# File Transfer Action

The *File Transfer* action allows you to **copy files and folders between buckets, or from a configured source in your Connectors to a destination bucket.** This action is designed to efficiently duplicate data, always preserving the source's full path structure within the destination.

*   [Configure a File Transfer action](#configure-a-file-transfer-action)
    *   [Choose a Source for Transfer](#choose-a-source-for-transfer)
    *   [Specify Destination Bucket](#specify-destination-bucket)
*   [Verify Your Transfer](#verify-your-transfer)

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## Configure a File Transfer action

To create a new *File Transfer* action, follow these steps within the Data Processing Engine (DPE):

1.  Navigate to the **Action tab** within the Data Processing Engine (DPE) interface.
2.  Click on the **"New Action"** button.
3.  From the list of available actions, select **"File Transfer"**.

![file-transfer-choose-source](picts/file-transfer-1.png)

### Choose a Source for Transfer

First, you need to define where the files will be copied *from*.

![file-transfer-choose-source](picts/file-transfer-2.png)
*Figure: Selecting the source for your file transfer.*

You have two main options for your source:

*   **Connectors Source:** Select one of the sources you have already configured in the [Sources tab](/en/product/connectors/sources/index) of the Connectors. This is ideal for bringing data from external systems (e.g., databases, other object storage providers) into your project buckets.
*   **Project Bucket:** Select an existing [Project bucket](/en/product/lakehouse-manager/buckets/index.md) directly from the list. This is useful for copying data between buckets within your OVHcloud environment.

Once you've selected your source, you will need to specify the **Source File Path**. This path indicates which files or folders within your chosen source should be copied.

*   **To transfer specific files:** Enter the full path to the file, e.g., `folderA/subfolderB/my_file.csv`.
*   **To transfer an entire folder and its contents:** Use a wildcard `*` at the end of the folder path.
    *   **Example Path:** `uploads/nyc_taxi/*`
        *   This example path indicates that all files and sub-folders directly within the `nyc_taxi` folder (which itself is located inside the `uploads` folder) will be included in the transfer.
        *   If you want to transfer the *entire content* of the root of your source, you would specify `*`.

![file-transfer-choose-source](picts/file-transfer-3.png)

> **Important:** The File Transfer action always preserves the **full source path** under the destination. For example, if you copy the folder `uploads/nyc_taxi/` (using `uploads/nyc_taxi/*`) from your source to a destination bucket with a destination path `/my_new_data/`, the `nyc_taxi` folder and its contents will appear as `/my_new_data/uploads/nyc_taxi/` in the destination.

### Specify Destination Bucket

Next, you will define the destination where your files will be copied *to*.

![file-transfer-choose-source](picts/file-transfer-4.png)
*Figure: Specifying the destination bucket and path.*

1.  **Choose Destination Bucket:** Select the target [Project bucket](/en/product/lakehouse-manager/buckets/index.md) from the provided list.
2.  **Enter Destination Path:** In the field below the destination bucket selection, you can specify a path within the destination bucket.
    *   If you enter a forward slash (`/`), the system will provide a list of available paths and folders within that destination bucket, allowing you to easily select an existing location.
    ![file-transfer-choose-source](picts/file-transfer-5.png)
    *   You can also type a new path, and the system will create the necessary folders if they don't already exist.
    ![file-transfer-choose-source](picts/file-transfer-6.png)
3.  **Run the Action:** Once both your source and destination are configured, click the "Run" button to initiate the file transfer.

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## Verify Your Transfer

After the *File Transfer* action completes successfully, you can visually confirm the changes by navigating to the **Buckets** section within the [Lakehouse Manager](/en/product/lakehouse-manager/buckets/index.md). Here, you will see the copied files and folders appear in your destination bucket, reflecting the structure preserved from the source.

![file-transfer-choose-source](picts/file-transfer-7.png)

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## Need help? 🆘

> At any step, you can create a ticket to raise an incident or if you need support at the [OVHcloud Help Centre](https://help.ovhcloud.com/csm/fr-home?id=csm_index). Additionally, you can ask for support by reaching out to us on the Data Platform Channel within the [Discord Server](https://discord.com/channels/850031577277792286/1163465539981672559). There is a step-by-step guide in the [support](#en/support/index.md) section.