In this episode, we're taking the next step with our uploaded files! So far, we've just had them sitting in temporary storage, but now it's time to properly store them and keep track of them in our database.
First, we set up a File model and created a corresponding migration for a files table. In the migration, we decide to store just two key pieces of info: the original file name (so we can show meaningful labels to users) and the file path (so we know where to find the file, whether that's locally or somewhere like Amazon S3).
Once that table is ready, we loop through our temporary uploaded files and for each one, we save a record to the database and move the file itself to a permanent storage location—in this case, a files directory. We talk through setting the file name and even discuss naming strategies (like adding an MD5 hash to avoid conflicts). We double-check the logic works by uploading a file and confirming it appears both in our database and in the storage folder. Then we try uploading multiple files at once, and just like that, they all appear where they should!
At the end, we now have files that are
In short, we're now handling our users' files in a way that's robust and easy to manage from both the server and the database side.