I wanted a simple way to send files to friends and clients.
No accounts. No friction. Just upload -> get a link -> share.
Most tools I tried either required signup, had limits, or felt too heavy for quick file sharing. So I built my own.
Goal
The idea was simple:
Upload a file instantly
Generate a shareable link
No login required
Auto-delete after expiration
Keep it fast and minimal
Tech Stack
Here’s what I used:
Frontend: React + Vite
Backend: Cloudflare Workers
Storage: Cloudflare R2
CDN: Cloudflare (global edge)
Why Cloudflare R2?
R2 was perfect because:
No egress fees
Works natively with Workers
Fast global access
Simple object storage
Upload Flow
The upload process is handled entirely via a Worker:
User selects a file
Frontend sends POST /upload
Worker generates a unique ID
File is stored in R2
Metadata is saved (name, size, expiration)
A shareable link is returned
Example response:
{
"id": "AbC123xyz",
"file_url": "/AbC123xyz",
"expires_at": "2026-05-10T12:00:00Z"
}
Generating Safe IDs
I avoided confusing characters like 0/O or l/I.
const alphabet = 'ABCDEFGHJKLMNPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghjkmnpqrstuvwxyz23456789';
This reduces user errors when sharing links.
Storing Files in R2
Inside the Worker:
await env.FILE72_BUCKET.put(id, request.body, {
httpMetadata: {
contentType: request.headers.get("content-type"),
},
customMetadata: {
fileName,
createdAt,
expiresAt,
}
});
Serving Files
Downloads are handled via:
GET /file/{id}
The Worker:
fetches from R2
returns the file stream
applies proper headers
Expiration Logic
Each file has:
createdAt
expiresAt
Cleanup can be handled via:
scheduled Worker (cron)
or lazy deletion on access
What I Learned
Simplicity wins - users don’t want accounts for quick tasks
Edge compute (Workers) is insanely fast
R2 is a great alternative to S3 for this use case
Most file sharing tools are overbuilt
Live Example
If you’re curious, I deployed it here:
It’s a simple, but it works well me.
Feedback Welcome
If you’ve built something similar or have ideas to improve it, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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