S3-compatible API

Use Runpod’s S3-compatible API to access and manage your network volumes.

The S3-compatible API is currently in beta. If you’d like to provide feedback, please join our Discord.

Runpod provides an S3-protocol compatible API for direct access to your network volumes. This allows you to manage files on your network volumes without launching a Pod, reducing cost and operational friction.

Using the S3-compatible API does not affect pricing. Network volumes are billed hourly at $0.07/GB/month for the first 1TB, and $0.05/GB/month for additional storage.

Datacenter availability

The S3-compatible API is available for network volumes in select datacenters. Each datacenter has a unique endpoint URL that you’ll use when calling the API:

Datacenter	Endpoint URL
EUR-IS-1	https://s3api-eur-is-1.runpod.io/
EU-RO-1	https://s3api-eu-ro-1.runpod.io/

Create your network volume in a supported datacenter to use the S3-compatible API.

Setup and authentication

1. Create a network volume

   First, create a network volume in a supported datacenter. See Network volumes -> Create a network volume for detailed instructions.

2. Create an S3 API key

   Next, you’ll need to generate a new key called an “S3 API key” (this is separate from your Runpod API key).

   1. Go to the Settings page in the Runpod console.
   2. Expand S3 API Keys and select Create an S3 API key.
   3. Name your key and select Create.
   4. Save the access key (e.g., user_***...) and secret (e.g., rps_***...) to use in the next step.

   For security, Runpod will show your API key secret only once, so you may wish to save it elsewhere (e.g., in your password manager, or in a GitHub secret). Treat your API key secret like a password and don’t share it with anyone.

3. Configure AWS CLI

   To use the S3-compatible API with your Runpod network volumes, you must configure your AWS CLI with the Runpod S3 API key you created.

   1. If you haven’t already, install the AWS CLI on your local machine.
   2. Run the command aws configure in your terminal.
   3. Provide the following when prompted:
      • AWS Access Key ID: Enter your Runpod user ID. You can find this in the Secrets section of the Runpod console, in the description of your S3 API key. By default, the description will look similar to: Shared Secret for user_2f21CfO73Mm2Uq2lEGFiEF24IPw 1749176107073. user_2f21CfO73Mm2Uq2lEGFiEF24IPw is the user ID (yours will be different).
      • AWS Secret Access Key: Enter your Runpod S3 API key’s secret access key.
      • Default Region name: You can leave this blank.
      • Default output format: You can leave this blank or set it to json.

   This will configure the AWS CLI to use your Runpod S3 API key by storing these details in your AWS credentials file (typically at ~/.aws/credentials).

Using the S3-compatible API

You can use the S3-compatible API to interact with your Runpod network volumes using standard S3 tools:

• AWS s3 CLI.
• AWS s3api CLI.
• The Boto3 Python library.

Core AWS CLI operations such as ls, cp, mv, rm, and sync function as expected.

s3 CLI examples

When using aws s3 commands, you must pass in the endpoint URL for your network volume using the --endpoint-url flag.

Unlike traditional S3 key-value stores, object names in the Runpod S3-compatible API correspond to actual file paths on your network volume. Object names containing special characters (e.g., #) may need to be URL encoded to ensure proper processing.

List objects

Use ls to list objects in a network volume directory:

aws s3 ls --region [DATACENTER] \
    --endpoint-url https://s3api-[DATACENTER].runpod.io/ \ 
    s3://[NETWORK_VOLUME_ID]/[REMOTE_DIR]

ls operations may take a long time when used on a directory containing many files (over 10,000) or large amounts of data (over 10GB), or when used recursively on a network volume containing either.

Transfer files

Use cp to copy a file to a network volume:

aws s3 cp --region [DATACENTER] \
    --endpoint-url https://s3api-[DATACENTER].runpod.io/ \
    [LOCAL_FILE] \
    s3://[NETWORK_VOLUME_ID]

Use cp to copy a file from a network volume to a local directory:

aws s3 cp --region [DATACENTER] \
    --endpoint-url https://s3api-[DATACENTER].runpod.io/ \
    s3://[NETWORK_VOLUME_ID]/remote-file.txt ./[LOCAL_DIR]

Use rm to remove a file from a network volume:

aws s3 rm --region [DATACENTER] \
    --endpoint-url https://s3api-[DATACENTER].runpod.io/ \
    s3://[NETWORK_VOLUME_ID]/remote-file.txt

If you encounter a 502 “bad gateway” error during file transfer, try increasing AWS_MAX_ATTEMPTS to 10 or more:

export AWS_RETRY_MODE=standard
export AWS_MAX_ATTEMPTS=10

Sync directories

This command syncs a local directory (source) to a network volume directory (destination):

aws s3 sync --region [DATACENTER] \
    --endpoint-url https://s3api-[DATACENTER].runpod.io/ \
    ./[LOCAL_DIR] \
    s3://[NETWORK_VOLUME_ID]/[REMOTE_DIR]

s3api CLI example

You can also use aws s3api commands (instead of the aws s3) to interact with the S3-compatible API.

For example, here’s how you could use aws s3api get-object to download an object from a network volume:

aws s3api get-object --bucket [NETWORK_VOLUME_ID] \
    --key [REMOTE_FILE] \
    --region [DATACENTER] \
    --endpoint-url https://s3api-[DATACENTER].runpod.io/ \
    [LOCAL_FILE]

Replace [LOCAL_FILE] with the desired path and name of the file after download—for example: ~/local-dir/my-file.txt.

For a list of available s3api commands, see the AWS s3api reference.

Boto3 Python example

You can also use the Boto3 library to interact with the S3-compatible API, using it to transfer files to and from a Runpod network volume.

The script below demonstrates how to upload a file to a Runpod network volume using the Boto3 library. It takes command-line arguments for the network volume ID (as an S3 bucket), the datacenter-specific S3 endpoint URL, the local file path, the desired object (file path on the network volume), and the AWS Region (which corresponds to the Runpod datacenter ID).

Your Runpod S3 API key credentials must be set as environment variables using the values from the Setup and authentication step:

• AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: Should be set to your Runpod S3 API key access key (e.g., user_***...).
• AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: Should be set to your Runpod S3 API key’s secret (e.g., rps_***...).

#!/usr/bin/env python3

import os
import argparse
import boto3 # AWS SDK for Python, used to interact with Runpod S3-compatible APIs

def create_s3_client(region: str, endpoint_url: str):

    # Creates and returns an S3 client configured for Runpod network volume S3-compatible API.
    #
    # Args:
    #   region (str): The Runpod datacenter ID, used as the AWS region
    #                 (e.g., 'ca-qc-1').
    #   endpoint_url (str): The S3 endpoint URL for the specific Runpod datacenter
    #                       (e.g., 'https://ca-qc-1-s3api.runpod.io/').

    # Returns:
    #   boto3.client: An S3 client object, configured for the Runpod S3 API.

    # Retrieve Runpod S3 API key credentials from environment variables.
    aws_access_key_id = os.environ.get("AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID")
    aws_secret_access_key = os.environ.get("AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY")

    # Ensure necessary S3 API key credentials are set in the environment
    if not aws_access_key_id or not aws_secret_access_key:
        raise EnvironmentError(
            "Please set AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID (with S3 API Key Access Key) and "
            "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY (with S3 API Key Secret Access Key) environment variables. "
            "These are obtained from 'S3 API Keys' in the Runpod console settings."
        )

    # Initialize and return the S3 client for Runpod's S3-compatible API
    return boto3.client(
        "s3",
        aws_access_key_id=aws_access_key_id,
        aws_secret_access_key=aws_secret_access_key,
        region_name=region, # Corresponds to the Runpod datacenter ID
        endpoint_url=endpoint_url, # Datacenter-specific S3 API endpoint
    )

def put_object(s3_client, bucket_name: str, object_name: str, file_path: str):

    # Uploads a local file to the specified Runpod network volume.
    #
    # Args:
    #   s3_client: The S3 client object (e.g., returned by create_s3_client).
    #   bucket_name (str): The ID of the target Runpod network volume.
    #   object_name (str): The desired file path for the object on the network volume.
    #   file_path (str): The local path to the file that needs to be uploaded.

    try:
        # Attempt to upload the file to the Runpod network volume.
        s3_client.upload_file(file_path, bucket_name, object_name)
        print(f"Successfully uploaded '{file_path}' to Network Volume '{bucket_name}' as '{object_name}'")
    except Exception as e:
        # Catch any exception during upload, print an error, and re-raise
        print(f"Error uploading file '{file_path}' to Network Volume '{bucket_name}' as '{object_name}': {e}")
        raise

def main():

    # Parses command-line arguments and orchestrates the file upload process
    # to a Runpod network volume.

    # Set up command-line argument parsing
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
        description="Upload a file to a Runpod Network Volume using its S3-compatible API. "
                    "Requires AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY env vars to be set "
                    "with your Runpod S3 API key credentials."
    )
    parser.add_argument(
        "-b", "--bucket",
        required=True,
        help="The ID of your Runpod Network Volume (acts as the S3 bucket name)."
    )
    parser.add_argument(
        "-e", "--endpoint",
        required=True,
        help="The S3 endpoint URL for your Runpod datacenter (e.g., 'https://s3api-[DATACENTER].runpod.io/')."
    )
    parser.add_argument(
        "-f", "--file",
        required=True,
        help="The local path to the file to be uploaded."
    )
    parser.add_argument(
        "-o", "--object",
        required=True,
        help="The S3 object key (i.e., the desired file path on the Network Volume)."
    )
    parser.add_argument(
        "-r", "--region",
        required=True,
        help="The Runpod datacenter ID, used as the AWS region (e.g., 'ca-qc-1'). Find this in the Runpod console's Storage section or endpoint URL."
    )

    args = parser.parse_args()

    # Create the S3 client using the parsed arguments, configured for Runpod.
    client = create_s3_client(args.region, args.endpoint)

    # Upload the object to the specified network volume.
    put_object(client, args.bucket, args.object, args.file)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Example usage:

./s3_example_put.py --endpoint https://s3api-eur-is-1.runpod.io/ \
    --region 'EUR-IS-1' \
    --bucket 'network_volume_id' \
    --object 'path/to/model_file.bin' \
    --file 'model_file.bin'

Supported S3 actions

The S3-compatible API supports the following operations. For detailed information on each, refer to the AWS S3 API documentation.

Operation	Description
CopyObject	Copy objects between locations.
DeleteObject	Remove objects.
GetObject	Download objects.
HeadBucket	Verify bucket exists and you have permissions.
HeadObject	Retrieve object metadata.
ListBuckets	List available buckets.
ListObjects	List objects in a bucket.
PutObject	Upload objects.
CreateMultipartUpload	Start a multipart upload for large files.
UploadPart	Upload a part of a multipart upload.
CompleteMultipartUpload	Finish a multipart upload.
AbortMultipartUpload	Cancel a multipart upload.
ListMultipartUploads	View in-progress multipart uploads.

Large file handling is supported through multipart uploads, allowing you to transfer files larger than 5GB.

ListObjects operations may take a long time when used on a directory containing many files (over 10,000) or large amounts of data (over 10GB), or when used recursively on a network volume containing either.

Limitations

Storage and time synchronization

• Storage capacity: Network volumes have a fixed storage capacity, unlike the virtually unlimited storage of standard S3 buckets. The CopyObject and UploadPart actions do not check for available free space beforehand and may fail if the volume runs out of space.
• Maximum file size: 4TB (the maximum size of a network volume).
• Object names: Unlike traditional S3 key-value stores, object names in the Runpod S3-compatible API correspond to actual file paths on your network volume. Object names containing special characters (e.g., #) may need to be URL encoded to ensure proper processing.
• Time synchronization: Requests that are out of time sync by 1 hour will be rejected. This is more lenient than the 15-minute window specified by the AWS SigV4 authentication specification.

Multipart uploads

• The S3-compatible API enforces a 500MB maximum on upload part size.
• The 5MB minimum part size for multipart uploads is not enforced.
• Parts from multipart uploads are stored on disk until either CompleteMultipartUpload or AbortMultipartUpload is called.

Unsupported S3 features

• Object versioning.
• Object encryption.
• Object tagging.
• Object ACLs.
• Object locking.
• Website redirects.
• Storage classes besides STANDARD.

Reference documentation

For comprehensive documentation on AWS S3 commands and libraries, refer to:

• AWS CLI S3 reference.
• AWS S3 API reference.
• Boto3 S3 reference.