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Andy Kemp Consulting

Quick start#

From download to your files in File Explorer in about five minutes.

What you need#

  • Windows 10 (version 2004 or later) or Windows 11, x64. No administrator rights.
  • Azure Blob Storage: the container's URL, and either the Storage Blob Data Contributor role on the storage account (to sign in with your work account) or a SAS token with read, list, write and create permissions.
  • Cloudflare R2, Amazon S3 or another S3-compatible store: the endpoint, the bucket name, and an access key with read and write on that bucket.

1. Install#

Download AKC-BlobDrive-Setup.exe and run it. It installs for your user only (in your AppData folder), adds a Start menu entry and starts with Windows. Windows SmartScreen may warn the first time: choose More info, Run anyway.

2. Welcome#

The splash, then Welcome to AKC BlobDrive: what it does, what you need, and two switches, Start AKC BlobDrive when I sign in to Windows and Check downloads.andykemp.com for a newer version when it starts. Choose Continue.

3. Add a drive#

Add a drive opens with three steps down the side.

  1. Name and storage: a name for the folder, such as Photos or RAW Archive (it can't be changed later), and the type of storage.

  2. Connect:

    • Azure: paste the container URL, for example https://mystorage.blob.core.windows.net/raw-photos (in the Azure portal: the storage account, Containers, your container, Properties). Leave Sign in with my Microsoft work account chosen and select Sign in and test connection. Windows asks you to sign in; if you belong to more than one tenant, put your domain in Tenant. Or choose Use a SAS token and paste the token or the full SAS URL.
    • R2 or S3: the endpoint (for R2, https://<account id>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com; none for Amazon S3), the region (auto for R2), the bucket, the access key ID and the secret. Select Test connection.

    Next unlocks once the test passes.

  3. On this PC: the folder (new and empty, outside OneDrive), the cache size, an optional folder in the storage (to show only, say, RAW), and whether to upload new and changed files. Choose Finish.

The folder opens in File Explorer, with everything in the container listed. Open a file and it downloads; it gets a green tick and stays until the cache is full.

Giving your account access (Azure)#

Signing in only works if your account has a data role on the storage account: being an Owner or Contributor isn't enough on its own. An administrator can give you Storage Blob Data Contributor in the portal (the storage account, Access control (IAM), Add role assignment) or in Cloud Shell, all on one line:

az role assignment create --assignee [email protected] --role "Storage Blob Data Contributor" --scope /subscriptions/<subscription id>/resourceGroups/<resource group>/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/<storage account>

It can take a few minutes to apply. Then test the connection again.