dhui/django-s3direct

Django-s3direct lets you add file uploads directly to Amazon S3 storage from your Django website, complete with a visual progress bar so users can watch their files upload. Instead of uploading files to your own server first and then moving them to S3, this tool sends files straight from the browser to S3, saving bandwidth and server resources. When a user selects a file in a form field, the browser handles the upload directly to S3 behind the scenes. You configure allowed file types, upload destinations, and user permissions in your Django settings, and the tool takes care of generating the necessary security credentials and handling the transfer. The user sees a progress bar tracking how much of their file has uploaded in real time. You'd use this if you're running a Django site on Heroku or another platform where server storage is temporary or expensive. A photography portfolio might let visitors upload high-resolution images directly to S3 during signup. A video platform could restrict certain upload folders to staff-only, while allowing any authenticated user to upload to others. You can set rules like "only allow JPEGs and PNGs in this folder" or "this upload can be no larger than 20 MB" without writing any custom logic, it's all configuration. The README shows you can use the upload widget in Django's admin interface or in custom forms you build yourself. Setup involves adding the package to your Django app, configuring your S3 bucket's cross-origin rules (a security setting that tells S3 to accept uploads from your website), and then defining upload destinations in your settings file with rules about who can upload what. The project works in modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, IE10 and newer) and handles both Python 2 and 3.