WebTransfer

a privacy-respecting file sharing service

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is WebTransfer?

WebTransfer is a fast and free file sharing service designed to be privacy-respecting.

How much space does WebTransfer give you?

Each user gets a set amount of storage (by default, 6 gigabytes), and can upload files upto 2 gigabytes in size. After you upload a file, it expires in 24 hours to save storage space.

Do I have to pay to use WebTransfer?

No. WebTransfer is and always will be completely free, no strings attached.

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Design

WebTransfer is built on top of the Python Flask framework, utilizing public routes for HTML-serving pages and API routes for everything else. The frontend is designed using Bootstrap, Bootstrap Icons, JQuery and AJAX.

For example, when you load /user/dashboard, you get the dashboard HTML containing the template and a loading spinner. In the background, an AJAX request is made to /user/api/files, which populates the template and displays it.

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Installation

Before you setup WebTransfer, you should have the following:

• Python 3.10+ (download)
• Python Requirements (python3 -m pip install -r reqs.txt)
• Git SCM* (download)

If you built Python from source (Linux only):

• Python SQlite Extension (install sqlite libraries before building)
  • Debian: sudo apt install libsqlite3-dev
  • Fedora: sudo dnf install sqlite-devel

Begin setting up WebTransfer:

git clone https://github.com/iiPythonx/webtransfer
cd webtransfer
python3 -m pip install -r reqs.txt

Before you attempt to launch WebTransfer, see Configuration and then Launching

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Configuration

In order for Flask to use sessions properly, you require a secret key.
To pass this to WebTransfer, either use the SECRET_KEY environment variable or use a .env file.

If you're using a .env file, place the following in it:
SECRET_KEY="hopefully a long and secure string"

If you're running via command line:
SECRET_KEY="hopefully a long and secure string" python3 ...

Another very important thing to do (for both security and performance) is to switch to uWSGI if you plan on making your instance public. The built-in Werkzeug server will perform terribly compared to something as basic as gunicorn.

In the event that you do use gunicorn you could run the following:

python3 -m gunicorn -b 0.0.0.0:8080 -w 1 launch:app

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Launching

Before you launch, ensure the following:

• You have enough space for uploads on the current drive

If you are launching with any form of uWSGI server, make sure you only have 1 worker.
The threads that WebTransfer uses for Redis and reaper will unfortunately break and likely corrupt your database when running from more than 1 worker.

To launch with Gunicorn (recommended):

python3 -m gunicorn -b 0.0.0.0:8080 -w 1 launch:app

To launch with the Werkzeug server:

python3 launch.py