[aaronds]

Correct, I have no need for the original filename in most cases. If I did want this info, for example if I was building a file browser type thing (ala dropbox), then sure I'd keep that in the db.

Personally I'm uploading directly from the browser to S3 using presigned URL's. All files get uploaded to a /tmp directory in my bucket. This bucket is configured so that all files in /tmp are deleted after 1 day (to remove any unsaved uploads). When a form is submitted, I pass the key to the temporary file in the form (via e.g <input type="hidden" name="s3_key">) and create the associated database record. I then move the file from its temporary location to its permanent one upon saving said record.

Feel free to email me to continue this discussion - email address is on my profile.