What is S3-compatible storage?

S3-compatible storage is object storage that accepts the same programming interface as Amazon S3. A tool that can talk to S3 can talk to it too, usually after changing the address and keys. Cloudflare R2, Wasabi, Backblaze B2, DigitalOcean Spaces and MinIO are examples.

Why it matters

Amazon S3 became the common way for software to talk to object storage, so many other providers adopted its interface. For you, that means choice. You can pick a provider on price and location and keep using the same tools.

Compatible doesn't mean identical

Providers differ in the details. Some don't support every feature of S3, and they make files public in different ways. Some take a permission on each file, and others set it on the whole bucket. Those differences are why setup steps differ by provider.

What you need to connect one

Usually four things: an access key, a secret key, a bucket name, and an endpoint or region. Some providers also ask for path-style addresses, where the bucket name goes in the path.

How Offloft handles this

Offloft has a step-by-step guide for each provider it knows and a general guide for the rest. Its connection test uses your real bucket, so you find out right away whether a provider works.