I am currently reevaluating the available options for storing files (PDFs, photos, videos, etc.) when working with AppSheet connected to a MySQL database hosted on Google Cloud (or on its own storage in the case of Amazon).
A few years ago, when I asked about this, the only option was to store these files directly in the app owner’s Google Drive account. However, this is not ideal for my clients due to confidentiality and data privacy concerns.
My questions are:
Is it currently possible to store these files directly in Google Cloud Storage (GCS) or in a similar storage service like AWS S3, especially when using a SQL backend?
If so, could someone please guide me on how to set up this configuration? (permissions, AppSheet integration, bucket configuration, etc.)
I would really appreciate any guidance or experiences you can share. Thank you very much in advance!
appsheet still does not support native integration with gcs or s3 for storing files like pdfs or photos — by default, it only stores files in the app owner’s google drive or drive of the app’s default account
even when using a mysql backend (cloud sql or rds), file attachments are still uploaded to drive — there’s no built-in way to route them to gcs or s3
current options:
workaround with webhooks or appsheet automation
after a file is created (e.g. saved to drive), you can trigger an automation that uses a webhook to send the file to gcs or s3 (via a cloud function or api)
use external tools
if you’re using mysql and have your own backend, you can save only the file reference in the database and let your external app (or custom function) handle file uploads directly to gcs/s3
confidentiality workaround
store the files in a shared team drive or service account drive with limited access, to avoid using the developer’s personal drive
unfortunately, full native support for gcs or s3 file storage is still not available in appsheet as of now