Cloudflare Stream's 30 GB upload cap vs Sume's per-source media limit

By default a Cloudflare Stream video upload can be at most 30 GB. Sume's media tools, which work on a clip already on media.sume.com, refuse a source over the timeline download budget with source_too_large, and in the API code that budget is 300 MiB per source. A 30 GB master has to be encoded down by a tool outside Sume before the Sume media tools can touch it.

Cloudflare's limit and its encoding advice are on its Stream FAQ, read 2026-10-03. The Sume refusal code is on the video filter page.

What Cloudflare asks for

The FAQ gives the upload ceiling and then lists recommended input settings rather than strict requirements. It does not list every accepted codec.

The gap between the two limits

A 30 GB file is a studio master. Sume's per-source cap is about one hundredth of that, so the two systems sit at different points in a pipeline. Cloudflare is where a finished, long video lives. Sume's tools are for preparing and assembling clips: trim, filter, frames, detach and timeline.

The result is a practical split. Keep the master where it is. Export or encode the segments you want to edit into files under the cap, import those, and finish in Sume.

Getting under the cap

The API has no option to relax the cap, and Sume's docs describe no size or bitrate target for trim. Reducing the file must happen before import. Options that work with what the docs say:

• Cut the range you need with a local editor or encoder first, so the imported file is only the part you will use.
• Lower the resolution and frame rate at export, since a smaller frame gives a smaller file.
• Import with POST /v1/media-imports, then use video trim for the final cut and output (256 to 2160 per side) for a last downscale.

Check before you spend

Video filter has a free check endpoint that runs the same source preflight as the encode, so an off-host or non-video source shows up in diagnostics[] without a charge. Use it on a candidate clip, then submit the paid job. The check does not boot an encoder or reserve credits.

After the cut, read the result duration_seconds and byte size and compare with the destination you care about. Cloudflare's own settings in the table are a good export target for the upload side.

Keeping the master safe

Nothing in this flow changes the master. Sume's tools return new artifacts, and Cloudflare keeps the upload. Treat the Sume files as working copies for editing and the Stream copy as the archive.

If you later need a longer cut than one file can hold, assemble several imported files with Timeline 1.0, which takes up to 200 video slots and an audio spine of up to 1800 seconds.