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Install & Configure s3cmd

This guide walks you through installing and configuring s3cmd, an S3‑compatible command‑line client you can use to manage buckets and objects.

What you’ll need

  • Your S3 Access Key ID and Secret Access Key.

S3 Gateway

To manage your storage, you can use the S3 Gateway endpoint directly or use the button below to open it:

🪣S3 Gateway

Install s3cmd

macOS (Homebrew)

bash
brew install s3cmd

Debian/Ubuntu

bash
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y s3cmd
# If not available or you prefer Python tools:
# python3 -m pip install --user s3cmd

RHEL/CentOS/Rocky/Alma

bash
sudo dnf install -y s3cmd
# or on older systems: sudo yum install -y s3cmd

Windows

  • Option 1: Use WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) and follow the Linux instructions inside your distro.
  • Option 2: Install Python and use pip:
    bash
    py -m pip install --user s3cmd
    Make sure your Python user Scripts directory is on PATH.

Configure s3cmd

Run the interactive configuration:

bash
s3cmd --configure

When prompted, provide:

  • Access Key and Secret Key
  • Default Region (if applicable)
  • S3 Endpoint (Host): your provider’s endpoint, e.g. s3.example.cloud
  • DNS‑style vs. Path‑style buckets:
    • Path‑style (common with some S3‑compatible services):
      • host_base: s3.example.cloud
      • host_bucket: s3.example.cloud
    • Virtual‑host style:
      • host_base: s3.example.cloud
      • host_bucket: %(bucket)s.s3.example.cloud
  • Signature version: choose the one your provider supports (SigV4 is common; some require V2).
  • Use HTTPS: Yes (recommended)

You can also edit the config file directly (typically ~/.s3cfg). Minimal example:

s3cfg
[default]
access_key = <YOUR_ACCESS_KEY_ID>
secret_key = <YOUR_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>
host_base = rgw.storage.ams-01.eu-c1-tst.stud-io.cloud/
host_bucket = rgw.storage.ams-01.eu-c1-tst.stud-io.cloud/
use_https = True

Test your setup

List your buckets:

bash
s3cmd ls

If this returns a list of buckets (or an empty list without errors), your configuration is working. You can now upload files: see Upload Objects to a Bucket (s3cmd).