Installation guide
In this article we cover the three steps required to setup the CloudFiles - Salesforce integration. We also provide a list of three quick start guides at the end that can be used by an admin or architect to setup basic file and folder functions in their Salesforce objects quickly.
Follow the steps below to install CloudFiles in your Salesforce account. The same steps are applicable for both production and sandbox -
- Log into Salesforce as a Salesforce Admin.
- Follow the prompts to install either in production or in a sandbox.
- At separate points during the installation, the installer prompts you to:
- Choose who to install CloudFiles for - Select "Install for Admins Only". Don't worry, all your users will be able to access CloudFiles. We select this option to better control the permissions for all users
- Approve Third-Party Access - Accept third party access request. You can read about this in our FAQ on Why are various third party accesses asked during installation.
- Click Next or Continue in other screens to complete the installation.

CloudFiles comes with 3 pre-packaged permission sets. You can always create a custom permission set by cloning the default ones. Here is a summary of these 3 permission sets -
- CloudFiles Admin User - Suitable for admins who should have access to all CloudFiles functionality including setup, billing etc...
- CloudFiles Standard User - Suitable for all internal Salesforce users who should have access to non-admin CloudFiles functionality such as file & folder operations using CloudFiles LWC, viewing analytics etc...
- CloudFiles External User - This permission set is suitable for experience cloud users (community users).
For the purpose of this setup, make sure that your own Salesforce user has Admin permission set assigned. Here are the steps for this.
- Go to Setup > Permission Sets.
- Select the CloudFiles Admin User permission set
- Click on Manage Assignments. Then Click Add Assignment.
- Choose the users you want to add the selected permission set for.
- Follow the prompts to finish the assignment process.
For more information on this topic, check our article on CloudFiles Permissions.
You can setup the CloudFiles app from within Salesforce by first going to the CloudFiles App Launcher. Click on the 9 dots icon(App Launcher) on top left of salesforce and search 'CloudFiles'. Then select the CloudFiles app.

This will open the CloudFiles App Launcher. Click on the Setup Tab on top and then click on Setup CloudFiles button. Follow the on-screen instructions as shown below.

That's all the setup we need to get started. You can now start setting up flows and widgets to streamline your file management and sharing in Salesforce. Check the next section to know how to get started quickly.
To get started quickly, we provide 3 quick start guides that talk about incrementally advanced features. Refer to these guides in sequence to become a Salesforce - CloudFiles integration expert.
- Connect external folder to a record - Talks about accessing external storage from Salesforce objects. Also talks about automation capabilities.
- Access, share and track a file - Talks about file and folder sharing by creating a link, configuring it's settings and viewing it's analytics all from the Salesforce objects. Also talks about automation capabilities.
- Share files in experience cloud (community) - Sharing files with community and partner users using experience cloud and receiving files from them to collaborate is a common use-case. This article gives a basic overview and also talks about automation capabilities.
Once you are done with these, check the list of categories and articles in the left sidebar for all features and use cases.