Sanity asset upload returns CDN link but not visible in studio

I can see the issue! When you use client.assets.upload(), you're creating an asset document in Sanity, but that asset isn't automatically connected to any of your content documents - it's just sitting in your asset library. This is why you're getting a CDN link back but not seeing it appear in your Studio's main content views.

The Problem

The asset upload method creates standalone asset documents in your Content Lake. These assets exist, but they're not referenced by any of your content documents, so they won't show up in your regular document views in Studio.

Solutions

Option 1: Create a Document that References the Asset

After uploading the asset, create or update a document that references it:

try {
    const asset = await client.assets.upload("image", thumbnailBuffer, { 
        contentType: metaData.contentType,
        filename: 'your-filename.jpg' // Adding filename helps with identification
    });
    
    logger.log("Returned asset", asset);
    
    // Now create a document that uses this asset
    await client.create({
        _type: 'yourDocumentType',
        title: 'Firebase uploaded image',
        image: {
            _type: 'image',
            asset: {
                _type: 'reference',
                _ref: asset._id
            }
        }
    });
    
    logger.log("Document created with image reference!");
} catch (error) {
    logger.error(error);
}

Option 2: View Assets Directly

If you want to see all uploaded assets (even orphaned ones), you can:

1. Install sanity-plugin-media which gives you a dedicated asset browser
2. Use the Vision plugin in Studio and query: *[_type == "sanity.imageAsset"] to see all image assets
3. Access the Media Library if you're on an Enterprise plan

Option 3: Update an Existing Document

If you want to attach the uploaded image to an existing document:

const asset = await client.assets.upload("image", thumbnailBuffer, { 
    contentType: metaData.contentType 
});

await client.patch('document-id-here')
    .set({
        image: {
            _type: 'image',
            asset: {
                _type: 'reference',
                _ref: asset._id
            }
        }
    })
    .commit();

Additional Tips

• Add a filename option to your upload to make assets easier to identify
• Consider adding source metadata to track that these came from Firebase
• The asset CDN link works immediately, but the asset needs to be referenced by a document to appear in your content views

The key takeaway: assets are separate entities from your content documents. You need to create that connection explicitly for them to show up in your Studio's document views.