Stanford Digital Repository services
Stanford Digital Repository Services

Preparing content for deposit

Find out about our file upload options and learn about our best practice recommendations for preparing your content for deposit.

File upload options

The self-deposit web app for the SDR has two options for uploading your files for deposit. Learn more about these options below and when to choose each one.

Drag and Drop

For content < 10GB and fewer than 25,000 files, the easiest way to upload your files is to use the drag and drop box. This option supports content in hierarchies or nested directories.

Use Globus

If you have more than 10GB of total content with fewer than 25,000 files, you will need to choose our file upload option that uses Globus. This option works particularly well if your content is located on Oak, Sherlock, Stanford's Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive. See more details below on special considerations for large deposits and check out our documentation on the process.

Please contact us before you start file transfer if you are planning to deposit 1 TB or more.

Documentation for using Globus to transfer files to the SDR

Best practices for your content

File formats

There are no specific file format requirements for deposit in the SDR; any file type can be deposited. 

SDR staff can advise on "archival-quality" file formats and data encoding specifications that are preferred for preservation, as well as other digital preservation best practices.

Zip it if you have:

  • Files with long file names or paths (over ~500 characters)
  • Empty directories
  • Files with non UTF-8 characters in the file names
  • Deeply nested directories (more than 5-6)
  • A structure that is semantically important
  • File permissions that are important

Hierarchical data structures

The SDR supports the deposit of data that is organized into nested folders or subdirectories. Once deposited, the data are then displayed as a hierarchy on the PURL pages. We do recommend that you avoid deep nesting (i.e. more than 5-6 layers of subdirectories).

Both our drag and drop and Globus upload options support file hierarchies. 

File size limits

Let us know before you upload more than 1 TB at one time.

Contact us

No individual file should be > 4TB.

No single deposit should be > 4TB.

The maximum number of files allowed per deposit is 25,000.

Improve your deposit experience

Uploading via the web

For uploading and downloading content using a web browser, 8-10 GB is a practical upper size limit. Your experience may vary depending on number of files, sizes of each file, available network bandwidth, etc. 

Checksums for Globus deposits

If you use Globus to transfer your content to the SDR, you can retrieve checksums from Globus for all your files to validate transfer integrity. Instructions on how to access this information is in our instructions linked to below.

Checksums for Globus file transfers

Considerations for large deposits

For deposits over 10GB, our online deposit application includes an integration with Globus that allows users to transfer content files to us for automated deposit into the SDR. Transfer times for large content even with this method can still be slow, so we recommend starting your deposit a minimum of several days to a week before you need it completed. Some very large deposits (1 TB or larger) may still require staff intervention and a minimum of 20 business days for processing and publishing to a persistent URL (PURL). Contact us if you have questions or need assistance using the Globus option to deposit to the SDR.

And always contact us before you start file transfer if you are planning to deposit 1 TB or more.

Contact us for assistance with Globus