What Is CBFS Connect and When Should You Use It to Create a Virtual Filesystem?

Updated

CBFS Connect is a developer SDK component from Callback Technologies that lets you present any data source—cloud storage, databases, REST APIs, or custom content—as local files and folders, without writing kernel-mode driver code. It fits when your goal is to make non-file data behave like a normal filesystem for existing applications. It is not the right choice if you only need to mount a specific cloud provider (CBFS Cloud), intercept and control existing filesystem operations (CBFS Filter), or embed an encrypted store inside a single file (CBFS Vault).

What CBFS Connect actually does

The component creates a virtual filesystem: your application supplies the logic for what files and folders exist and what their contents are, and CBFS Connect handles the system-level plumbing so other programs see a normal drive. The site frames the value as "system-level filesystem technology, application-level simplicity"—you work through an API, drivers and samples are included, and you avoid low-level kernel driver development.

Typical data sources you can expose:

  • Cloud storage
  • Databases
  • REST APIs
  • Custom or proprietary content

A concrete example: a team stores project documents in a database with metadata and versioning. Rather than building an export tool, they use CBFS Connect to present those records as a folder tree, so users open and save files through familiar desktop applications while the database remains the source of truth.

How it compares to the other CBFS components

The product line overlaps, so pick by the job rather than by name. The table uses the same dimensions for each option.

Component Primary job Best when
CBFS Connect Create a virtual filesystem from any data source You need to expose arbitrary/custom data as local files and folders
CBFS Cloud Mount cloud storage as a local drive in code Your source is S3, Azure, OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, or SFTP and you want one API for them
CBFS Filter Intercept, monitor, and control filesystem, registry, and process operations in real time You need access control, security policy enforcement, or file access monitoring on existing files
CBFS Encrypt Transparent file-level encryption Authorized processes should see plaintext while others see ciphertext
CBFS Sync Bidirectional sync with placeholder files and on-demand hydration You need local/remote synchronization across Windows, Linux, and macOS
CBFS Vault A complete encrypted filesystem inside a single portable file You want per-file and whole-vault encryption, compression, journaling, and random read/write in one file
CBFS Shell Customize Windows File Explorer You need virtual folders, context menus, overlay icons, or detail columns without risking Explorer stability

If your data source is one of the supported cloud providers and you don't need custom filesystem semantics, CBFS Cloud is the narrower fit. If you need to watch or block access to files that already exist on disk, that is CBFS Filter, not Connect.

What the SDK includes and how to evaluate it

Per the site, the development libraries ship with APIs, drivers, documentation, and samples. A free trial is offered, and the product is positioned as subscription-based; the page does not publish prices, so confirm licensing terms directly with Callback Technologies before committing.

A practical evaluation path:

  1. Download the free trial and confirm your target OS and language bindings are covered in the samples.
  2. Build the smallest possible virtual drive—one folder, one read-only file—backed by your real data source.
  3. Verify with ordinary tools: open the file in a text editor, list the directory from a command prompt, and check that writes (if supported) round-trip to your source.
  4. Test the awkward cases early: large files, concurrent access, renaming, and deletion. These are where virtual filesystem designs usually need adjustment.
  5. Only then expand to the full folder structure and permissions model.

Common sticking points to plan for: mapping your data model onto file and folder semantics (what is a directory in a REST API?), handling metadata such as timestamps and sizes, and deciding whether the mount is read-only or writable. The site's samples and documentation are the place to resolve these, since exact API behavior is version-specific.

When a different component is the better fit

Choose something else if:

  • You only need cloud mounting. CBFS Cloud covers S3, Azure, OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, SFTP, and more through one component API.
  • You need monitoring or policy enforcement on real files. CBFS Filter intercepts filesystem, registry, and process operations in real time.
  • You need encryption rather than exposure. CBFS Encrypt keeps data as ciphertext for untrusted processes; CBFS Vault gives you an encrypted container file.
  • You need Explorer UI changes. CBFS Shell extends File Explorer safely.

CBFS Connect earns its place when the core requirement is "make my data look like a disk"—custom sources, non-file backends, or content that only your application knows how to interpret.