Vanilla JS Quickstart

@useupup/vanilla is the framework-free upup uploader (built on lit-html) — DOM-identical to the canonical React UI — with cloud-drive sources, resumable uploads, theming, and ICU i18n. Mount it into any DOM element; no framework required. This page gets you uploading in client mode, no server package required.

Install

npm i @useupup/vanilla

Minimal example (client mode)

createUploader(target, options) accepts a CSS selector string or an HTMLElement. In client mode the browser uploads directly to your storage; your app only issues short-lived upload credentials at uploadEndpoint.

import { createUploader } from '@useupup/vanilla'
import '@useupup/vanilla/styles'

const uploader = createUploader('#uploader', {
    provider: 'aws',
    uploadEndpoint: '/api/upload-token',
})

// Later, when you tear down the view:
uploader.destroy()

The instance also exposes getState(), subscribe(), addFiles(), upload(), pause(), resume(), cancel(), and retry(). Call destroy() on unmount to stop the render loop and detach listeners. The stylesheet is a separate import, so pages without Tailwind get the same look.

See Code Examples for a ready-to-copy presign handler.

Custom element

A <upup-uploader> custom element is also published. Importing @useupup/vanilla/element registers it, after which you can use it declaratively:

import '@useupup/vanilla/element'

<upup-uploader
    provider="aws"
    upload-endpoint="/api/upload-token"
></upup-uploader>

Choose sources and cloud drives

Pass sources to pick which tabs appear and cloudDrives to enable the cloud providers (client IDs come from each provider's developer console):

createUploader('#uploader', {
    provider: 'aws',
    uploadEndpoint: '/api/upload-token',
    sources: ['local', 'camera', 'screen', 'url', 'googleDrive', 'oneDrive'],
    cloudDrives: {
        googleDrive: { clientId: '...', apiKey: '...', appId: '...' },
        oneDrive: { clientId: '...' },
    },
})

Add server mode

For credential isolation and server-proxied cloud drives, add @useupup/server and set the mode:

createUploader('#uploader', {
    mode: 'server',
    serverUrl: '/api/upup',
    provider: 'aws',
})

The handler requires an uploadTokenSecret of at least 16 characters — createUpupHandler throws at construction time if it is missing or too short:

import { createUpupHandler } from '@useupup/server'

export const handler = createUpupHandler({
    storage: {
        type: 'aws',
        bucket: process.env.S3_BUCKET!,
        region: process.env.S3_REGION!,
    },
    uploadTokenSecret: process.env.UPUP_UPLOAD_TOKEN_SECRET, // required, >= 16 chars
})

See Server Mode — Setup for the full walkthrough: adapters for Next.js, Express, Fastify, and Hono; auth and user binding; and production token stores.

What you get

• Cloud drives — Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and Box, browsed in-panel.
• Camera and screen capture sources.
• Link import — add files by URL.
• Resumable uploads — optional tus or S3 multipart for large files.
• ICU i18n — locale bundles with pluralization and per-key overrides.
• Theming — design tokens, slots, and dark mode.

The image editor is React/Preact-only and is intentionally stubbed in the framework-free build; every other capability above is fully native.

To see how upup compares with other vanilla JavaScript upload libraries, read the vanilla JavaScript roundup.

Also exported

FileSource, StorageProvider, and UploadStatus.