--- title: Upload with a link description: Upload videos to Cloudflare Stream by providing an HTTP link to a file in cloud storage. image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/dev-products-preview.png --- > Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.cloudflare.com/stream/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. [Skip to content](#%5Ftop) # Upload with a link If you have videos stored in a cloud storage bucket (R2, S3, GCS) or hosted by a service that exposes a download link, you can pass its URL. Stream will fetch the file on your behalf. Note Google Drive share links are _not_ recommended for this purpose. They are prone to rate limiting and access restrictions imposed by Google that may prevent Stream from downloading the file. * [ REST API ](#tab-panel-11226) * [ Workers Binding API ](#tab-panel-11227) * [ cURL ](#tab-panel-11222) * [ TypeScript ](#tab-panel-11223) Make a `POST` request to the Stream API using the link to your video. Terminal window ``` curl \ --data '{"url":"https://pub-2da57dbfcf5f4369863991d59747d686.r2.dev/acadia.mp4","meta":{"name":"My First Stream Video"}}' \ --header "Authorization: Bearer " \ https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/accounts/{account_id}/stream/copy ``` TypeScript ``` const client = new Cloudflare({ apiEmail: process.env['CLOUDFLARE_EMAIL'], // This is the default and can be omitted apiKey: process.env['CLOUDFLARE_API_KEY'], // This is the default and can be omitted}); const video = await client.stream.copy.create({ account_id: '', url: 'https://pub-2da57dbfcf5f4369863991d59747d686.r2.dev/acadia.mp4',}); ``` See the full Stream [REST API and SDK reference](https://developers.cloudflare.com/api/resources/stream/) for details on using REST API from external applications, with pre-generated SDK's for external TypeScript, Python, or Go applications. * [ index.ts ](#tab-panel-11224) * [ wrangler.jsonc ](#tab-panel-11225) TypeScript ``` export default { async fetch(request, env, ctx): Promise { // upload a video with a link const videoDetails = await env.STREAM.upload( "https://pub-2da57dbfcf5f4369863991d59747d686.r2.dev/acadia.mp4", // (optional) attach metadata { meta: { name: "My First Stream Video" } } ); // return a Workers response return new Response( JSON.stringify(videoDetails), ); }, } satisfies ExportedHandler<{ STREAM: StreamBinding }>; ``` ``` { "$schema": "node_modules/wrangler/config-schema.json", "name": "", "main": "src/index.ts", "compatibility_date": "2026-04-14", "observability": { "enabled": true }, "stream": { "binding": "STREAM" }} ``` See the full [Workers Stream binding API reference](https://developers.cloudflare.com/stream/manage-video-library/bindings/). If you have videos stored in a cloud storage bucket, you can pass a HTTP link for the file, and Stream will fetch the file on your behalf. ## Check video status Stream must download and encode the video, which can take a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the length of your video. When the `readyToStream` value returns `true`, your video is ready for streaming. You can optionally use [webhooks](https://developers.cloudflare.com/stream/manage-video-library/using-webhooks/) which will notify you when the video is ready to stream or if an error occurs. ``` { "result": { "uid": "6b9e68b07dfee8cc2d116e4c51d6a957", "thumbnail": "https://customer-f33zs165nr7gyfy4.cloudflarestream.com/6b9e68b07dfee8cc2d116e4c51d6a957/thumbnails/thumbnail.jpg", "thumbnailTimestampPct": 0, "readyToStream": false, "status": { "state": "downloading" }, "meta": { "downloaded-from": "https://pub-2da57dbfcf5f4369863991d59747d686.r2.dev/acadia.mp4", "name": "My First Stream Video" }, "created": "2020-10-16T20:20:17.872170843Z", "modified": "2020-10-16T20:20:17.872170843Z", "size": 9032701, "preview": "https://customer-f33zs165nr7gyfy4.cloudflarestream.com/6b9e68b07dfee8cc2d116e4c51d6a957/watch", "allowedOrigins": [], "requireSignedURLs": false, "uploaded": "2020-10-16T20:20:17.872170843Z", "uploadExpiry": null, "maxSizeBytes": 0, "maxDurationSeconds": 0, "duration": -1, "input": { "width": -1, "height": -1 }, "playback": { "hls": "https://customer-f33zs165nr7gyfy4.cloudflarestream.com/6b9e68b07dfee8cc2d116e4c51d6a957/manifest/video.m3u8", "dash": "https://customer-f33zs165nr7gyfy4.cloudflarestream.com/6b9e68b07dfee8cc2d116e4c51d6a957/manifest/video.mpd" }, "watermark": null }, "success": true, "errors": [], "messages": []} ``` After the video is uploaded, you can use the video `uid` shown in the example response above to play the video using the [Stream video player](https://developers.cloudflare.com/stream/viewing-videos/using-the-stream-player/). If you are using your own player or rendering the video in a mobile app, refer to [using your own player](https://developers.cloudflare.com/stream/viewing-videos/using-the-stream-player/using-the-player-api/). ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","@id":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/stream/uploading-videos/upload-via-link/#page","headline":"Upload with a link ยท Cloudflare Stream docs","description":"Upload videos to Cloudflare Stream by providing an HTTP link to a file in cloud storage.","url":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/stream/uploading-videos/upload-via-link/","inLanguage":"en","image":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/dev-products-preview.png","dateModified":"2026-06-24","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Cloudflare","url":"https://www.cloudflare.com/"},"isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/#website","name":"Cloudflare Docs","url":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/"}} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/directory/","name":"Directory"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/stream/","name":"Stream"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"/stream/uploading-videos/","name":"Upload videos"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@id":"/stream/uploading-videos/upload-via-link/","name":"Upload with a link"}}]} ```