> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.macropay.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Automate Customer File Downloads

> Attach downloadable files to any product and let Macropay deliver secure, signed URLs to every buyer automatically

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/macrodeepinc/S4T0jM7ZWV5HVLft/assets/features/benefits/file-downloads/hero.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=S4T0jM7ZWV5HVLft&q=85&s=f3d9bb1bcc5e57af21b8dc1560695e09" width="2396" height="1712" data-path="assets/features/benefits/file-downloads/hero.png" />

Ship an ebook, a font pack, a desktop binary, or a 9GB model checkpoint, and Macropay turns it into a customer entitlement. Attach files to a product as a **File Downloads benefit** and every buyer or active subscriber gets a private, signed URL the moment their order clears — no storage to host, no download gating to build, no S3 to babysit.

And because Macropay is the **merchant of record**, the sale that unlocks the file is already tax-handled: we calculate and remit sales tax / VAT worldwide and sit on the customer's statement as the seller, so you ship bytes instead of chasing compliance.

## What you get

| Capability         | Detail                                                                              |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **File size**      | Up to 10GB per file                                                                 |
| **File types**     | Anything — ebooks, design assets, ZIPs, installers, full applications               |
| **Delivery**       | Each customer receives a unique, signed download URL                                |
| **Integrity**      | SHA-256 checksum generated per file, exposable to customers for verification        |
| **Access control** | Grant or revoke per benefit; subscription cancellations remove access automatically |

<Note>
  A File Downloads benefit can hold multiple files. Buyers of the product receive every enabled file in the benefit as a single bundle of downloads.
</Note>

## Create a File Downloads benefit

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Benefits">
    Go to **Benefits** in the Dashboard sidebar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a benefit">
    Click **+ Add Benefit**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick the type">
    Choose **File Downloads** as the **Type**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload your files">
    Drag and drop files onto the dropzone (`Feed me some bytes`), or click it to open a file browser. Uploads stream straight into our storage as you add them.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Attach the benefit to any product — one-time or subscription — and it's live. Every new order grants the files; cancelling a subscription revokes them.

## Manage the files in a benefit

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Rename a file">
    Click the filename to edit it inline. The new name is what customers see on their download.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Reorder files">
    Drag and drop files into the order you want them presented to customers.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Verify the SHA-256 checksum">
    Open the contextual menu (the dots) and choose **Copy SHA-256 Checksum**. Publish it alongside your release so customers can confirm the bytes they downloaded match what you shipped.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Disable a file">
    Open the contextual menu and choose to disable the file. This is the safe way to retire a file without destroying it — see access rules below.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Delete a file">
    Open the contextual menu and choose **Delete**.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Warning>
  **Deleting a file is permanent — and it cuts off current customers too.** A delete removes the file from Macropay and our S3 storage entirely (only the metadata is retained). Active subscribers and past buyers lose access immediately. If you only want to stop *new* grants, disable the file instead.
</Warning>

## How access changes propagate

Enabling, disabling, adding, and deleting files each behave differently for people who already own the benefit. Here's the full matrix:

| Action                  | Existing customers      | New customers    |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------- |
| **Disable a file**      | Keep access to it       | Don't receive it |
| **Enable / add a file** | Granted retroactively   | Receive it       |
| **Delete a file**       | Lose access immediately | Never receive it |

<Info>
  **Disabling preserves legacy access on purpose.** Someone who bought before you disabled a file keeps their copy — useful for grandfathering older releases while you steer new buyers to the current version.
</Info>

<Tip>
  **Re-enabling or adding files is retroactive.** The moment you add a new file or re-enable an old one, *every* current customer and subscriber with the benefit is granted access. Treat the benefit as the live source of truth for what buyers can download — shipping a v2 asset is as simple as uploading it.
</Tip>

## Pair downloads with usage or agent billing

File downloads cover the "deliver the artifact" half of a product. For products where value accrues *after* delivery — an agent customers run, an API they call, a model they query — combine the download with [usage-based billing](/features/usage-based-billing/introduction) so the file is the on-ramp and metered usage is the revenue.

A few patterns that work well:

* **SDK or CLI + metered API** — ship the binary as a download, then meter calls against the [AI proxy](/features/llm-inference) or your own ingested events.
* **Agent distribution** — hand over an agent bundle as a file, then bill its real work via the Signals API and attach [value receipts](/features/usage-based-billing/introduction) that certify the outcomes it produced.
* **Templates + credits** — give away a starter file for free, then sell prepaid [credits](/features/benefits/credits) the customer burns down as they use the tooling.

In every case Macropay stays the merchant of record across the bundle: one checkout, one tax-handled order, and the file plus any metered usage settle under the same flat fee.