Large File Exchange for Creative Teams

Designers mount drives from macOS. Clients upload from any browser. No file size limits, no cloud subscriptions.

The Problem

A creative agency with 30 designers and 200+ active clients produces large files daily: Photoshop documents (500 MB+), Illustrator packages, InDesign assets, and 4K video renders that routinely exceed 10 GB. These files need to flow between internal teams and external clients quickly and reliably.

The agency currently relies on a mix of cloud file-sharing services and USB drives. Cloud services impose file size limits, charge per-seat fees that balloon with client accounts, and store files on third-party infrastructure — a concern for clients with strict NDAs. USB drives create versioning chaos and security blind spots.

Designers want a seamless workflow where project folders appear as native macOS drives. Clients want a simple browser interface where they can drag and drop entire folder structures. Art directors reviewing work on iPads need the same access. And IT needs to prevent the 2 TB NAS from filling up overnight when a video team renders a new campaign.

How Stylus SFTP Server Solves It

Designers mount project folders as WebDAV drives in Finder. Clients upload via the browser portal with drag-and-drop folder support. Volume guard and per-user quotas prevent any single project from consuming all available storage.

Designer macOS Finder WebDAV Drive Client Chrome / Firefox Browser Portal Art Director iPad Safari Portal / WebDAV WebDAV HTTPS HTTPS Stylus SFTP Server WebDAV + Portal Per-User Quotas Folder Upload NAS Storage 2 TB RAID Per-user home dirs Volume Guard 5 GB reserve Rejects uploads if full Per-User Quota 50 GB / designer Client Quota 10 GB / client

Step-by-Step Setup

Enable WebDAV, the browser portal, volume guard, and per-user quotas with a few configuration blocks.

sftp-server.xml — enable WebDAV and the browser portal
<!-- WebDAV: designers mount as a drive in Finder -->
<webdav>
  <enabled>true</enabled>
  <port>9443</port>
  <tls>true</tls>
</webdav>

<!-- Portal: clients and art directors access via browser -->
<portal>
  <enabled>true</enabled>
</portal>
filesystem-config.xml — per-user homes, quotas, and volume guard
<filesystem>
  <home-root>D:/creative-storage/${username}</home-root>
  <default-access>read-write</default-access>

  <!-- Volume guard: reject uploads when < 5 GB free -->
  <volume-guard>
    <min-free-bytes>5368709120</min-free-bytes>
  </volume-guard>

  <!-- Default quota: 10 GB per user (override per-user via admin) -->
  <quota>
    <default-bytes>10737418240</default-bytes>
  </quota>

  <upload>
    <rename-pattern>${filename}</rename-pattern>
    <duplicate-action>timestamp</duplicate-action>
  </upload>
</filesystem>
Admin CLI — set designer quotas to 50 GB
# Set 50 GB quota for each designer account
admin.bat set-quota --user designer-jane --bytes 53687091200
admin.bat set-quota --user designer-mike --bytes 53687091200

# Verify quotas
admin.bat list-quotas

designer-jane  50.0 GB  12.3 GB used (24%)
designer-mike  50.0 GB   8.7 GB used (17%)
client-acme    10.0 GB   9.1 GB used (91%)

Key Benefits

Native macOS Integration

Designers mount WebDAV drives in Finder and work with project files as if they were local. Save from Photoshop directly to the server. No upload step, no sync delays.

Zero-Install Client Access

Clients open the browser portal from any device — Windows, Mac, iPad, phone. Drag and drop entire folder structures. Parallel upload handles large batches at full speed.

Storage Protection

Volume guard reserves 5 GB of free space and rejects uploads that would breach it. Per-user quotas ensure no single project monopolizes the NAS. IT sleeps soundly.

No Per-Seat Cloud Fees

One server license covers unlimited users. No monthly per-seat charges that scale with your client roster. Files stay on your infrastructure, under your control.

Simplify Your Creative File Workflow

Download the free evaluation and mount your first WebDAV drive in under five minutes.

Start Free Evaluation