Dropdot is a simple file uploader built on NodeJS, Express and S3 API as the object storage platform. It supports AWS S3 and DreamHost Objects as storage provider.

Configuring Dropdot is simple, just follow the steps below:

AWS S3 Demo: http://dropdot.alfg.co/

##Installation## Clone and install dependencies

$ git clone https://github.com/alfg/dropdot.git
$ cd dropdot
$ npm install

Open config.js.sample and configure

module.exports.port = 3000; // App port
module.exports.aws_key = "YourAWSKey"; // AWS Key
module.exports.aws_secret = "YourSuperSecretAWSKey"; // AWS Secret
module.exports.aws_bucket = "NameOfS3Bucket"; // S3 bucket
module.exports.redirect_host = "http://localhost:3000/"; // Redirect page after successful upload
module.exports.host = "YOUR_S3_PROVIDER"; // S3 provider host
module.exports.bucket_dir = "uploads/"; // Subdirectory in S3 bucket where uploads will go
module.exports.max_filesize = 20971520; // Max filesize in bytes (default 20MB)

Rename config.js.sample to config.js and run the app

$ mv config.js.sample config.js
$ node app.js

Load http://localhost:3000 into the browser

The app is set, now you need to create and configure your S3 Bucket.

In order to allow S3 to accept CORS uploads from your app, it needs to be properly configured.

Log into your S3 Console and create a bucket.

Right-click your bucket and go to properties > permissions > Edit CORS Configuration.

Enter the following:

<CORSConfiguration>
    <CORSRule>
        <AllowedOrigin>*</AllowedOrigin>
        <AllowedMethod>PUT</AllowedMethod>
        <AllowedMethod>GET</AllowedMethod>
        <AllowedMethod>POST</AllowedMethod>
        <MaxAgeSeconds>3000</MaxAgeSeconds>
        <AllowedHeader>*</AllowedHeader>
    </CORSRule>
</CORSConfiguration>

Of course, the * in AllowedOrigin is only for development. Be sure to use your domain when going public.

Log into your DreamHost account and go to DreamObjects section. Then upload cors.xml in the root of that bucket which you are seleceted as upload destionation ( aws_bucket in config.js ).

Objects will be available by accessing the public URL directly. Example: http://bucket-name.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/439fbca8-b79b-40e9-8172-4d318737ee14_file.jpg

However, if you wish to customize the URL, you can use a CNAME. First, create/rename your bucket to match the subdomain (uploads.domain.com). Then create the CNAME (via your DNS settings) using the exact name of the bucket/subdomain.

To be clear, the bucket's name and CNAME should be identical. i.e. uploads.domain.com

You can now access your files as: http://uploads.domain.com/uploads/439fbca8-b79b-40e9-8172-4d318737ee14_file.jpg

All done! Now go upload stuff.

Dropdot is open-source under the MIT License.

Dropdot uses the following technologies, check them out!

• NodeJS The core backend
• Express Framework for Node. Serves the JSON policy
• mime Mime-type detection
• crypto Used for SHA1, Base64 digestion
• uuid Generating the unique IDs
• Amazon S3 Cloud Object/File Storage Platform

Guides that saved me a few gray hairs dealing with CORS:

• http://pjambet.github.com/blog/direct-upload-to-s3/
• http://aws.amazon.com/articles/1434