Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pipeshub.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Azure File Shares Logo

​
Azure File Shares

Microsoft cloud file share connector

✅ Ready📖 Documentation Available

​
What is this?

Azure File Shares is Microsoft’s cloud version of a shared network drive — the kind of thing your company might call the “S: drive” or “team share”. This connector copies those files into PipesHub so you can search them from the PipesHub chat and knowledge base, just like any other document. You do not move or delete anything in Azure. PipesHub only reads the files.

​
How Azure organises your files

Three words you’ll see again and again:
WordMeans
Storage accountYour top-level Azure storage. Like a house.
File shareOne shared drive. You can have many per storage account.
Directory / fileRegular folders and files, just like on your laptop.
When you set up this connector, PipesHub will read the files from the shares you pick.

​
What you need before you start

  1. An Azure account with access to a Storage account that contains file shares.
  2. Permission to view the storage account’s Access keys (usually Owner or Contributor role).
  3. A PipesHub account where you can add connectors.
That’s it. You don’t need to install anything.

​
Setup

Setup

​
Step 1 — Get the connection string from Azure

The connection string is one long password-like line that tells PipesHub how to reach your storage. We just need to copy it.
  1. Go to https://portal.azure.com and sign in.
  2. In the search bar at the top, type Storage accounts and click it.
  3. Click the storage account that holds your file share.
  4. In the left menu, click Security + networking → Access keys.
Azure Access keys page
  1. Under key1, click Show next to Connection string.
  2. Click the copy icon next to it.
You now have the connection string in your clipboard. Don’t close the tab yet — if something goes wrong you’ll want to come back.
The same Access keys page is used for Azure Blob and Azure File Shares. If you already set up Azure Blob on this storage account, you can reuse the same connection string here.
Treat this string like a password. Anyone who gets it can read (and change) your storage. Don’t paste it into chat, email, or a public file.

​
Step 2 — Open Azure Files in PipesHub

  1. In PipesHub, look at the left sidebar.
  2. Under Workspace, click Connectors.
  3. In the list, find Azure Files.
  4. Click Setup on its tile.
A panel slides in from the right. This is where you enter your details.

​
Step 3 — Paste your connection string

The panel opens on the first tab, Authenticate Instance.
Authenticate Instance tab with Connection String field
  1. In Instance name, type a short name so you can recognise it later (for example Azure files or Team share).
  2. Scroll to Connection String.
  3. Paste the string you copied from Azure.
  4. Click Next → at the bottom.
The eye icon next to the Connection String field hides and shows the value. Use it if you need to double-check what you pasted.
If you see “authentication failed”, the string probably has extra spaces or got cut off. Go back to Azure, click Copy on the connection string again, and paste it fresh.

​
Step 4 — Choose how often to sync

The panel moves you to the second tab, Configure Records.
Configure Records tab with Sync settings
Under Sync settings there are two choices:
  • Sync Strategy — leave as Scheduled if you want PipesHub to update on its own. Pick Manual if you want to press a button every time.
  • Sync Interval — how often PipesHub checks Azure for new files. 1 Hour is a good starting point.
Not sure? Keep Scheduled and 1 Hour. You can change it later.

​
Step 5 — (Optional) Narrow down what gets synced

If your file shares have lots of files you don’t need, you can tell PipesHub to skip some.Scroll to Indexing & sync filters. Click + Add filter on the right.A small menu opens with the fields you can filter by:
+ Add filter menu showing File Share Names, File Extensions, Modified Date, Created Date
  • File Share Names — pick specific shares
  • File Extensions — pick file types (e.g. PDFs only)
  • Modified Date — only files changed after / before / between dates
  • Created Date — only files created after / before / between dates
You only need filters if one of these is true:
  • You want only certain shares (not all of them).
  • You want only some file types (e.g. PDFs, not images).
  • You want only recent files (say, the last year).
Common examples:
  • PDFs only — field: File Extensions · operator: In · value: pdf
  • Skip images — field: File Extensions · operator: Not In · value: jpg, png, gif
  • Only one share — field: File Share Names · operator: In · pick the share
If you don’t add any filters, PipesHub will sync every file it can read. That’s fine for small shares.
When you’re done, click Save Configuration at the bottom of the panel.

​
Step 6 — Turn sync on

You’re now on the Azure Files instance page. You’ll see one row (your new instance).
Azure Files instance card — sync not yet enabled
Right now it says Sync Paused. To start syncing:
  1. Find the Sync Enabled toggle on the right side of the row.
  2. Click it.
The status changes to Syncing and PipesHub starts reading your files.

​
Step 7 — Check progress

Click anywhere on the row to open the Overview panel on the right.
Overview panel with Records Status tiles
Here you can see:
  • Total — how many files PipesHub has found.
  • Failed — files it couldn’t read (usually permission or file-type issues).
  • Processing — files it’s still reading right now.
  • Not Started — files waiting their turn.
  • Sync / Full sync buttons — press if you want to run a sync right now.
  • Manage Configuration — open the setup panel again to change credentials or filters.
You can close the panel and come back any time — the sync keeps running in the background.That’s it! 🎉 Your Azure file shares are now searchable in PipesHub.

​
First sync (full scan)

The very first time, PipesHub reads everything in the shares you chose. Big shares take longer:
Number of filesRoughly how long
Under 1,0005 – 15 minutes
1,000 – 10,00015 – 60 minutes
10,000 – 100,0001 – 3 hours
Over 100,000Several hours or more
Tip: using filters (e.g. PDFs only) makes the first sync much faster.

​
Later syncs (just what’s new)

After the first sync, PipesHub only looks at what changed:
  • New files — added.
  • Updated files — refreshed.
  • Deleted files — removed from search.
These later syncs are usually quick, even for big shares.

​
Who can see the synced files?

When you set up the connector you picked a scope:
  • Personal — only you can search the files inside PipesHub.
  • Team — everyone in your organisation can search them.
This only controls PipesHub. It does not change access in Azure.
Text-based files get read word-for-word so you can search inside them:
  • Documents — PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, ODT, RTF
  • Plain text — TXT, MD, CSV, JSON, XML, HTML
  • Code — .py, .js, .ts, .java, and more

​
Synced but not searched inside

These are stored as records but their contents aren’t indexed for text search:
  • Images (JPG, PNG, GIF, …)
  • Video and audio
  • Archives (ZIP, RAR, …)
  • Other binary files
They still show up in results by filename.

​
Troubleshooting

  • Go back to Azure, click Copy on the Connection string again, and paste it fresh in PipesHub.
  • Check you didn’t paste an extra space or line break.
  • If the connection string was recently rotated in Azure, you need the new one.
  • Make sure the storage account still exists.
  • Double-check the connection string is the right one.
  • Make sure the storage account actually has file shares (the icons look like folders — not blob containers).
  • Some storage accounts have firewall rules — ask your Azure admin to allow PipesHub.
  • Give it a minute. The first sync on a large share takes time.
  • Check your filters — they might be excluding everything.
  • Make sure the connection string’s storage account actually has files.
  • Add filters (share names, file extensions, date range) to sync only what you need.
  • Very large shares (millions of files) will always take several hours on the first run. Later syncs are fast.
Usually this means the Azure access keys were changed.
  • Go back to Step 1 and copy the new connection string.
  • In PipesHub, open the instance panel and click Manage Configuration.
  • Paste the new string on the Authenticate Instance tab and save.

​
Frequently asked questions

Yes. On the Azure Files instance page click + Add Another Instance and repeat the steps with the new connection string.
No. The connector only reads files. It doesn’t upload, move, rename, or delete anything.
On the next sync, PipesHub notices it’s gone and removes it from search.
Not directly. The easiest workaround is to filter by file extensions or split content into separate shares.
Yes. PipesHub stores it as a secret — it’s not visible in logs or to other users.
Both live in the same storage account. Blob is object storage (flat — uses prefixes to look like folders). Files is a real file share with real folders, usually mounted as a network drive. Pick the connector that matches where your files actually live.