S3 — folder/create

S3 Folder Model: S3 has no native concept of folders. "Folders" are object key prefixes. folder/create uploads a zero-byte object with a key ending in / (e.g. reports/2026/). This creates a visible folder placeholder in the AWS console and ensures the prefix exists before bulk uploads begin. The folder path must end with / — a path without a trailing slash creates a regular zero-byte object, not a folder prefix.

When to Use

Pre-upload structure setup: Create the required directory hierarchy before a bulk upload loop starts writing objects into nested prefixes.
Tenant folder provisioning: Set up a standardized folder structure (e.g. documents/, media/, exports/) in a new tenant's bucket during onboarding.
Date-partitioned hierarchy: Create year/month/day prefix placeholders before writing time-series data to ensure consistent folder organization.
Category organization: Establish organizational prefixes (e.g. invoices/, contracts/, receipts/) to group uploads by type before ingestion begins.

Configuration

Connection

Field	Required	Description
`accessKeyId`	Required	AWS Access Key ID. Store in BizFirst Credentials Manager.
`secretKey`	Required	AWS Secret Access Key. Never log or expose.
`sessionToken`	Optional	STS session token for temporary credentials.
`region`	Required	AWS region of the target bucket.

Operation Fields

Field	Required	Description
`bucketName`	Required	Name of the S3 bucket where the folder will be created.
`folderPath`	Required	Folder path to create. Must end with `/` (e.g. `reports/2026/Q2/`). Intermediate segments are automatically treated as nested prefixes.

Trailing Slash Required: The folderPath must end with /. A path like reports/2026 (without the trailing slash) creates a zero-byte object named reports/2026, not a folder prefix. Always validate path expressions to ensure the trailing slash is present.

Sample Configuration

{
  "connection": {
    "accessKeyId": "{{ $credentials.s3_prod.accessKeyId }}",
    "secretKey": "{{ $credentials.s3_prod.secretKey }}",
    "region": "us-east-1"
  },
  "operation": {
    "resource": "folder",
    "action": "create",
    "bucketName": "acme-tenant-{{ $node.TenantSetup.output.tenantId }}-storage",
    "folderPath": "documents/"
  }
}

Validation Errors

Error Code	Cause & Resolution
`AccessDenied`	The IAM identity lacks `s3:PutObject` on the target bucket. Update the IAM policy to include write access.
`NoSuchBucket`	The specified bucket does not exist. Create it first with `bucket/create`.
`InvalidFolderPath`	The `folderPath` does not end with `/`. Ensure all folder paths have a trailing slash before execution.

Output

Success Port

Field	Type	Description
`status`	string	`success` on successful folder creation.
`errorCode`	string	Empty string on success.
`bucketName`	string	The bucket where the folder was created.
`folderPath`	string	The created folder path (e.g. `documents/`).
`createdAt`	string	ISO 8601 timestamp of folder creation.

Error Port

On failure, activates with errorCode, errorMessage, and httpStatusCode. Most common failure is AccessDenied due to missing s3:PutObject permission.

Sample Output

{
  "status": "success",
  "errorCode": "",
  "bucketName": "acme-tenant-t1024-storage",
  "folderPath": "documents/",
  "createdAt": "2026-05-26T09:20:11Z"
}

Expression Reference

Expression	Result
`{{ $node.CreateFolder.output.folderPath }}`	Created folder path — use to construct full object keys for subsequent uploads into this folder.
`{{ $node.CreateFolder.output.bucketName }}`	Confirm the target bucket in downstream audit log entries.
`{{ $node.CreateFolder.output.createdAt }}`	Creation timestamp — log during tenant provisioning audit.

Node Policies & GuardRails

Policy Area	Recommendation
Credential Storage	Store credentials in BizFirst Credentials Manager. Never hardcode.
IAM Permissions	Grant `s3:PutObject` scoped to the target bucket ARN. No additional permissions are required to create folder placeholders.
Trailing Slash Enforcement	Always validate that `folderPath` ends with `/`. Use a Code Execute or Function node to append `/` if missing before calling this node.
Idempotency	Re-creating an existing folder placeholder overwrites the zero-byte object silently — this is safe and idempotent. No special handling required.
Nested Paths	To create deep hierarchies (e.g. `data/2026/Q2/june/`), call `folder/create` once with the full path — S3 will represent all intermediate segments as prefixes automatically.
Folder vs Object Collision	Avoid creating a folder path that conflicts with an existing object key. For example, if `reports/2026` (no slash) exists as an object, creating `reports/2026/` (with slash) is safe but may cause confusion in the console.
Provisioning Order	Create the bucket first with `bucket/create`, then call `folder/create`. Attempting to create a folder in a non-existent bucket fails immediately.
Audit Logging	Log `folderPath` and `createdAt` during tenant provisioning workflows for a complete storage structure audit trail.

Examples

Example 1: Tenant Onboarding — Standard Folder Structure

After creating a tenant's bucket, provision a standardized folder hierarchy using parallel folder creation steps.

// Parallel Fork → 4 branches:
// Node: CreateDocumentsFolder
{ "bucketName": "acme-tenant-{{ tenantId }}-storage", "folderPath": "documents/" }
// Node: CreateMediaFolder
{ "bucketName": "acme-tenant-{{ tenantId }}-storage", "folderPath": "media/" }
// Node: CreateExportsFolder
{ "bucketName": "acme-tenant-{{ tenantId }}-storage", "folderPath": "exports/" }
// Node: CreateTempFolder
{ "bucketName": "acme-tenant-{{ tenantId }}-storage", "folderPath": "temp/" }
// Parallel Join → Continue onboarding workflow

Example 2: Date-Partitioned Archive Setup

Before writing time-series records to S3, create the current month's folder hierarchy.

// Node: CreateMonthFolder (S3 — folder/create)
{
  "bucketName": "acme-time-series-archive",
  "folderPath": "data/{{ $now | date: 'YYYY/MM' }}/"
}
// Next: UploadRecords (object/upload loop with keys under this prefix)

Example 3: Compliance Archive Structure

Create quarterly folder placeholders in a compliance archive bucket at the start of each fiscal quarter.

// Node: CreateQ1Folder
{ "bucketName": "acme-compliance-archive", "folderPath": "fy2026/Q1/" }
// Node: CreateQ2Folder
{ "bucketName": "acme-compliance-archive", "folderPath": "fy2026/Q2/" }
// Node: CreateQ3Folder
{ "bucketName": "acme-compliance-archive", "folderPath": "fy2026/Q3/" }
// Node: CreateQ4Folder
{ "bucketName": "acme-compliance-archive", "folderPath": "fy2026/Q4/" }
// Parallel Fork/Join for all four simultaneously

folder/create FormID 20509

When to Use

Configuration

Connection

Operation Fields

Sample Configuration

Validation Errors

Output

Success Port

Error Port

Sample Output

Expression Reference

Node Policies & GuardRails

Examples

Example 1: Tenant Onboarding — Standard Folder Structure

Example 2: Date-Partitioned Archive Setup

Example 3: Compliance Archive Structure