Request links upload through the browser, so the CORS step matters.
- Confirm your email address. Dropbucket asks you to verify it before you can create links.
Create a request link
- Open Requests in the top menu.
- Fill in New request link:
- What do you need? A short label your client will see as the page heading, like “Logo files and brand guide” or “Day 2 camera cards”.
- Note for them (optional): instructions, file formats, a deadline.
- Email the link to (optional): your client’s email. Dropbucket emails them the link with your label and note. Leave it blank if you’d rather send the link yourself.
- Open for: how long the link accepts uploads. The free plan offers 1 day or 7 days. Lifetime plans add 30 days, 90 days and Always open.
- Brand: shown if you have more than one brand. The page uses that brand’s logo, colour and custom domain.
- Press Create link.
You’ll see “Link ready.” with the link to copy. If you added a custom domain for the brand, the link uses it. See Put your download pages on your own domain.
On the free plan you can have 10 live links at once, counting transfers and open request links together. Lifetime plans have no cap.
What your client sees
Your client opens a page with your logo and colour, the label you wrote and your note. If you didn’t write a note, it says they can upload their files for you, that no account is needed and that large files are fine.
They fill in:
- Your name and Your email, so you know who sent what.
- Message (optional), for anything they want to tell you.
Then they drag files or whole folders onto the page, or use Choose a folder. They can add up to 2,000 files in one go, of any type and size, up to 5 TiB per file. They press Send and watch the progress.
When it’s done they see a thank-you message confirming how many files were delivered and to whom. They don’t need an account, and they never see anything else in your bucket. The link only accepts uploads.
On the free plan the page shows a small Dropbucket badge. Lifetime plans remove it.
Folders keep their structure
When a client drops a folder, Dropbucket keeps each file’s folder path. A card dump like Day 2/A-cam/CLIP0001.MP4 arrives with Day 2/A-cam still attached, so you can tell which camera and which day each clip came from.
In your bucket, received files sit under a dropbucket/received/ folder, grouped by request link and then by each upload, with the original folder path kept for every file. If you set a folder in Folder inside the bucket, it all sits inside that.
Big files and bad connections
Large files are split into chunks (16 to 64 MiB each, larger for very big files) and each chunk goes straight to your bucket. If the connection drops, only the unfinished chunk is lost.
- If an upload stops, your client sees an error and can press Send again. Finished parts aren’t sent twice.
- If they close the tab or the browser restarts, they can open the same link again in the same browser. The page says they have an unfinished upload, and asks them to add the same files and press Send. Anything already uploaded is skipped.
This makes request links practical for hundreds of gigabytes over hotel wifi.
Getting notified
When a client finishes an upload, Dropbucket emails you a “Files received” message. It goes to the person who created the link and to the workspace owners. It lists the files, includes the sender’s message and links to Requests in Dropbucket. Hitting reply goes to the client.
The client’s message is shown as theirs. Dropbucket doesn’t check what people type into it, so treat links and requests inside it with normal care.
Emails count toward your plan’s daily email allowance, along with transfer and invite emails.
Finding the files
In Requests, the Your request links list shows each link with its status, the number of uploads and files, the total size and when it closes.
Press Files on a link to see each upload: who sent it, their email, their message and the file list. Each file has open (to preview in the browser, for common image, video, audio and PDF types) and download.
The files are in your own bucket, so you can also reach them with any tool that works with your storage provider.
Closing a link
A link closes by itself when its Open for time runs out. To close it early, press Close next to it in Your request links.
Closing stops new uploads straight away. Anyone who opens the link sees “This upload link has ended” and is asked to contact you for a new one. Files you’ve already received stay in your bucket, and you can still open and download them from the list.
On the free plan, closing old links frees up room under the 10 live link limit.
Troubleshooting
The client’s upload fails straight away. Usually the bucket’s CORS rule. Check Settings → Storage shows a tick for Browser uploads allowed (CORS). If the link is on your own domain, that domain must be in the CORS rule too.
“The free plan allows 10 live links at once.” Close a link you no longer need, or upgrade for unlimited links.
The client says the link has ended. It expired or was closed. Create a new one.
You didn’t get the “Files received” email. Check spam, and check whether you’ve hit the daily email allowance. The files are still there under Requests.
Ready to try it? Create a free Dropbucket account, connect your bucket and send your first request link.