Files.com .NET Client

The Files.com .NET client library provides convenient access to the Files.com API from applications using the .NET framework.

The content included here should be enough to get started, but please visit our Developer Documentation Website for the complete documentation.

Introduction

The Files.com .NET client library provides convenient access to all aspects of Files.com from applications using the .NET framework.

Files.com customers use our .NET client library for directly working with files and folders as well as performing management tasks such as adding/removing users, onboarding counterparties, retrieving information about automations and more.

Every function in the Files.com application is available via .NET. Nothing is excluded.

The .NET client library uses the Files.com RESTful APIs via the HTTPS protocol (port 443) to securely communicate and transfer files so no firewall changes should be required in order to allow connectivity to Files.com.

Files.com is Committed to .NET

.NET is our second most popular integration language for custom development and is supported by our highest level of support.

Frameworks Supported

• .NET 6
• .NET 5
• .NET Core 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1
• .NET Standard 2.0
• .NET Framework 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8

.NET Framework versions below 4.6.1 are officially in end-of-life status according to Microsoft. As a policy, Files.com does not support integrations which are considered end-of-life by their vendor.

If you need support for a newer framework version, please ask, and we'll be happy to add it. It will most likely work out of the box anyway.

Installation

Command Line Installation

The Files.com client library can be installed on the command line using the dotnet command. This method will retrieve a NuGet package from the https://www.nuget.org/ repository and install it into your project.

To install the package:

dotnet add package FilesCom

Fetch the dependencies:

dotnet restore

Visual Studio Installation

The Files.com client library can also be installed using Visual Studio and the NuGet package manager. In Visual Studio, click on "Manage Nuget Packages" under the "Project" menu. On the "Browse" tab search for "FilesCom", and click on the FilesCom NuGet package. In the right panel, click the "Install" button next to the version dropdown.

Visual Studio Requirements

Installation of the FilesCom Nuget package is fully supported by Visual Studio 2022, 2019, and 2017 version 15.3 or later.

For Visual Studio 2015, the following must be installed:

• Nuget Package manager for Visual Studio 2015 version 3.6 or higher
• .NET Standard Support for Visual Studio 2015

Explore the files-sdk-dotnet code on GitHub.

Getting Support

The Files.com Support team provides official support for all of our official Files.com integration tools.

To initiate a support conversation, you can send an Authenticated Support Request or simply send an E-Mail to support@files.com.

Authentication

There are two ways to authenticate: API Key authentication and Session-based authentication.

Authenticate with an API Key

Authenticating with an API key is the recommended authentication method for most scenarios, and is the method used in the examples on this site.

To use an API Key, first generate an API key from the web interface or via the API or an SDK.

Note that when using a user-specific API key, if the user is an administrator, you will have full access to the entire API. If the user is not an administrator, you will only be able to access files that user can access, and no access will be granted to site administration functions in the API.

using FilesCom;
using FilesCom.Models;

// Using manual configuration
var config = new FilesConfiguration();
config.ApiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

new FilesClient(config);

// In app.config
<configSections>
    <sectionGroup name="files.com">
        <section
            name="filesConfiguration"
            type="Files.FilesConfiguration, Files.com"
        />
    </sectionGroup>
</configSections>
<files.com>
    <filesConfiguration ApiKey="YOUR_API_KEY" />
</files.com>

new FilesClient();

// You may also specify the API key on a per-request basis in the final parameter to static methods.
var options = new Dictionary<string, object>();
options.Add("api_key", "YOUR_API_KEY");
User.Find(id, params, options);

Don't forget to replace the placeholder, YOUR_API_KEY, with your actual API key.

Authenticate with a Session

You can also authenticate by creating a user session using the username and password of an active user. If the user is an administrator, the session will have full access to all capabilities of Files.com. Sessions created from regular user accounts will only be able to access files that user can access, and no access will be granted to site administration functions.

Sessions use the exact same session timeout settings as web interface sessions. When a session times out, simply create a new session and resume where you left off. This process is not automatically handled by our SDKs because we do not want to store password information in memory without your explicit consent.

Logging In

To create a session, the create method is called on the Session object with the user's username and password.

This returns a session object that can be used to authenticate SDK method calls. To create a session, the create method is called on the Session object with the user's username and password.

using FilesCom;
using FilesCom.Models;

Dictionary<string, object> paramsDict = new Dictionary<string, object>();
FilesClient client = new FilesClient(filesConfig);
paramsDict.Add("username", "username");
paramsDict.Add("password", "password");
Session session = await Session.Create(paramsDict);

Using a Session

Once a session has been created, you can store the session globally, use the session per object, or use the session per request to authenticate SDK operations.

using FilesCom;
using FilesCom.Models;

// You may set the returned session to be used by default for subsequent requests.
FilesConfiguration filesConfig = new FilesConfiguration();
filesConfig.SessionId = session.Id;

// Alternatively, you can specify the session ID on a per-object basis
// in the second parameter to a model constructor.

user = new User(params, requestOptions);
Dictionary<string, object> paramsDict = new Dictionary<string, object>();
Dictionary<string, object> optionsDict = new Dictionary<string, object>();
optionsDict.Add("session_id", session.Id);
User user = new User(paramsDict, optionsDict);

// You may also specify the session ID on a per-request basis in the final parameter to static methods.
Dictionary<string, object> paramsDict = new Dictionary<string, object>();
Dictionary<string, object> optionsDict = new Dictionary<string, object>();
optionsDict.Add("session_id", session.Id);
await Folder.ListFor("/", paramsDict, optionsDict).All();

Logging Out

User sessions can be ended calling the destroy method on the session object.

using FilesCom.Models;

await Session.Destroy();

Configuration

Configuration Options

Base URL

Setting the base URL for the API is required if your site is configured to disable global acceleration. This can also be set to use a mock server in development or CI.

config.BaseUrl = "https://MY-SUBDOMAIN.files.com"

Connect Timeout

Connect timeout in seconds. The default value is 30.

config.ConnectTimeout = 60

Read Timeout

Read timeout in seconds. The default value is 60.

config.ReadTimeout = 90

Initial Network Retry Delay

Initial retry delay in seconds. The default value is 0.5.

config.InitialNetworkRetryDelay = 1

Maximum Network Retries

Maximum number of retries. The default value is 3.

config.MaxNetworkRetries = 5

Maximum Retry Delay

Maximum network retry delay in seconds. The default value is 2.

config.MaxNetworkRetryDelay = 5

Sort and Filter

Several of the Files.com API resources have list operations that return multiple instances of the resource. The List operations can be sorted and filtered.

Sorting

To sort the returned data, pass in the sort_by method argument.

Each resource supports a unique set of valid sort fields and can only be sorted by one field at a time.

The argument value is a C# Dictionary<string, object> object that has a property of the resource field name sort on and a value of either "asc" or "desc" to specify the sort order.

using FilesCom;
using FilesCom.Models;

// users sorted by username
var args = new Dictionary<string, object>();
var sortArgs = new Dictionary<string, object>();
sortArgs.Add("username", "asc");
args.Add("sort_by", sortArgs);

var userIterator = User.List(args);
foreach (User user in userIterator.ListAutoPaging()) {
  // Operate on user
}

Filtering

Filters apply selection criteria to the underlying query that returns the results. They can be applied individually or combined with other filters, and the resulting data can be sorted by a single field.

Each resource supports a unique set of valid filter fields, filter combinations, and combinations of filters and sort fields.

The passed in argument value is a C# Dictionary<string, object> object that has a property of the resource field name to filter on and a passed in value to use in the filter comparison.

Filter Types

Filter	Type	Description
filter	Exact	Find resources that have an exact field value match to a passed in value. (i.e., FIELD_VALUE = PASS_IN_VALUE).
filter_prefix	Pattern	Find resources where the specified field is prefixed by the supplied value. This is applicable to values that are strings.
filter_gt	Range	Find resources that have a field value that is greater than the passed in value. (i.e., FIELD_VALUE > PASS_IN_VALUE).
filter_gteq	Range	Find resources that have a field value that is greater than or equal to the passed in value. (i.e., FIELD_VALUE >= PASS_IN_VALUE).
filter_lt	Range	Find resources that have a field value that is less than the passed in value. (i.e., FIELD_VALUE < PASS_IN_VALUE).
filter_lteq	Range	Find resources that have a field value that is less than or equal to the passed in value. (i.e., FIELD_VALUE <= PASS_IN_VALUE).

using FilesCom.Models;

// non admin users
var args = new Dictionary<string, object>();
var filterArgs = new Dictionary<string, object>();
filterArgs.Add("not_site_admin", true);
args.Add("filter", filterArgs);

var userIterator = User.List(args);
foreach (User user in userIterator.ListAutoPaging()) {
  // Operate on user
}

using FilesCom.Models;

// users who haven't logged in since 2024-01-01
var args = new Dictionary<string, object>();
var filterArgs = new Dictionary<string, object>();
filterArgs.Add("last_login_at","2024-01-01");
args.Add("filter_gteq", filterArgs);

var userIterator = User.List(args);
foreach (User user in userIterator.ListAutoPaging()) {
  // Operate on user
}

using FilesCom.Models;

// users whose usernames start with 'test'
var args = new Dictionary<string, object>();
var filterArgs = new Dictionary<string, object>();
filterArgs.Add("username","test");
args.Add("filter_prefix", filterArgs);

var userIterator = User.List(args);
foreach (User user in userIterator.ListAutoPaging()) {
  // Operate on user
}

using FilesCom.Models;

// users whose usernames start with 'test' and are not admins
var args = new Dictionary<string, object>();
var filterPrefixArgs = new Dictionary<string, object>();
var filterArgs = new Dictionary<string, object>();
var sortArgs = new Dictionary<string, object>();
filterPrefixArgs.Add("username","test");
filterArgs.Add("not_site_admin", true);
sortArgs.Add("last_login_at", "asc");
args.Add("filter_prefix", filterPrefixArgs);
args.Add("filter", filterArgs);
args.Add("sort_by", sortArgs);

var userIterator = User.List(args);
foreach (User user in userIterator.ListAutoPaging()) {
  // Operate on user
}

Errors

The Files.com DotNet SDK will return errors by raising exceptions. There are many exception classes defined in the Files SDK that correspond to specific errors.

The raised exceptions come from two categories:

1. SDK Exceptions - errors that originate within the SDK
2. API Exceptions - errors that occur due to the response from the Files.com API. These errors are grouped into common error types.

There are several types of exceptions within each category. Exception classes indicate different types of errors and are named in a fashion that describe the general premise of the originating error. More details can be found in the exception object message using the Message attribute.

Use standard DotNet exception handling to detect and deal with errors. It is generally recommended to catch specific errors first, then catch the general SdkException exception as a catch-all.

using FilesCom.Models;

Dictionary<string, object> paramsDict = new Dictionary<string, object>();
paramsDict.Add("username", "USERNAME");
paramsDict.Add("password", "BADPASSWORD");
Session session;
try
{
    session = await Session.Create(paramsDict);
}
catch (FilesCom.NotAuthenticatedException e)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Authentication Error occurred({e.GetType().Name}): " + e.Message);
}
catch (FilesCom.SdkException e)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Unknown Error occurred({e.GetType().Name}): " + e.Message);
}

Error Types

SDK Errors

SDK errors are general errors that occur within the SDK code. These errors generate exceptions. Each of these exception classes inherit from a standard SdkException base class.

FilesCom.ApiConnectException ->
FilesCom.SdkException ->
Exception

SDK Exception Classes

Exception Class Name	Description
ApiConnectionException	The Files.com API cannot be reached
InvalidParameterException	A passed in parameter is invalid
NotImplementedException	The called method has not be implemented by the SDK
InvalidResponseException	A bad formed response came back from the API

API Errors

API errors are errors returned by the Files.com API. Each exception class inherits from an error group base class. The error group base class indicates a particular type of error.

FilesCom.FolderAdminPermissionRequiredException ->
FilesCom.NotAuthorizedException ->
FilesCom.ApiException ->
FilesCom.SdkException ->
Exception

API Exception Classes

Exception Class Name	Error Group
AgentUpgradeRequiredException	BadRequestException
AttachmentTooLargeException	BadRequestException
CannotDownloadDirectoryException	BadRequestException
CantMoveWithMultipleLocationsException	BadRequestException
DatetimeParseException	BadRequestException
DestinationSameException	BadRequestException
FolderMustNotBeAFileException	BadRequestException
FoldersNotAllowedException	BadRequestException
InvalidBodyException	BadRequestException
InvalidCursorException	BadRequestException
InvalidCursorTypeForSortException	BadRequestException
InvalidEtagsException	BadRequestException
InvalidFilterAliasCombinationException	BadRequestException
InvalidFilterFieldException	BadRequestException
InvalidFilterParamException	BadRequestException
InvalidFilterParamFormatException	BadRequestException
InvalidFilterParamValueException	BadRequestException
InvalidInputEncodingException	BadRequestException
InvalidInterfaceException	BadRequestException
InvalidOauthProviderException	BadRequestException
InvalidPathException	BadRequestException
InvalidReturnToUrlException	BadRequestException
InvalidSortFilterCombinationException	BadRequestException
InvalidUploadOffsetException	BadRequestException
InvalidUploadPartGapException	BadRequestException
InvalidUploadPartSizeException	BadRequestException
MethodNotAllowedException	BadRequestException
NoValidInputParamsException	BadRequestException
PartNumberTooLargeException	BadRequestException
PathCannotHaveTrailingWhitespaceException	BadRequestException
ReauthenticationNeededFieldsException	BadRequestException
RequestParamsContainInvalidCharacterException	BadRequestException
RequestParamsInvalidException	BadRequestException
RequestParamsRequiredException	BadRequestException
SearchAllOnChildPathException	BadRequestException
UnsupportedCurrencyException	BadRequestException
UnsupportedHttpResponseFormatException	BadRequestException
UnsupportedMediaTypeException	BadRequestException
UserIdInvalidException	BadRequestException
UserIdOnUserEndpointException	BadRequestException
UserRequiredException	BadRequestException
AdditionalAuthenticationRequiredException	NotAuthenticatedException
AuthenticationRequiredException	NotAuthenticatedException
BundleRegistrationCodeFailedException	NotAuthenticatedException
FilesAgentTokenFailedException	NotAuthenticatedException
InboxRegistrationCodeFailedException	NotAuthenticatedException
InvalidCredentialsException	NotAuthenticatedException
InvalidOauthException	NotAuthenticatedException
InvalidOrExpiredCodeException	NotAuthenticatedException
InvalidSessionException	NotAuthenticatedException
InvalidUsernameOrPasswordException	NotAuthenticatedException
LockedOutException	NotAuthenticatedException
LockoutRegionMismatchException	NotAuthenticatedException
OneTimePasswordIncorrectException	NotAuthenticatedException
TwoFactorAuthenticationErrorException	NotAuthenticatedException
TwoFactorAuthenticationSetupExpiredException	NotAuthenticatedException
ApiKeyIsDisabledException	NotAuthorizedException
ApiKeyIsPathRestrictedException	NotAuthorizedException
ApiKeyOnlyForDesktopAppException	NotAuthorizedException
ApiKeyOnlyForMobileAppException	NotAuthorizedException
ApiKeyOnlyForOfficeIntegrationException	NotAuthorizedException
BillingOrSiteAdminPermissionRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
BillingPermissionRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
BundleMaximumUsesReachedException	NotAuthorizedException
CannotLoginWhileUsingKeyException	NotAuthorizedException
CantActForOtherUserException	NotAuthorizedException
ContactAdminForPasswordChangeHelpException	NotAuthorizedException
FilesAgentFailedAuthorizationException	NotAuthorizedException
FolderAdminOrBillingPermissionRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
FolderAdminPermissionRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
FullPermissionRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
HistoryPermissionRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
InsufficientPermissionForParamsException	NotAuthorizedException
InsufficientPermissionForSiteException	NotAuthorizedException
MustAuthenticateWithApiKeyException	NotAuthorizedException
NeedAdminPermissionForInboxException	NotAuthorizedException
NonAdminsMustQueryByFolderOrPathException	NotAuthorizedException
NotAllowedToCreateBundleException	NotAuthorizedException
PasswordChangeNotRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
PasswordChangeRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
ReadOnlySessionException	NotAuthorizedException
ReadPermissionRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
ReauthenticationFailedException	NotAuthorizedException
ReauthenticationFailedFinalException	NotAuthorizedException
ReauthenticationNeededActionException	NotAuthorizedException
RecaptchaFailedException	NotAuthorizedException
SelfManagedRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
SiteAdminRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
SiteFilesAreImmutableException	NotAuthorizedException
TwoFactorAuthenticationRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
UserIdWithoutSiteAdminException	NotAuthorizedException
WriteAndBundlePermissionRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
WritePermissionRequiredException	NotAuthorizedException
ApiKeyNotFoundException	NotFoundException
BundlePathNotFoundException	NotFoundException
BundleRegistrationNotFoundException	NotFoundException
CodeNotFoundException	NotFoundException
FileNotFoundException	NotFoundException
FileUploadNotFoundException	NotFoundException
FolderNotFoundException	NotFoundException
GroupNotFoundException	NotFoundException
InboxNotFoundException	NotFoundException
NestedNotFoundException	NotFoundException
PlanNotFoundException	NotFoundException
SiteNotFoundException	NotFoundException
UserNotFoundException	NotFoundException
AlreadyCompletedException	ProcessingFailureException
AutomationCannotBeRunManuallyException	ProcessingFailureException
BehaviorNotAllowedOnRemoteServerException	ProcessingFailureException
BundleOnlyAllowsPreviewsException	ProcessingFailureException
BundleOperationRequiresSubfolderException	ProcessingFailureException
CouldNotCreateParentException	ProcessingFailureException
DestinationExistsException	ProcessingFailureException
DestinationFolderLimitedException	ProcessingFailureException
DestinationParentConflictException	ProcessingFailureException
DestinationParentDoesNotExistException	ProcessingFailureException
ExpiredPrivateKeyException	ProcessingFailureException
ExpiredPublicKeyException	ProcessingFailureException
ExportFailureException	ProcessingFailureException
ExportNotReadyException	ProcessingFailureException
FailedToChangePasswordException	ProcessingFailureException
FileLockedException	ProcessingFailureException
FileNotUploadedException	ProcessingFailureException
FilePendingProcessingException	ProcessingFailureException
FileProcessingErrorException	ProcessingFailureException
FileTooBigToDecryptException	ProcessingFailureException
FileTooBigToEncryptException	ProcessingFailureException
FileUploadedToWrongRegionException	ProcessingFailureException
FilenameTooLongException	ProcessingFailureException
FolderLockedException	ProcessingFailureException
FolderNotEmptyException	ProcessingFailureException
HistoryUnavailableException	ProcessingFailureException
InvalidBundleCodeException	ProcessingFailureException
InvalidFileTypeException	ProcessingFailureException
InvalidFilenameException	ProcessingFailureException
InvalidPriorityColorException	ProcessingFailureException
InvalidRangeException	ProcessingFailureException
ModelSaveErrorException	ProcessingFailureException
MultipleProcessingErrorsException	ProcessingFailureException
PathTooLongException	ProcessingFailureException
RecipientAlreadySharedException	ProcessingFailureException
RemoteServerErrorException	ProcessingFailureException
ResourceLockedException	ProcessingFailureException
SubfolderLockedException	ProcessingFailureException
TwoFactorAuthenticationCodeAlreadySentException	ProcessingFailureException
TwoFactorAuthenticationCountryBlacklistedException	ProcessingFailureException
TwoFactorAuthenticationGeneralErrorException	ProcessingFailureException
TwoFactorAuthenticationMethodUnsupportedErrorException	ProcessingFailureException
TwoFactorAuthenticationUnsubscribedRecipientException	ProcessingFailureException
UpdatesNotAllowedForRemotesException	ProcessingFailureException
DuplicateShareRecipientException	RateLimitedException
ReauthenticationRateLimitedException	RateLimitedException
TooManyConcurrentLoginsException	RateLimitedException
TooManyConcurrentRequestsException	RateLimitedException
TooManyLoginAttemptsException	RateLimitedException
TooManyRequestsException	RateLimitedException
TooManySharesException	RateLimitedException
AgentUnavailableException	ServiceUnavailableException
AutomationsUnavailableException	ServiceUnavailableException
MigrationInProgressException	ServiceUnavailableException
SiteDisabledException	ServiceUnavailableException
UploadsUnavailableException	ServiceUnavailableException
AccountAlreadyExistsException	SiteConfigurationException
AccountOverdueException	SiteConfigurationException
NoAccountForSiteException	SiteConfigurationException
SiteWasRemovedException	SiteConfigurationException
TrialExpiredException	SiteConfigurationException
TrialLockedException	SiteConfigurationException
UserRequestsEnabledRequiredException	SiteConfigurationException

Case Sensitivity

The Files.com API compares files and paths in a case-insensitive manner. For related documentation see Case Sensitivity Documentation.

The PathUtil.same function in the Files.com SDK is designed to help you determine if two paths on your native file system would be considered the same on Files.com. This is particularly important when handling errors related to duplicate file names and when developing tools for folder synchronization.

using FilesCom.Util;

if(PathUtil.same("Fïłèńämê.Txt", "filename.txt")) {
    Console.WriteLine("Paths are the same");
}

Logs

To enable logging, create a file named log4net.config in the same directory as the application with the contents as shown.

Then, in the application, use that file to configure log4net:

log4net.Config.XmlConfigurator.Configure(new System.IO.FileInfo("./log4net.config"));

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<log4net>
  <root>
    <level value="ALL" />
    <appender-ref ref="console" />
  </root>
  <appender name="console" type="log4net.Appender.ConsoleAppender">
    <layout type="log4net.Layout.PatternLayout">
      <conversionPattern value="%date [%thread] %-5level %logger - %message%newline" />
    </layout>
  </appender>
</log4net>

Mock Server

Files.com publishes a Files.com API server, which is useful for testing your use of the Files.com SDKs and other direct integrations against the Files.com API in an integration test environment.

It is a Ruby app that operates as a minimal server for the purpose of testing basic network operations and JSON encoding for your SDK or API client. It does not maintain state and it does not deeply inspect your submissions for correctness.

Eventually we will add more features intended for integration testing, such as the ability to intentionally provoke errors.

Download the server as a Docker image via Docker Hub.

The Source Code is also available on GitHub.

A README is available on the GitHub link.