Purpose
Create and browse buckets, upload and download objects from the browser, and manage
per-bucket behavior (policy, versioning, object lock, lifecycle, CORS, encryption,
tags) without any CLI.
When you use it
- Moving a handful of files by hand.
- Creating a bucket before pointing a backup tool or SDK at it.
- Checking what’s actually stored, or cleaning up.
- Setting bucket-level rules: retention, expiry, cross-origin access.
Controls
Left panel
- Bucket count header (N BUCKETS) and a + New button.
- Search buckets… filter.
- Bucket list; each row has per-bucket rename (pencil) and settings (gear) icons.
- S3 Gateway Online / Disconnected status pill (bottom).
Empty state / connection card (shown only when zero buckets exist)
- Connect via S3 card: the S3 endpoint (
http://<host>:9000, port derived
from the S3 Gateway setting) and your access key, both with copy buttons. - Create new bucket button below the card — opens the create-bucket modal that
includes the Advanced → Enable versioning option (see below).
Bucket view
- Stat cards: Total Objects, Total Size (+folder count), Last Updated,
Share Status. When a bucket is shared, Share Status shows the protocol(s),
user/group counts, and a gear that opens the Share Manager (Share Manager itself
requires the SMB addon to be installed). - Upload Files/Folders dropzone — click to choose or drag & drop files or folders.
Every file is encrypted at the gateway and split across hundreds of storage providers. - Breadcrumb trail for folder navigation.
- Bucket header row with New Folder and Delete Bucket buttons.
- Files & Folders header with a settings (gear) button — a second way to open
Bucket Settings — and a list / grid view toggle. - File listing: in list view each row offers download, delete, and preview;
grid view offers preview/open only (no per-row download or delete). Folders show
item counts. Clicking a previewable file opens a full-screen viewer.
Create bucket — two entry points
- Left-panel + New: an inline dialog with a bucket name field only (no
versioning option). - Empty-state Create new bucket: a modal with bucket name plus
Advanced → Enable versioning checkbox. S3 naming rules apply (lowercase, no
spaces); the name is validated inline.
Bucket Settings (gear) — seven tabs
- Policy — bucket access policy as JSON (standard S3 policy document).
- Versioning — Not configured / Enabled / Suspended.
- Object Lock — WORM compliance. Irreversible: once enabled it cannot be
disabled, and it force-enables versioning. Default retention mode GOVERNANCE or
COMPLIANCE plus retention days; requires an explicit “I understand” checkbox. - Lifecycle — automated object expiration rules: rule id, enabled/disabled,
prefix filter (blank = all objects), tag filter, expiration days. Noncurrent-
version expiration and abort-incomplete-multipart become available only after
versioning is enabled. - CORS — allowed origins (comma-separated), methods (GET/POST/PUT/DELETE/HEAD),
allowed headers, expose headers, max age. - Encryption — informational: HostIO at-rest encryption (XChaCha20) is always
active on stored data; shows whether S3 server-side-encryption is additionally
configured on the bucket. - Tags — key/value bucket tags, up to 50.
Common tasks
- Create your first bucket: Buckets → + New → name it → Create Bucket.
- Upload from the browser: open the bucket → drop files on the dropzone.
- Connect a tool: copy endpoint + access key from the Connect via S3 card; the
secret key lives in Configure → Credentials. - Make a bucket immutable: gear → Object Lock → choose mode + days → tick the
acknowledgement → save. Do this only when you truly need WORM — it’s permanent. - Auto-expire old objects: gear → Lifecycle → add a rule with an expiration in
days (optionally scoped by prefix).
Gotchas
- Delete Bucket is destructive — objects go with it.
- Object Lock cannot be turned off. Ever. It also switches versioning on.
- You don’t need to configure encryption for protection: all data is encrypted at
the gateway before sharding regardless of the SSE setting. - Files uploaded here are attributed to your signed-in identity in the Audit Log;
files uploaded over S3 are attributed to the credential used. - Two create-bucket dialogs exist: the left-panel + New inline dialog takes only a
name, while the empty-state Create new bucket modal also offers the versioning
option. To enable versioning on a bucket made from + New, use Bucket Settings →
Versioning afterward. - Grid view has no per-file download or delete — switch to list view for those.
Screenshots
