--- description: Upload videos to Cloudflare Stream by providing an HTTP link to a file in cloud storage. title: Upload with a link image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/og-docs.png --- [Skip to content](#main-content) > 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. # Upload with a link Last updated Aug 24, 2026|Copy as Markdown|[View as Markdown](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/stream/uploading-videos/upload-via-link/index.md)|[Agent setup](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/) 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. Make a `POST` request to the Stream API using the link to your video. ```bash 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 ``` ```ts 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://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.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. ```ts 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 }>; ``` ```json { "$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://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.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://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.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. ```json { "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://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.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://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/stream/viewing-videos/using-the-stream-player/using-the-player-api/). Was this helpful? YesNo ## On this page [![](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/_astro/logo.te5VL_aD.svg)Docs](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/) ```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/og-docs.png","dateModified":"2026-08-24","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Cloudflare","description":"One platform for your apps, agents, and workforce. Build, secure, and scale without managing infrastructure","url":"https://www.cloudflare.com/","sameAs":["https://github.com/cloudflare","https://www.linkedin.com/company/cloudflare","https://x.com/cloudflare"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/logo.svg"},"address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"101 Townsend St","addressLocality":"San Francisco","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"94107","addressCountry":"US"},"contactPoint":[{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"Customer Support","url":"https://support.cloudflare.com/","availableLanguage":["English"]},{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"Sales","url":"https://www.cloudflare.com/contact/","availableLanguage":["English"]}]},"isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/#website","name":"Cloudflare Docs","url":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/"}} ```