Your first upload
This walks through configuring one host and getting a link back. It takes about five minutes, and the shape of it is the same whichever service you use.
1. Open Hosts
Open Dropline, then Settings → Hosts (⌘,). The list on the left is empty
on a fresh install.
Click + at the bottom left. The menu that appears is the preset list:
Blank · Custom HTTP
Blank · Custom binary PUT
Amazon S3
Cloudflare R2
Aliyun OSS (S3-compatible)
Tencent COS (S3-compatible)
MinIO / self-hosted S3
SM.MS
Imgur
Lsky Pro / Chevereto
EasyImage / PicGo custom
Pick the one closest to your service. A preset fills in the endpoint shape, the file field name, the authentication kind and the JSON path — everything except your own credentials and domain. If nothing fits, start from Blank · Custom HTTP and see Custom multipart host.
2. Fill in your credentials
What you need depends on the engine the preset chose.
S3-compatible presets (S3, R2, OSS, COS, MinIO) ask for:
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Endpoint | https://<account>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com, empty for AWS |
| Region | auto, us-east-1, oss-cn-hangzhou |
| Bucket | my-assets |
| Access Key ID | AKIA… |
| Secret Access Key | stored in the keychain, never in the config file |
| Public base URL | https://cdn.example.com — optional |
Image-host presets ask for an upload URL, an authentication secret, and little else. The preset already knows the file field name and where the link sits in the response.
Each host page in the host configuration section lists every field for that service, with the values to type.
3. Test it before you trust it
Click Test Upload at the bottom of the editor. Dropline generates an 8×8 PNG, sends it through the profile exactly as a real upload would, and shows you one of two things:
- Success, followed by the URL that came back. Open it. If the image loads, the profile is correct end to end — request, authentication, response parsing and URL assembly.
- An error, in red. Troubleshooting maps each message to the field that causes it.
A green tick appears next to the profile that is currently the default. If you have more than one, select yours and click Set as Default.
4. Upload something real
Close Settings and use any of the five ways in:
- Drop a file on the Dropline window
- Drop it on the Dock icon
- Right-click it in Finder → Upload with Dropline
- Paste — a
⇧⌘4screenshot uploads straight from the clipboard, with no saving first - Menu bar → Upload…
The menu bar icon becomes a progress ring. When it finishes, a system notification confirms it and the URL is already on your clipboard — paste it wherever you were going.
5. Optional: Markdown
If you paste links into Markdown all day, turn on Settings → General → Copy as
Markdown and the clipboard gets  instead of the bare URL.
Next
- The five ways to upload →
- Template variables → — control the remote path
- Host configuration → — your service, field by field