How to send a whole folder
Yes. Press Add a folder and pick it, or drag the folder from your computer and drop it anywhere over the page. Either way every file inside is added with its place in the folder, and the recipient gets the same subfolders back when they download everything as one ZIP. The rest of this page covers what happens after you add the folder, and the few cases where a file loses its place.
Two ways to add a folder
- Open Transferify on your computer or phone.
- Press Add a folder and choose the folder, or drag it from Finder, File Explorer or your file manager and drop it anywhere over the page. The whole window is a drop zone, not only the card in the middle.
- Choose how to send: Direct for an instant transfer, or Hosted for a link that stays online.
- If you are not signed in yet, confirm your email address with a one-time code. You do not choose a password. Then send the link.
You can add several folders one after another, or folders on top of files you have already added: everything collects in the same list. Subfolders are walked down to the last level, with no depth limit.
What actually reaches the recipient
| What you do | What the recipient gets |
|---|---|
| You add a folder with subfolders | A Download all button that saves one ZIP with the same subfolders |
| They only want two files from it | They can download those on their own, with no archive, but they arrive without their folder |
| You have two files with the same name in different subfolders | Both are kept, each in its own subfolder |
The file list the recipient sees also shows which folder each file comes from, so they understand the structure before they download anything. The recipient needs no account and installs nothing.
How the limit is counted
What counts is the total size of the files, as the browser sees them. Nothing is zipped before upload, so there is no "folder size after compression" to help you. A 4 GB folder stays 4 GB.
On the free plan the allowance applies per transfer, not as a monthly budget, with 50 downloads a month and a link that lasts 1–3 days. The size each plan allows is on the pricing page. If the folder is bigger than your plan allows, instant transfer, peer-to-peer, helps, because the files go straight between the two browsers, as long as both tabs stay open until the end. Instant is free up to 5 GB on the free plan; above that, any paid plan unlocks any size.
What does not come through, so you do not find out mid-delivery
- Empty folders. A transfer carries files, not folders, so a folder with no file in it has nothing to send. When you drag folders in, the page names any folder it could not take a file from, so you know what was left out. An empty subfolder inside a folder you picked with the button is simply left out. If the empty structure matters to the recipient, zip it yourself.
- Files added to a transfer after it has gone out. From the Plus plan you can add files to a hosted transfer you have already sent, but those files land at the top level, next to the others. Send the folder in one go.
- Very long or unusual paths. A path longer than 1,024 characters, file name included, or one with characters a folder name cannot safely carry, loses its folder and lands at the top of the archive. The file is still sent, only its place is lost, and the page names the affected files as soon as you add them, before you send.
From a phone
On a phone, Add a folder is the way in, because there is no gesture for dragging something from a files app into a browser. Pick the folder and its files are added with their paths, as on a computer.
Some older iPhone browsers open the folder picker but hand back no files. The page tells you when that happens, and the fix is to build the archive on the phone and send one file:
- On an iPhone: open the Files app, touch and hold the folder, and choose Compress. A
.zipappears next to it, which you then add with Add your files. - On Android: many file manager apps have a similar option to compress; if yours does not, send the files you need in one go and tell the recipient how they are grouped.
What else changes when you send from a phone is in the guide on sending large files from your phone.
If the folder is going to your other computer
Then it is not a delivery but a move, and the first question is whether the two machines are in the same room. The options, including the ones that never touch the internet, are in the guide on transferring files between two computers. If you keep a synced folder for that kind of move instead, see how Transferify compares with Dropbox.
If the folder holds anything sensitive
A project folder usually collects more than the deliverable: variants, contracts, internal notes. Password protection and download alerts start on the Basic plan, and Zero-Knowledge encryption, where the key never reaches us, is available on Premium. What both mean is in the guide on how to send files securely. It is worth checking what you added before you send anyway: a whole folder goes out with everything inside it.
If the folder holds contracts, PDFs or scans, the guide on sending documents covers checking the version, how the recipient gets in, and which confirmation to ask for after the delivery. Every other way to send is on the page about how to send large files.
Add your folder and send it with its structure intact.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send a folder with everything inside it?
Yes, two ways. Press "Add a folder" and pick it, or drag the folder from your computer and drop it anywhere over the Transferify page. Every subfolder is walked all the way down, however deep it goes, and the files inside are added to the transfer.
Is the folder structure kept?
Yes. Each file keeps its path inside the folder you added, and the ZIP the recipient gets from "Download all" rebuilds the same subfolders. Two files with the same name in different subfolders stay separate and do not overwrite each other.
Are the files zipped before upload?
No. They are uploaded one by one, each with its path, and the archive is only built on the recipient's side when they choose "Download all". They can also download file by file if they need only a few, and a file downloaded on its own arrives without its folder.
What counts against the plan limit, the total of the files or the size of the archive?
The total size of the files, exactly as the browser reports them. There is no archive at upload time, so compression neither saves nor costs you anything.
Can I send a folder straight from my phone?
Yes, with the "Add a folder" button, which is the one way to add a folder on a phone because phones have no drag-and-drop between the files app and the browser. Some older iPhone browsers open the folder picker but hand back no files; the page then tells you, and zipping the folder first gets round it.