Blobs

Blobs (Binary Large Objects) are files uploaded to Nick — images, documents, videos, and other binary content. Nick supports three storage backends for blobs.

Storage Types

Type	Backend	Best for
file	Local filesystem	Development, single-server setups
db	PostgreSQL database	Simplicity, no external services
s3	S3-compatible object storage	Production, horizontal scaling

Config Reference

All blob settings go under the top-level config export in your config.ts:

export const config = {
  // ...
  blobs: 'file',       // 'file' | 'db' | 's3'
  blobsDir: '...',     // path (only used when blobs === 'file')
  s3: { ... },         // S3 connection (only used when blobs === 's3')
  // ...
};

Key	Default	Description
blobs	'file'	Storage backend
blobsDir	{packageRoot}/../../../var/blobstorage	Filesystem path (file backend only)
s3	{ bucket, region, accessKeyId, secretAccessKey }	S3 connection details (s3 backend only)

The blobsDir can also be overridden via the BLOBS_DIR environment variable, which takes priority over the config file value.

File Storage ('file')

Files are stored as individual files on disk inside the blobsDir directory. Each blob is saved with its UUID as the filename.

This is the default backend and works out of the box with no additional setup.

Configuration

export const config = {
  blobs: 'file',
  blobsDir: `${__dirname}/var/blobstorage`,
};

The blobsDir path is relative to your project root. The directory is created automatically on startup if it does not exist.

Important: The blobsDir directory contains user-uploaded files and should be included in your backup strategy. It is also listed in .gitignore — do not commit it to version control.

When to use this backend:

• Development and testing
• Single-server deployments
• Small to medium traffic volumes
• When you want simplicity and direct filesystem access

Database Storage ('db')

Blobs are stored inside PostgreSQL itself, in a File table with a bytea (binary) column. This keeps everything in one place — no separate blob directory to manage.

Configuration

export const config = {
  blobs: 'db',
};

No additional settings are needed — Nick uses the same database connection configured for the rest of the application.

Considerations:

• Increases database size, which affects backups and restore times
• May require tuning PostgreSQL’s max_allowed_packet for large files
• Simpler operational overhead — one less thing to back up and sync

When to use this backend:

• When you want a single storage location for all data
• Small to medium deployments
• Environments where writing to disk is restricted

3. S3 Storage ('s3')

Blobs are stored in an S3-compatible object storage service. This includes AWS S3, MinIO, DigitalOcean Spaces, Backblaze B2, or any service with an S3 API.

Configuration

export const config = {
  blobs: 's3',
  s3: {
    bucket: 'my-nick-blobs',
    region: 'us-east-1',
    accessKeyId: 'AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE',
    secretAccessKey: 'wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY',
  },
};

Using an S3-compatible service (MinIO, DigitalOcean Spaces, etc.)

For non-AWS S3 services, set the endpoint via the S3_ENDPOINT environment variable:

# MinIO running locally
export S3_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:9000

# DigitalOcean Spaces
export S3_ENDPOINT=https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com

IAM Permissions

When using AWS S3, the access key must have the following permissions on the bucket:

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "s3:PutObject",
        "s3:GetObject",
        "s3:DeleteObject",
        "s3:ListBucket"
      ],
      "Resource": ["arn:aws:s3:::my-nick-blobs", "arn:aws:s3:::my-nick-blobs/*"]
    }
  ]
}

When to use this backend:

• Production deployments with multiple application servers
• When you need scalable, off-server storage
• Environments where blobs are served directly from object storage via CDN

Switching Between Backends

Migrating blobs between backends is not currently automated. To switch:

1. Set the new backend in config.ts
2. Manually transfer existing blobs from the old location to the new one
3. Restart Nick

Future versions may include a built-in migration command.