NAME
Backblaze::B2V4 - Client library for the Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage Service V4 API.
SYNOPSIS
use Backblaze::B2V4;
# create an API client object
my $b2 = Backblaze::B2V4->new(
application_key => $application_key,
application_key_id => $application_key_id,
);
# please encrypt/protect those keys when not in use!
# let's say we have a B2 bucket called 'GingerAnna' and a JPG called 'ginger_was_perfect.jpg'.
# upload a file from your file system
my $response = $b2->b2_upload_file(
bucket_name => 'GingerAnna',
file_location => '/path/to/ginger_was_perfect.jpg'
);
# upload a file you have in a scalar
my $response = $b2->b2_upload_file(
bucket_name => 'GingerAnna',
new_file_name => 'ginger_was_perfect.jpg',
file_contents => $file_contents
);
# B2 file ID (fGUID) is now in $response->{fileId}
# Best to load $file_contents via Path::Tiny's slurp_raw() method
# download that file to /opt/majestica/tmp
my $response = $b2->b2_download_file_by_name(
bucket_name => 'GingerAnna',
file_name => 'ginger_was_perfect.jpg',
save_to_location => '/opt/majestica/tmp'
);
# if you would rather download with the 84-character GUID
my $response = $b2->b2_download_file_by_id(
file_id => 'X-Bz-File-Id GUID from above',
save_to_location => '/opt/majestica/tmp'
);
# For all of these $response is the output from the B2 V4 API
# to confirm all is well
my $all_is_well = $b2->current_status_is_not_ok != 1;
# to get the latest error
print $b2->latest_error();
# if none, will be 'No error message found'
DESCRIPTION / SET UP
This module should help you create buckets and store/retrieve files in the Backblaze B2 cloud storage service using V4 of their API.
Backblaze makes it easy to sign up for B2 from here:
https://www.backblaze.com/b2/sign-up.html
Then enable the B2 service as per these instructions:
https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/quick_account.html
Next, visit the 'App Keys' section of the 'My Account' area, and look for the 'Add a New Application Key' button to create an application key. You will need a key with Read and Write access. Be sure to note the Application Key ID as well as the Application Key itself. They do not show you that Application Key again, so copy it immediately.
Please store the Application Key pair in a secure way, preferably encrypted when not in use by your software.
b2_client Command Line Utility
Backblaze::B2V4 includes the 'b2_client' command line utility to easily download or upload files from B2. Please execute 'b2_client help' for more details, and here are a few examples:
# download a file to current directory
b2_client get MyPictures FamilyPhoto.jpg
# download a file to a target directory
b2_client get MyPictures FamilyPhoto.jpg /home/ginger/photos
# upload a file to B2
b2_client put MyPictures /home/ginger/photos/AnotherFamilyPhoto.jpg
There is also an official command line utility from Backblaze that does a whole lot more:
https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/quick_command_line.html
BackBlaze B2 also has a S3-compatible API
Backblaze has added an S3-compatible API, which you can read about here:
https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/s3_compatible_api.html
They are continuing to support their native B2 API, so I will continue to use and support this module. I have not tested the S3 modules with Backblaze, but if you already have an S3 integration, it is worth checking out how Paws::S3 or Awes::S3 works with Backblaze.
Testing Your Credentials
During install, this module will attempt to connect to B2 and download a 16KB file into memory. To test using your B2 account credentials, set these environmental varables prior to attempting to install:
B2_APP_KEY_ID - The application key ID for the key you wish to test.
B2_APP_KEY - The application key -- is never displayed in the B2 UI.
B2_ACCT_ID - Your account ID; will be the ID of your master key
B2_TEST_FILE_ID: The long (75+ char) GUID for your target file.
The GUID for a file is displayed when you click on that file's name in the 'Browse Files' section of the B2 UI.
METHODS
new
Creates the B2 client object and initiates an API session with B2.
Requires two arguments: application_key => the Application Key from Backblaze, application_key_id => the Application Key ID from Backblze,
Returns your B2 client object.
b2_download_file_by_id
Retrieves a file plus metadata given the GUID of that file. The 'file_id' argument is required and will be the file's GUID. If you would like to auto-save the file, provide a path to an existing directory via the 'save_to_location' argument.
On success, will return the $response hashref with these keys:
file_contents
content-length
content-type
x-bz-file-id
x-bz-file-name
x-bz-content-sha1
See https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/b2_download_file_by_id.html
b2_download_file_by_name
Works like b2_download_file_by_id() except that it expects 'bucket_name' and 'file_name' named arguments arguments. If you would like to auto-save the file, provide a path to an existing directory via the 'save_to_location' argument.
See https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/b2_download_file_by_name.html
b2_upload_file
Uploads a new file into B2. Accepts these named arguments:
bucket_name => required, name of destination bucket,
content_type => optional mime type; defaults to b2/x-auto,
file_location => optional, full path of file to upload incl name
new_file_name => optional, filename for file on B2
file_contents => optional scalar with file contents
If you do not provide 'file_location', then you need to provide 'new_file_name' and 'file_contents' (or vice versa). If you are going to use the 'file_contents' method, it's best to load the scalar using the 'slurp_raw' method in Path::Tiny. (I believe 'read_file' in File::Slurp will work, but have yet to test.)
If successful, returns the GUID for the new file (aka the fileId); otherwise returns 0. See: https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/b2_upload_file.html
Example 1: Uploading from a file on disk:
my $file_id = $b2->b2_upload_file(
'bucket_name' => 'GingerAnna',
'file_location' => '/opt/majestica/tmp/ginger_was_perfect.jpg',
);
Example 2: Uploading when the file is loaded into a scalar:
my $file_id = $b2->b2_upload_file(
'bucket_name' => 'GingerAnna',
'new_file_name' => 'ginger_was_perfect.jpg',
'file_contents' => $file_contents
);
b2_upload_large_file
Uploads a large file into B2. Recommended for uploading files larger than 100MB.
Example:
my $file_id = $b2->b2_upload_large_file(
'bucket_name' => 'GingerAnna',
'file_location' => '/opt/majestica/tmp/gingers_whole_life_story.mp4',
);
b2_list_file_info
Retrieves an arrayref hashrefs with file infomrmation for a bucket. Backblaze calls if 'b2_list_file_names' but it really is for file info. Limited to 10,000 file results per call, so you will may need to call repeatedly to retrieve all names.
NOTE: You are billed per 1,000 results returned.
Accepts these named arguments
bucket_name => required, the name of the target bucket,
prefix => optional, if seeking files that start with a given string,
start_file_name => optional, the file name to start listing 10,000 files from
delimiter => optional (default '/') used if you have folders within your bucket,
See https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/b2_list_file_names.html , especially the section for 'Response' to see what is included for those file info hashes.
Basic call:
my $files_ref = $b2->b2_list_file_names(
bucket_name => 'MyBucketName'
);
b2_get_file_info
Given a GUID for a file, will retrieve its info a $response hash See https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/b2_get_file_info.html
my $response = $b2->b2_get_file_info(
file_id => 'AN84_CHAR_GUID_FROM_B2'
);
b2_bucket_maker
Creates a new bucket in your B2 account, given the name for the new bucket. The bucket type will be set to 'allPrivate'
Returns 1 (success) or 0 (failure)
Accepts named args:
bucket_name => required, the name of the new bucket
disable_encryption => optional, 1 or 0 and defaults to 0 --> have the encryption
See: https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/b2_create_bucket.html
Note that B2 bucket namess must be unique system-wide, not just your account. Select a name that willbe unique globally.
Example:
my $success = $b2->b2_bucket_maker(
bucket_name => 'NewBucketName'
);
By default the new bucket will be set to use the 'Server-Side Encryption with Backblaze-Managed Keys (SSE-B2)' option described here: https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/server_side_encryption.html You can send a second param to disable that (not recommended):
my $success = $b2->b2_bucket_maker(
bucket_name => 'UnEncryptedBucketName',
disable_encryption => 1
);
Also, if your app key does not have the 'writeBucketEncryption' then encryption will be disabled.
b2_delete_bucket
Deletes a bucket from your B2 account, provided that it is empty.
Requires the target bucket's name as the 'bucket_name' argument.
Returns 1 (success) or 0 (failure)
See: https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/b2_delete_bucket.html
Example:
my $success = $b2->b2_delete_bucket(
bucket_name => 'DeletingBucketName'
);
b2_delete_file_version
Deletes a version of a file, AKA a stored object. If you use unique file names for each file you upload, then one version equals one file. If you upload multiple files with the same name under a single bucket, you will create multiple versions of a particular file in B2.
Required named args
file_name => the name of the file
file_id => the Backblaze GUID for the file
Returns 1 (success) or 0 (failure)
my $success = $b2->b2_delete_file_version(
file_name => 'SomeFileName.ext',
file_id => 'AN84_CHAR_GUID_FROM_B2'
);
send_request / b2_get_upload_info / b2_list_buckets
send_request() handles all the communications with B2. You should be able to use this to make calls not explicitly provided by this library.
If send_request() gets a 200 HTTP status from B2, then the call went great, $b2->current_status_is_not_ok will be 0, and the JSON response will be returned.
If a 200 is not received from B2, $b2->current_status_is_not_ok will be 1, and you can find an error in $b2->latest_error()
Note that the base URL for this API session will be stored under $b2->api_info->{api_url} so that you build a URL like so:
$list_buckets_url = $b2->api_info->{api_url}.'/b2api/v4/b2_list_buckets';
Example of a GET API request:
my $response = $b2->send_request(
'url' => 'https://SomeB2.API.URL?with=GETparams',
);
Example of a POST API request:
my $response = $b2->send_request(
'url' => 'https://SomeB2.API.URL',
'post_params' => {
'param1_name' => 'param1_value',
'param2_name' => 'param2_value',
'param3_name' => 'param3_value',
},
);
Almost all the API calls use the Account Authorization Token for the authorization header, but the file uploader calls require a bucket-specific token and upload URL. You can retrieve these via b2_get_upload_info() with the bucket name as an argument.
Example:
my $results = $b2->b2_get_upload_info(
bucket_name => 'MyBucketName'
);
The %$results hash now has 'upload_url' and 'authorization_token'
Note: You have to call b2_get_upload_info on a bucket for each file upload operation. My b2_upload_file method does that for you, so that's just FYI if you roll your own.
See: https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/b2_get_upload_info.html
If you need the ID for one or more buckets, you can use b2_list_buckets. If a bucket name is provided, only that bucket's ID will be retrieved. If no argument is provided, all the ID's will be retrieved for all buckets in your account.
Example:
my $bucket_id = $b2->b2_list_buckets(
'bucket_name' => 'MyBucketName'
);
See: https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/b2_list_buckets.html
DEPENDENCIES
This module requires:
Cpanel::JSON::XS
Digest::SHA
HTTP::Request
LWP::Protocol::https
LWP::UserAgent
Marlin
MIME::Base64
Path::Tiny
URI::Escape
SEE ALSO
B2 API V4 Docs: https://www.backblaze.com/apidocs/b2-authorize-account
Paws::S3 - If using Backblaze's S3-compatible API.
AUTHOR / BUGS
Eric Chernoff <eric@weaverstreet.net> - Please send me a note with any bugs or suggestions.
ESTRABD <estrabd@cpan.org> - Enhanced b2_list_file_names() to fully use options and a great bugfix when using the 'file_contents' option in the b2_upload_file() method.
LICENSE
MIT License
Copyright (c) 2026 Eric Chernoff
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.