Migrate DigitalOcean Spaces bucket: Browser file uploads

Summary

Move object storage from DigitalOcean Spaces bucket to Ample, one component at a time. Destination verified on Ample: content-type and size validation that rejects disallowed files, an object written to a private bucket and a row linking the record to the object key (reject=ok upload=ok linked=ok). Source procedure: Inventory the Space with rclone size or s3cmd du. Not migrated automatically: Spaces CDN settings, CORS rules and per-object ACLs are not migrated; publish an Ample bucket for public delivery. Cutover: Switch the app's S3_* environment to the Ample bucket with a redeploy, verify reads and writes, keep the Space read-only until confirmed. Rollback: keep the source untouched until you confirm; nothing at the source is changed or deleted by this guide.

Infrastructure requirements

• S3-compatible object storage: verified (Buckets are S3-compatible with issued credentials; PutObject and GetObject are verified by canary. Other S3 operations are not verified.)

Prerequisites

• Authorized access to the DigitalOcean Spaces bucket source and its export tooling
• An inventory of every component in scope and out of scope
• A validated backup or copy before any cutover
• An Ample account token with servers:write, buckets:write

Exact tested configuration

• template: node-22
• runtime: node
• size: s-1vcpu-1gb
• install: npm install
• build: npm run build --if-present
• start: npm run start

Steps

1. Inventory the source. List what DigitalOcean Spaces bucket provides beyond the component you are moving. Out of scope here: Spaces CDN settings, CORS rules and per-object ACLs are not migrated; publish an Ample bucket for public delivery.

2. Source step 1. Inventory the Space with rclone size or s3cmd du

3. Source step 2. Copy objects with rclone sync from the Spaces endpoint to the Ample bucket endpoint using the issued credentials (path-style)

4. Source step 3. Verify a sample of objects by size and checksum after the copy

5. Create the destination bucket and copy. Create the bucket, copy with rclone or the S3 CLI in path-style mode using the issued credentials, then pass the credentials to the app as encrypted S3_* variables.

   ample bucket create --name <bucket-name>
   

6. Validate before cutover. Run the app's own checks and, for data, compare counts and checksums; the example checks are the pattern self-tests (/p/browser-file-uploads).

7. Cut over. Switch the app's S3_* environment to the Ample bucket with a redeploy, verify reads and writes, keep the Space read-only until confirmed.

8. Rollback. Point DNS or configuration back to the source. The source was never modified; deletion is a separate, user-executed step after validation.

Tested examples

• Express pattern fixture (destination) (tests/deploy-canaries/express-patterns): Verified destination basis: browser file uploads.

Success checks

• destination app responds on its public URL (/ on the live URL, expect ample canary express patterns)
• browser-file-uploads check from the destination example (/p/browser-file-uploads on the live URL, expect see the pattern fixture checks)
• data or object counts and checksums match the source

Limitations

• Documentation only: nothing is executed automatically and no execution binding is offered.
• The source-side procedure is documented from DigitalOcean Spaces bucket's standard tooling and was not executed in this catalog's evidence; the destination side was verified with the pattern fixture.
• No full source-product parity is claimed: Spaces CDN settings, CORS rules and per-object ACLs are not migrated; publish an Ample bucket for public delivery.
• Verified on the node-22 template at s-1vcpu-1gb; region, compliance and request-duration limits are unknown.
• PutObject and GetObject with path-style addressing are verified; bulk copy tooling and other S3 operations are not.

Cost estimate

Estimated 5.00 USD per month (size prices from pricing.toml at build revision a1b8c38919e59cd035ebabaced73cf84ece24371).

• app server x1 s-1vcpu-1gb: 5.00 USD

Destination always-on monthly price of the tested sizes; apps auto-pause when idle. Source costs are unknown to Ample.

Verification evidence

• canary_run on 2026-09-21T02:34:39Z at revision 1d28ae0-dirty (CLI 0.1.21): Destination side verified: the Express pattern fixture deployed on Ample (npm install, npm run build --if-present, npm run start on the node-22 template) and its checks passed (content-type and size validation that rejects disallowed files, an object written to a private bucket and a row linking the record to the object key (reject=ok upload=ok linked=ok)). The source-side export from DigitalOcean Spaces bucket is documented from the vendor's standard tooling and was not executed by this catalog's evidence. (expires 2027-03-20T02:34:39Z)

Last verified: 2026-09-21T02:34:39Z

Execution binding

No execution binding. This recipe is documentation only; nothing is executed automatically.