Workflows: Automate File Transfers

Workflows are the core of Blober: you save a transfer once and run it again whenever you need it. Nothing runs on a schedule, so each run starts when you start it.

A workflow is a saved configuration with three parts:

1. Source: where the files come from (provider, path and credentials).
2. Destination: where the files go (provider, path and credentials).
3. Action: what to do with them (Copy, Move, Delete or Mutate).

1. Go to the Workflows page.
2. Click New Workflow.
3. The workflow editor opens.

1. Search for the provider the files come from and select it, for example Local, Google Drive or AWS S3.
2. Enter the credentials it needs (see Storage Providers).
3. Click Browse to select files or folders. This sets the starting folder or the specific files.
4. Optionally, add include or exclude filters to limit which files are included.

1. Search for the provider the files go to and select it.
2. Enter its credentials.
3. Set the base path, the root folder the transferred files are placed in.
4. Optionally, add a path template to build subfolders from each file's details. To keep the name of each selected source folder instead, tick Include Selected Folders (see Include selected folders).
5. Where the destination offers it, pick a Deduplication policy for files that already exist there (see Deduplication).

1. Give the workflow a name.
2. Click Save.
3. The workflow appears in your list.

A path template sets where each file goes under the destination's base path. You write it with variables in curly braces, such as {variable}, and Blober replaces each one with that file's value.

The _date variables give a full date (YYYY-MM-DD), so a folder named with one holds a single day's files. For year or month folders, use {file_created_year}, {file_created_month} and {file_created_day}. All date variables use UTC, so a file created near midnight in your time zone can go into the folder for the previous day or the next day.

photos/{file_created_date}/{filename}

Result: photos/2024-12-15/IMG_0001.jpg

photos/{file_created_year}/{file_created_month}/{filename}

Result: photos/2024/12/IMG_0001.jpg

backup/{file_modified_date}/{filename}

Result: backup/2025-01-20/report.pdf

documents/{file_ext}/{filename}

Result: documents/pdf/invoice.pdf

archive/{current_date}/{file_dir}/{filename}

Result: archive/2025-10-25/uploads/data.csv

{file_dir} depends on the source selection. If you select Projects and the file is Projects/client-a/final/report.pdf, its value is client-a/final. If you select report.pdf directly, or it sits at the root of the selected folder, the value is empty. A custom path template replaces automatic subdirectory preservation, so include {file_dir} explicitly when the relative source hierarchy should remain.

For worked examples of every variable, see the complete path-template guide. For a deeper look at {file_dir}, read how the file_dir variable works. You can also organize files by date, by type, or by size.

Without a path template, Blober copies what is inside each selected folder. The folder name is not part of the destination path. To keep the name of each selected folder, open Advanced Path Template in the destination settings and tick Include Selected Folders. The template field stays empty.

If you select Projects and the file is Projects/client-a/final/report.pdf, the file goes to client-a/final/report.pdf by default. With Include Selected Folders, it goes to Projects/client-a/final/report.pdf.

• The box is off by default.
• A path template overrules the box. While the template field has text, the box is grayed out.
• To get the same result with a path template, write {source_dir}/{file_dir}/{filename}.
• Blober removes spaces at the start and end of the folder name.

Filters include or exclude specific files from the transfer.

To include only images:

*.jpg
*.png
*.gif
*.webp

To exclude temporary and log files:

**/*.{tmp,log}

Enter exclusion patterns in the dedicated Exclude Pattern field; a leading ! is not required.

For include/exclude glob recipes and how selection narrows a transfer, see file selection and glob filters and organizing storage that has no practical search.

The Workflows page lists every saved workflow with:

• the workflow name
• the source provider and path
• the destination provider and path
• the action
• the last run time

1. Click a workflow in the list.
2. Change any settings in the editor.
3. Click Save.

1. Click the delete icon on a workflow.
2. Confirm the deletion.

Deleting a workflow removes only its saved configuration. Files it already transferred stay where they are.

The Quick start walks through a workflow that backs up local documents to AWS S3 by modified date.

Run it again later to pick up new files. With the default deduplication policy, Skip if a file with the same name exists, files that already exist at the same destination path are skipped. The check is by name, so a file you changed on Google Drive is skipped too unless you choose Overwrite the existing file. See Deduplication.

• Before you run a workflow, check the Preview & Summary section of the editor to see which files will be transferred and where they will go.
• Test with a small folder first to confirm your path templates and filters work as expected.
• If you're unsure, use Copy first. Once you have checked the transfer, you can use Move to remove the source files.
• Credentials are saved with the workflow and stored on your computer, so you don't need to enter them again for each run.