Pseudo-hierarchical folders and directories

Although you cannot nest directories in Cloud Files, you can simulate a hierarchical structure within a single container by adding forward slash characters (/) in the object name. To navigate the pseudo-directory structure, you can use the delimiter query parameter. This example shows you how to use pseudo-hierarchical folders and directories.

Note

In this example, the objects reside in a container called backups. Within that container, the objects are organized in a pseudo-directory called photos. The container name is not displayed in the example, but it is a part of the object URLs. For example, the URL of the picture me.jpg is https://storage.clouddrive.com/v1/MossoCloudFS_0672d7fa-9f85-4a81-a3ab-adb66a880123/backups/photos/me.jpg.

To display a list of all the objects in the storage container, use GET without a delimiter or prefix.

GET /v1/MossoCloudFS_0672d7fa-9f85-4a81-a3ab-adb66a880123/backups

The system returns status code 200 (OK) and the requested list of the objects.

photos/animals/cats/persian.jpg
photos/animals/cats/siamese.jpg
photos/animals/dogs/corgi.jpg
photos/animals/dogs/poodle.jpg
photos/animals/dogs/terrier.jpg
photos/me.jpg
photos/plants/fern.jpg
photos/plants/rose.jpg

Use the delimiter parameter to limit the displayed results. To use delimiter with pseudo-directories, you must use the parameter slash (/).

GET /v1/MossoCloudFS_0672d7fa-9f85-4a81-a3ab-adb66a880123/backups?delimiter=/

The system returns status code 200 (OK) and the requested matching objects. Because you use the slash, only the pseudo-directory photos/ displays. The returned values from a slash delimiter query are not real objects. They have a content-type of application/directory and are in the subdir section of JSON and XML results.

photos/

Use the prefix and delimiter parameters to view the objects inside a pseudo-directory, including further nested pseudo-directories.

GET /v1/MossoCloudFS_0672d7fa-9f85-4a81-a3ab-adb66a880123/backups?prefix=photos/&delimiter=/

The system returns status code 200 (OK) and the objects and pseudo-directories within the top level pseudo-directory.

photos/animals/
photos/me.jpg
photos/plants/

You can create an unlimited number of nested pseudo-directories. To navigate through them, use a longer prefix parameter coupled with the delimiter parameter. In this sample output, there is a pseudo-directory called dogs within the pseudo-directory animals. To navigate directly to the files contained within dogs, enter the following command:

GET /v1/MossoCloudFS_0672d7fa-9f85-4a81-a3ab-adb66a880123/backups?prefix=photos/animals/dogs/&delimiter=/

The system returns status code 200 (OK) and the objects and pseudo-directories within the nested pseudo-directory.

photos/animals/dogs/corgi.jpg
photos/animals/dogs/poodle.jpg
photos/animals/dogs/terrier.jpg