# Supabase Storage now in Beta

[Supabase](https://yomu.fyi/company/supabase) · Inian Parameshwaran · Jul 27, 2021

**Type:** Announcement

## Summary

Supabase released Storage Beta with several functional and architectural improvements three months after its alpha launch. The storage service now supports the Content-Range HTTP header for streaming audio and video, alongside entirely public buckets configured with dashboard safeguards and standard authorization policies. Directory uploads are enabled via the File and Directory entries API, while self-hosted instances can use a new local filesystem backend rather than requiring AWS S3 configuration. To support Node.js without adding polyfills or bundling complexity, the storage server was updated to accept binary data and streams directly. Additionally, the dashboard storage explorer simulates filesystem directories using hidden placeholder files and implements list virtualization.

## Context

Three months after launching Storage Alpha, Supabase aimed to improve developer experience, address security concerns with bucket exposure, remove AWS dependencies for self-hosted instances, and expand client support across Node.js and browser environments.

## Approach / What changed

Supabase added Content-Range header support, enforced whole-bucket public visibility with dashboard warnings, implemented a local filesystem storage backend, modified the server to accept binary payloads directly, and introduced directory placeholder files with DOM virtualization in the dashboard.

## Takeaways

- Buckets in Supabase Storage must be public in their entirety to eliminate ambiguity over exposed objects, while still enforcing Auth Policies for uploads and deletions.
- Modifying the storage server to accept binary data allowed the client library to support Node.js streams and binary formats without increasing its 15.8 kb bundle size.
- Empty directories in the dashboard storage explorer are simulated by uploading a hidden placeholder file that is removed once an object is uploaded to that path.

**Tags:** [Developer Experience](https://yomu.fyi/topic/developer-experience), [Open Source](https://yomu.fyi/topic/open-source), [Postgres](https://yomu.fyi/topic/postgres), [REST APIs](https://yomu.fyi/topic/rest-api), [Streaming](https://yomu.fyi/topic/streaming)

[Read original post](https://supabase.com/blog/storage-beta)