Uploading session files

Use this guide to upload documents to a session — the same Session Files you manage in the admin UI and speaker portal (slides, handouts, PDFs, and similar).

Pick your upload path

Simple upload (≤ 50 MB)
Direct to storage (> 50 MB)

Best for: most integrations — one API call, no S3 steps. Sessionboard detects file size and MIME type from the bytes you send.


Endpoint	`POST /v1/event/{eventId}/sessions/{sessionId}/files/upload`
Max size	50 MB
Scope	`write:sessions`

Optional form fields: title, assigned_participant_id (contact UUID on the session).

Upload the file

POST /v1/event/{eventId}/sessions/{sessionId}/files/upload
Content-Type: multipart/form-data
X-Access-Token: {your-token}

curl

curl -X POST "https://public-api.sessionboard.com/v1/event/{eventId}/sessions/{sessionId}/files/upload" \
  -H "X-Access-Token: $TOKEN" \
  -F "file=@handout.pdf" \
  -F "title=Session handout"

Node.js (form-data)

import fs from 'node:fs';
import FormData from 'form-data';

const form = new FormData();
form.append('file', fs.createReadStream('./handout.pdf'));
form.append('title', 'Session handout');

const res = await fetch(uploadUrl, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'X-Access-Token': token, ...form.getHeaders() },
  body: form
});

The multipart field name must be file. You do not send filename, size_bytes, or content_type — Sessionboard infers them from the upload.

Use the response

On success (201) you get the finalized file Content object — same shape as after the direct-to-storage complete step:

{
  "data": {
    "id": "a1b2c3d4-....",
    "filename": "handout.pdf",
    "title": "Session handout",
    "size": 512000,
    "mimetype": "application/pdf",
    "url": "https://content.sessionboard.com/..."
  }
}

Security scanning runs before the response is returned. No follow-up call is required.

Confirm (optional)

GET /v1/event/{eventId}/sessions/{sessionId}/files

Best for: files larger than 50 MB (up to 500 MB), or when you prefer uploading bytes straight to Sessionboard storage (same pattern as session recordings).


Flow	create → PUT to signed URL → complete
Max size	500 MB
Scope	`write:sessions`

Start the upload

POST /v1/event/{eventId}/sessions/{sessionId}/files
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "filename": "large-deck.pptx",
  "size_bytes": 52428800,
  "title": "Full slide archive"
}

size_bytes must match the file on disk. content_type is optional — inferred from the filename when omitted.

Response includes data.id and data.upload.url for the next step.

PUT the file bytes

Upload the raw file to data.upload.url with the Content-Type from data.upload.headers. Do not send your API token to the storage URL.

Mark complete

POST /v1/event/{eventId}/sessions/{sessionId}/files/{fileId}/complete

Sessionboard verifies the object, scans the bytes, and attaches the file.

Before you begin

API token with write:sessions (list/read also needs read:sessions when your token uses explicit scopes)
Your {eventId} and {sessionId}

Send your token on every API request:

X-Access-Token: {your-token}

Common file types

Kind	Examples
Documents	PDF, DOC, DOCX
Presentations	PPT, PPTX
Spreadsheets	XLS, XLSX
Images	PNG, JPG, GIF, WEBP, SVG

Executable and installer files (for example .exe, .msi, .dmg, .sh) are rejected on all paths.

Update metadata

Change the display title or assigned participant without re-uploading:

PUT /v1/event/{eventId}/sessions/{sessionId}/files/{fileId}
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "title": "Updated slide deck",
  "assigned_participant_id": "contact-uuid-or-null"
}

Replace or delete

Replace (direct-to-storage flow only today): POST .../files/{fileId}/replace → PUT bytes → POST .../complete.

Delete: DELETE .../files/{fileId} → 204 No Content.

Common errors

Situation	What you’ll see
Simple upload over 50 MB	`400` — use direct-to-storage flow
Direct create over 500 MB	`400` — file too large
Missing multipart `file` field	`400` `VALIDATION_ERROR`
Missing `filename` / `size_bytes` (direct create)	`400` `VALIDATION_ERROR`
Executable / installer type	`400` — file type not allowed
Called complete before PUT	`400` — upload not found in storage
Missing `write:sessions`	`403`
Unknown `fileId` / session	`404`

Scopes quick reference

Action	Scope
List files	`read:sessions`
Upload / create / complete / replace / update / delete	`write:sessions`