S3-Compatible Object Storage

Amazon S3 introduced the object storage API pattern in 2006, and its interface has become the de facto standard. S3-compatible services store data as objects in buckets, offering scalable, durable storage accessed via a unified REST API. Because the API is standardized, applications can switch providers without code changes — making vendor lock-in avoidable.

Open-source S3-compatible implementations:

Garage — lightweight, distributed S3-compatible storage designed for self-hosting. Written in Rust, geo-distributed by design. No feature gating, no dual licensing. AGPL v3.

SeaweedFS — fast distributed storage for billions of files. Supports S3, WebDAV, and POSIX. Written in Go. Enterprise adds self-healing and custom erasure coding. Apache 2.0.

LakeFS — Git-like version control for object storage. Branches, commits, and merges for data lakes. Enterprise adds SSO, RBAC, and HA. Apache 2.0.

Managed S3-compatible services include Cloudflare R2 (zero egress fees), Backblaze B2, and DigitalOcean Spaces.