Will Moving a Resource to a Different Folder Break its CDN Public Link?

Modified on Fri, 3 Jul at 1:34 AM

The Share / Embed Public CDN Link is built from a series of IDs used for CDN distribution and invalidation. Knowing what each part of the URL does explains when a link keeps working and when it breaks.

Here is an example URL:

https://cdn.intelligencebank.com/us/share/3RG1/ble6/EyB9/original/young-fitness-woman-runner-running-at-sunrise-seaside

What Each Part of the URL Means

Site ID 3RG1	Identifies the platform. Allows every public asset on the platform to be invalidated at once, for example when public sharing is disabled entirely.
Folder ID ble6	Identifies the parent folder and allows every public asset in that folder to be invalidated at once, for example when public sharing is disabled on the folder. Because the link is tied to this ID, moving the file to a different folder breaks the link.
Resource ID EyB9	Identifies the specific asset. Allows a single asset, and any of its transformation presets, to be invalidated.
Iteration original	Which version to serve: original (default), a transformation preset ID (Global or Single), or manual transformation commands.
Name young-fitness-...	The current resource name. It has no effect on which file the link resolves to or which format is served, and can be renamed to any value (for example young-fitness-woman-runner-running-at-sunrise-seaside to morning-run-sunrise). Adding a file extension such as .jpg does not change the format either.

Note: A preset link always serves the format defined by the preset. A trailing file extension does not change the served format. Keep in mind that each distinct URL is cached separately on the CDN, so a variant that was cached before a preset or asset change (for example an older link ending in .jpg) can keep serving the previous version until that cache entry is invalidated or expires. See how invalidation works in Manual Transformations of Images via Public Share URLs.

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