# capsule
Upload and store files in Elixir apps with minimal (currently zero) dependencies.
[](https://hex.pm/packages/capsule)
[](https://github.com/elixir-capsule/capsule/actions)
:warning: Capsule is experimental and still in active development---it is *not* production ready. Accepting file uploads introduces security vulnerabilities. The API is *expected* to change. Use at your own risk.
## Not-so-jagged little pill
Capsule intentionally strips file storage logic down to its most composable parts and lets you decide how you want to use them. It is intentionally agnostic about versions, transformation, validations, etc. Most of the convenience offered by other libraries around these features comes at the cost of locking in dependence on specific tools and hiding complexity. Capsule puts a premium on simplicity and explicitness.
So what does it do? Here's a theoretical example of use with an Ecto<sup>1</sup> schema, that saves the file onto a local file system and extracts some metadata before attaching the file:
```
def create_attachment(url) do
Multi.new()
|> Multi.run(:upload, fn _, _ ->
Disk.put(URI.parse(url), prefix: :crypto.hash(:md5, [user.id, url]) |> Base.encode16())
end)
|> Multi.insert(:attachment, fn %{upload: file_data} ->
Source.changeset(%Attachment{}, %{
file_data: file_data |> Capsule.add_metadata(%{name: file_data.metadata.name}) |> Map.from_struct(),
})
end)
|> Repo.transaction()
end
```
Then to access your file:
```
%Attachment{file_data: file} = attachment
{:ok, contents} = Capsule.open(file)
```
<sup>1</sup> *See below for optional integration with Ecto.*
## concepts
There are three main concepts in capsule: storage, upload, and the special one, "encapsulation."
### storage
A "storage" is a [behaviour](https://elixirschool.com/en/lessons/advanced/behaviours/) that implements the following "file-like" callbacks:
* open
* put
* copy
* delete
Currently, capsule comes with only the [Disk storage](#disk) built in. But implementing your own storage is as easy as creating a module that quacks this way.
### upload
Upload is a [protocol](https://elixir-lang.org/getting-started/protocols.html) consisting of the following two functions:
* contents
* name
A storage uses this interface to figure how to extract the file data from a given struct and how to identify it. Currently capsule only implements the upload protocol for URI and Capsule.Encapsulation. See the [uploads section](#uploads) for example of how to implement the protocol for other modules.
### encapsulation
Encapsulations are the mediators between storages and uploads. They represent the result of `put`ting an upload into a storage. They contain a unique id, the name of the storage to which the file was uploaded, the size, and a map of user defined metadata.
`%{id: "/path/to/file.jpg", storage: "Capsule.Storages.Disk", size: 34100, metadata: %{}} = Disk.put(some_upload)`
Encapsulation also implements the upload protocol, which means moving a file from one storage to another is as easy as this:
`%Encapsulation{id: "new-id", storage: "YourApp.YourStorage", size: 34100, metadata: %{}} = YourStorage.put(%{id: "/path/to/file.jpg", storage: "Capsule.Storages.Disk", size: 34100, metadata: %{}})`
Note: you'll still need to take care of cleaning up the old file:
`Disk.delete(encapsulation)`
## storages
Every capsule storage should behave in a similar, predictable, and thus transparent way. For example, every storage must implement `put/1`. However, a storage may implement `put/2` to allow any additional information it needs to be *optionally* passed. Additionally, a storage may respect specific configuration and retrieve the information that way.
Capsule ships with storage for saving uploads to the local filesystem: `Disk`. Documentation for configuration and options it supports is below.
### Disk
Since it is possible for files with the same name to be uploaded multiple times, Disk needs some additional info to uniquely identify the file. Disk *does not* overwrite files with the same name by default. To ensure an upload can be stored, the combination of the `Upload.name` and `prefix` should be unique.
#### configuration
* To set the root directory where files will be stored: `Application.put_env(:capsule, Capsule.Storages.Disk, root_dir: "tmp")`
#### options
* `prefix`: This should be a valid system path that will be appended to the root. If it does not exist, Disk will create it.
* `force`: If this option is set to a truthy value, Disk will overwrite any existing file at the derived path. Use with caution! :warning:
## uploads
### URI
This is useful for transferring files already hosted elsewhere, for example in cloud storage not controlled by your application, or a [TUS server](https://tus.io/).
You can use it to allow users to post a url string in lieu of downloading and reuploading a file. A Phoenix controller action implementing this feature might look like this:
```
def attach(conn, %{"attachment" => %{"url" => url}}) when url != "" do
URI.parse(url)
|> Disk.put(upload)
# ...redirect, etc
end
```
### Capsule.Encapsulation
Encapsulations implement the upload protocol by simply delegating the functions to their storage.
### Other examples
You are encouraged to add your own protocols as you need them.
The following is the example of how you might implement the protocol for `Plug.Upload`:
```
defimpl Capsule.Upload, for: Plug.Upload do
def contents(%{path: path}) do
case File.read(path) do
{:error, reason} -> {:error, "Could not read path: #{reason}"}
success_tuple -> success_tuple
end
end
def name(%{filename: name}), do: name
end
```
*obamaface.jpg*
## integrations
* [Ecto](https://github.com/elixir-capsule/capsule_ecto)
That's it! Happy uploading.
