Work with remote files

Saved sources make S3-compatible objects available anywhere Video Commander asks for an input. They work with Amazon S3 and custom endpoints such as Cloudflare R2 and MinIO.

Add a source

Open Sources, choose Add Source, and provide:

• a name used in the interface;
• the bucket and region;
• an optional AWS profile;
• a custom endpoint for R2, MinIO, or another compatible deployment; and
• an optional root prefix that confines browsing to one part of the bucket.

Use Test connection before saving. Video Commander uses the AWS credential chain for the profile or environment you selected; it does not ask you to paste an access-key secret into the source form.

Browse and open

Open Remote Files or choose the remote browser from a source field. Browse folders, filter to media files, then open an object in a workspace tab or choose it for Convert. The tab keeps the s3:// source while the app resolves the temporary access needed for the selected operation.

Inspect uses range reads where possible. FFmpeg workflows may stage remote data locally when the operation needs ordinary file access.

Write an encode back

Convert can upload its completed output to a configured source. Select the remote destination and object key when choosing the output. The job reports upload progress separately from the encode so a completed transcode is not mistaken for a completed delivery.

Credentials and permissions

The app can do only what the selected AWS profile or ambient credential permits. Use the narrowest bucket and action policy appropriate for the work. A root prefix simplifies browsing but is not a security boundary; enforce the same restriction in the credential policy when it matters.

For MinIO or R2, verify the endpoint, region behavior, and bucket permissions with a non-production object before using the source for output.