Azure blob storage

Learn how to connect your Azure Blob Storage containers to PixelFiddler for seamless media management and transformation.

Azure Blob Storage integration allows you to use your existing storage containers as media sources in PixelFiddler. Once connected, you can transform images directly from your containers without moving files, while benefiting from PixelFiddler’s CDN and caching capabilities.

Prerequisites

Before connecting Azure Blob Storage, ensure you have:

• An Azure account with an active subscription
• An Azure Storage Account with blob containers
• Access to the Azure portal or Azure CLI
• Basic familiarity with Azure storage concepts

Quick Setup

1. Create or locate your Azure Storage Account
2. Get your access keys from the Azure portal
3. Add the media source in PixelFiddler
4. Test the connection with a sample file

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Step 1: Set Up Azure Storage Account

Create a New Storage Account (if needed)

If you don’t have a storage account yet:

1. Navigate to the Azure Portal

2. Click “Create a resource”
3. Search for and select “Storage account”

4. Click “Create”

Configure Storage Account Settings

Fill in the required information:

Setting	Recommended Value	Description
Subscription	Your subscription	Choose your active Azure subscription
Resource Group	Create new or existing	Logical grouping for your resources
Storage account name	pixelfiddlermedia	Must be globally unique, 3-24 characters
Region	Closest to your users	Choose region for optimal performance
Performance	Standard	Standard is sufficient for most use cases
Redundancy	LRS or ZRS	Choose based on your availability needs

Create a Container

After your storage account is created:

1. Navigate to your storage account in the Azure portal

2. In the left menu, click “Containers” under Data storage

3. Click ”+ Container”

4. Enter a container name (e.g., media-files)
5. Set Public access level to “Private” (recommended for security)
6. Click “Create”

Get Your Access Keys

1. In your storage account, go to “Access keys” under Security + networking

2. Click “Show keys”
3. Copy the following information:

• Storage account name
• Key1 (or Key2) - the long access key string

Security Note

Your storage account keys provide full access to your storage account. Keep them secure and rotate them regularly.

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Step 2: Create Media Source in PixelFiddler

Once your Azure setup is complete, you can link your blob storage container to PixelFiddler:

1. Navigate to your Sources page in the PixelFiddler dashboard
2. Click “Link new source”
3. Select Azure Blob Storage as your source type
4. Fill in the connection details using the information from your Azure setup

Required Configuration

Field	Description	Example
Name	Display name for your source	Product Gallery
Alias	Unique identifier (kebab-case)	product-gallery
Account Name	Your Azure storage account name	pixelfiddlermedia
Account Key	Your storage account access key	Keep this secure
Container	Your blob container name	media-files

Optional Configuration

• Base URL: Custom Azure Blob Storage endpoint (only needed for development with emulators like Azurite)

Verifying Your Connection

After clicking “Create”, PixelFiddler will attempt to connect to your Azure Blob Storage container:

✅ Success

If the connection succeeds, you’ll see a confirmation message and can immediately:

• Browse your files in Media Management
• Start transforming images

❌ Connection Failed

If you see an error message:

1. Double-check your credentials:

• Verify the storage account name is correct
• Ensure the account key is complete and accurate
• Confirm the container name exists and is spelled correctly

2. Review access permissions:

• Make sure the account key has full permissions
• Check that the container exists in the specified storage account
• Verify there are no firewall rules blocking access

3. Test storage access:

• Try accessing the container directly in Azure portal
• Ensure the container contains some test files
• Check if there are any network restrictions on the storage account