I want to upload a whole folder with many images into AEM DAM.

[Syed_Shaik]

Hi Team, I want to upload a lot of folders with many images into AEM DAM.

Thanks,

Syed Peer Vali Shaik.a

[giuseppebag · Accepted solution]

hi @Syed_Shaik, 

The AEM Desktop App supports uploading entire folders and preserves the folder hierarchy, with uploads running in the background independent of a browser session. Folder drops are supported, transfers can be reviewed in Assets transfers, and upload concurrency can be tuned in Preferences to speed up large batches.

For very large libraries or initial migrations, the Bulk Import tool lets administrators ingest from Azure or AWS into a chosen DAM target folder, with options for include/exclude filters, conflict handling (skip/replace/version), and scheduling. The tool imports the entire folder structure from the data source and provides dry run, run/stop controls, and job history for auditing.

For automated pipelines or custom migrations, use the direct binary upload APIs referenced in the AEM developer documentation, or the open‑source aem‑upload SDK/CLI to script folder uploads outside the JVM. The aem‑upload library streamlines the initiate/upload/complete protocol used by AEM for large‑scale asset ingestion.

[Syed_Shaik]

Thank you

[Abie]

Hi @Syed_Shaik ,

The Desktop App is often inconsistent in case huge amount of assets and needs system resources for longer period.

The ideal solution is to use AWS/Azure sync connector to synchronize nested folder structure (and assets) as-is in AEM. This works well and also offline.

Thanks!

[Vishal_Anand]

@Syed_Shaik  Please find options for performing bulk upload:

1. FileVault (vlt) / AEM Package Manager (recommended for initial bulk)

   • When to use: very large sets, preserve folder structure, one-time or infrequent large imports.
   • Pros: robust for big volumes, preserves structure, easy to move between environments, less chance of HTTP timeouts.
   • Cons: requires repository-level access and some ops knowledge; you may need to run post-import workflows.
   • How I’d use it: stage files into a content package (or use vlt to import into the author instance), upload/install package, then trigger DAM workflows once upload finishes.

2. AEM Assets HTTP API / Sling POST (recommended for scripted, repeatable imports)

   • When to use: automated pipelines, incremental loads, or when you need to set metadata during upload.
   • Pros: fine-grained control, can run in parallel, scriptable (curl, Python, etc.).
   • Cons: needs scripting and careful throttling to avoid overloading the author instance; may require retry logic.

3. Custom tools or ACS AEM Commons utilities

   • When to use: you need custom mapping, CSV-driven metadata import, or bulk utilities available from community packages.
   • Pros: existing utilities can save time and provide CSV-to-metadata mapping.
   • Cons: depends on installed packages and may need custom dev to match your metadata rules.

4. UI drag-and-drop (Touch UI)

   • When to use: small batches or manual fixes.
   • Pros: simplest.
   • Cons: not suitable for large volumes; will likely hit browser/server limits.

Performance and operational tips

• Disable or throttle heavy workflows during upload; re-enable and run them in controlled batches after import.
• Upload in parallel but limit concurrency to avoid CPU/IO saturation.
• Monitor author instance heap, disk space, and oak indexes; run a quick index health check before/after.
• If you’ll publish assets immediately, plan activation steps and test replication load.
• Test the full flow in lower environments before doing production import.

Post-upload tasks

• Run DAM Update Asset and metadata workflows.
• Validate a sample of assets for correct renditions, metadata, and permissions.
• Run indexing/reindex if search results look off.
• Archive logs and results of the import for auditability.