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Connect to Amazon S3

Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) provides scalable object storage for files such as user uploads, backups, and static assets. This guide covers connecting your Appliku application to S3 or any S3-compatible storage service.

Use Cases

  • Store user-uploaded media files outside your server
  • Serve static assets from a CDN-backed bucket
  • Store database backups offsite
  • Share files between multiple application instances

Step 1: Install Dependencies

Add the following to your requirements.txt:

django-storages
boto3

Step 2: Create an S3 Bucket

In the AWS Management Console:

  1. Go to S3 and click Create bucket
  2. Choose a unique bucket name and region
  3. Configure public access settings based on your needs
  4. Create the bucket

Step 3: Create IAM Credentials

Create an IAM user with programmatic access and attach a policy that grants access to your bucket:

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "s3:PutObject",
                "s3:GetObject",
                "s3:DeleteObject",
                "s3:ListBucket"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "arn:aws:s3:::your-bucket-name",
                "arn:aws:s3:::your-bucket-name/*"
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Step 4: Set Environment Variables

In your application's Environment Variables tab, add the following:

Variable Value
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID Your IAM access key
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY Your IAM secret key
AWS_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME Your bucket name
AWS_S3_REGION_NAME Bucket region (e.g., us-east-1)

Note

Never hard-code credentials in your source code. Always use environment variables.

Step 5: Configure Django Settings

# settings.py
import os

DEFAULT_FILE_STORAGE = "storages.backends.s3boto3.S3Boto3Storage"

AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID = os.environ.get("AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID")
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = os.environ.get("AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY")
AWS_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME = os.environ.get("AWS_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME")
AWS_S3_REGION_NAME = os.environ.get("AWS_S3_REGION_NAME", "us-east-1")

# Optional settings
AWS_S3_FILE_OVERWRITE = False
AWS_DEFAULT_ACL = None
AWS_QUERYSTRING_AUTH = True

Using S3-Compatible Services

django-storages works with any service that implements the S3 API. Add the AWS_S3_ENDPOINT_URL environment variable to point to your provider:

Provider Endpoint URL Example
DigitalOcean Spaces https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com
MinIO https://minio.example.com
Backblaze B2 https://s3.us-west-002.backblazeb2.com 
# settings.py
AWS_S3_ENDPOINT_URL = os.environ.get("AWS_S3_ENDPOINT_URL")  # Only needed for non-AWS providers

Tip

DigitalOcean Spaces is a popular and cost-effective alternative to AWS S3. The configuration is identical -- just set the endpoint URL and use your Spaces credentials.

Step 6: Deploy

Save your environment variables and deploy. Your application will now store uploaded files on S3 instead of the local filesystem.