# Folders arrive in Media Library

**Version:** v2026-05-06

**Published:** May 6, 2026

[Media Library now supports folders](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/folders)**,** a nested hierarchy for organizing your assets, and shortcuts that let a single asset appear in more than one folder. Folders are powered by a new beta [hierarchy primitive in Content Lake](https://www.sanity.io/docs/content-lake/hierarchy) that you can also use programmatically via the API.

## Organize assets into folders

Create, update, and navigate folders using a familiar file-system UI. Multi-user updates are real-time: when a teammate creates, renames, or moves a folder, you see the change immediately.

![A dark-themed digital asset management interface showing the "Design Team" folder with a Sanity logo asset and its metadata.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/3do82whm/next/e2fe07a1bfebf347a3c78d9e520f6d153fe6e9be-2864x1644.png)

## Upload directly into a folder

The upload modal now offers a folder picker so you can choose where files land before they’re uploaded. The same option is available programmatically through a new `parent` query parameter on the [upload endpoint](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/upload-assets).

![A dark-mode digital asset management interface showing a file upload modal and a folder selection menu with options like "Design Team" and "Marketing Team".](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/3do82whm/next/f968ba03f258be01361f836c0efd82609e5bd110-2864x1644.png)

You can also drag files from your operating system directly onto the Media Library window, the upload starts immediately and lands in the folder you’re currently viewing.

When you upload a file that already exists in the library, the modal flags the duplicate and offers a one-click action, either create a shortcut into your current folder if the asset lives elsewhere, or add the existing asset to your current folder if it isn’t filed yet.

![An "Upload assets" modal in a dark interface, showing a Sanity logo upload with "1 of 1 file uploaded" and an option to create a shortcut in "Marketing Team" for an existing asset.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/3do82whm/next/362d74fb4f04002d0145d74c366a8878155408d2-2864x1644.png)

## Shortcuts: one asset, many folders

Sometimes the same asset belongs in more than one place. Create a **shortcut** from the asset menu and the asset appears in the destination folder with a small badge to indicate it’s a shortcut. 

![A screenshot of a Sanity Studio media library in dark mode, showing the Sanity logo selected with its details and preview.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/3do82whm/next/60dc602e49dd362949d6296d60751bb27a52dfc9-2864x1644.png)

You can also move an existing shortcut to a different folder from the asset sidebar. The original asset is unaffected, and only the shortcut’s home folder changes.

![Dark-themed media library showing a Sanity logo asset with an open menu to move or delete its shortcut, alongside its metadata.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/3do82whm/next/c5d419fb2a1a52e747a477f98fa4d672518dbda5-2864x1644.png)

If you delete an asset or remove it from a folder in the app, the Media Library cleans up every shortcut to it automatically. Moving an asset between folders preserves its shortcuts.

## Move, rename, and delete with confidence

Move and rename folders from the sidebar’s folder actions menu. Delete dialogs warn of any assets in use or when removing an asset will also clean up shortcuts in other folders.

![A dark-themed media library displays a "Delete folder" dialog for "Design Team," warning that 2 assets will be permanently deleted, including one in use and one shortcut from other folders.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/3do82whm/next/267838603a9e00ccd0ee56ae09e93194e54a5980-2864x1644.png)

## Filter and search by folder

Search has a new **Location** facet with folder operators, so you can scope a search to a specific folder, its descendants, or the entire library.

![A dark mode media library interface displaying assets, filtered by "Design Team", with the Sanity logo shown.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/3do82whm/next/f628455b0288b78cc05ebb84a1ed218524e01afe-2864x1644.png)

## Studio plugin remembers your location

When you open the Media Library asset picker from a Sanity Studio, it now returns to the folder you were last in, no more re-navigating from the root every time.

## Use folders programmatically

Folders are built on a new [hierarchy primitive in Content Lake](https://www.sanity.io/docs/content-lake/hierarchy), `sanity.tree`, `sanity.directory`, and `sanity.symlink` that you can drive from the standard `/mutate` and `/query` endpoints. See the [folders guide](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/folders) for the full setup.

## Filter assets by draft status

A new **Status** facet in the filter menu lets you filter assets by whether they have a draft. Combine it with the **Location** filter to scope a search to drafted assets within a specific folder, or use it on its own across the whole library.