Transfer files and directories - Amazon SDK for PHP
Transfer options overviewKey differencesChoosing the right approach
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Transfer files and directories

The Amazon SDK for PHP Version 3 provides two approaches for transferring files and directories to and from Amazon S3. Both solutions handle the complexity of multipart uploads and downloads for large files, but they differ in their design philosophy, feature set, and usage patterns.

Transfer options overview

Choose the transfer approach that best fits your application's needs:

S3 Transfer Manager (recommended)

A modern, high-level library that provides a comprehensive solution for file transfers. It offers extensive configuration options, built-in progress tracking, custom download handlers, and robust error handling. The S3 Transfer Manager uses a promise-based API and supports both individual file operations and directory transfers with advanced filtering capabilities.

Transfer

A directory transfer implementation that focuses specifically on bulk directory operations. It provides a simpler API for uploading and downloading entire directories with basic configuration options. This approach has fewer features compared to the S3 Transfer Manager.

Key differences

The following table highlights the main differences between the two transfer approaches:

Feature S3 Transfer Manager Transfer

Individual file operations

Yes (upload/download single files)

No (directory operations only)

Directory operations

Yes (with advanced filtering)

Yes (basic directory transfers)

Progress tracking

Built-in with custom listeners

Limited (debug output only)

Custom download handlers

Yes

No

Checksum validation

Automatic with configuration

Manual (add_content_md5 option)

Error handling

Comprehensive with failure policies

Basic promise-based handling

Configuration options

Extensive (8+ options)

Basic (6 options)

API design

Request/response objects

Simple constructor parameters

Choosing the right approach

Use the S3 Transfer Manager when you need:

  • Individual file upload or download operations

  • Advanced progress tracking and monitoring

  • Custom download handlers for specialized processing

  • Comprehensive error handling and retry policies

  • Fine-grained control over multipart operations

  • Directory operations with complex filtering logic

Use Transfer when you need:

  • Simple directory-to/from-S3 transfers

  • Minimal configuration and setup

  • Compatibility with existing code that uses Transfer

  • Basic multipart upload functionality

Note

For new applications, we recommend using the S3 Transfer Manager as it provides a more comprehensive and flexible solution for file transfers.