--- description: Use R2 with S3-compatible SDKs like boto3 and the AWS SDK. title: S3 image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/og-docs.png --- [Skip to content](#main-content) > Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.cloudflare.com/r2/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # S3 Last updated Aug 31, 2026|Copy as Markdown| [View as Markdown](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/get-started/s3/index.md)| [Agent setup](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/) R2 provides support for a [S3-compatible API](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/api/s3/api/), which means you can use any S3 SDK, library, or tool to interact with your buckets. If you have existing code that works with S3, you can use it with R2 by changing the endpoint URL. ## 1. Create a bucket A bucket stores your objects in R2. To create a new R2 bucket: 1. Log in to your Cloudflare account: ```sh npx wrangler login ``` 2. Create a bucket named `my-bucket`: ```sh npx wrangler r2 bucket create my-bucket ``` If prompted, select the account you want to create the bucket in. 3. Verify the bucket was created: ```sh npx wrangler r2 bucket list ``` 1. In the Cloudflare Dashboard, go to **R2 object storage**. [Go to **Overview** ↗](https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/r2/overview) 2. Select **Create bucket**. 3. Enter a name for your bucket. 4. Select a [location](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/reference/data-location) for your bucket and a [default storage class](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/buckets/storage-classes/). 5. Select **Create bucket**. ## 2. Generate API credentials To use the S3 API, you need to generate [credentials](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/api/tokens/) and get an Access Key ID and Secret Access Key: 1. Go to the [Cloudflare Dashboard ↗](https://dash.cloudflare.com/). 2. Select **Storage & databases > R2 > Overview**. 3. Select **Manage** in API Tokens. 4. Select **Create Account API token** or **Create User API token** 5. Choose **Object Read & Write** permission and **Apply to specific buckets only** to select the buckets you want to access. 6. Select **Create API Token**. 7. Copy the **Access Key ID** and **Secret Access Key**. Store these securely as you cannot view the secret again. You also need your S3 API endpoint URL which you can find at the bottom of the Create API Token confirmation page once you have created your token, or on the R2 Overview page: ```txt https://.r2.cloudflarestorage.com ``` ## 3. Use an AWS SDK The following examples show how to use Python and JavaScript SDKs. For other languages, refer to [S3-compatible SDK examples](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/examples/aws/) for [Go](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/examples/aws/aws-sdk-go/), [Java](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/examples/aws/aws-sdk-java/), [PHP](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/examples/aws/aws-sdk-php/), [Ruby](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/examples/aws/aws-sdk-ruby/), and [Rust](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/examples/aws/aws-sdk-rust/). 1. Install [boto3 ↗](https://boto3.amazonaws.com/v1/documentation/api/latest/index.html): ```sh pip install boto3 ``` 2. Create a test file to upload: ```sh echo 'Hello, R2!' > myfile.txt ``` 3. Use your credentials to create an S3 client and interact with your bucket: ```python import boto3 s3 = boto3.client( service_name='s3', # Provide your R2 endpoint: https://.r2.cloudflarestorage.com endpoint_url='https://.r2.cloudflarestorage.com', # Provide your R2 Access Key ID and Secret Access Key aws_access_key_id='', aws_secret_access_key='', region_name='auto', # Required by boto3, not used by R2 ) # Upload a file s3.upload_file('myfile.txt', 'my-bucket', 'myfile.txt') print('Uploaded myfile.txt') # Download a file s3.download_file('my-bucket', 'myfile.txt', 'downloaded.txt') print('Downloaded to downloaded.txt') # List objects response = s3.list_objects_v2(Bucket='my-bucket') for obj in response.get('Contents', []): print(f"Object: {obj['Key']}") ``` 4. Save this as `example.py` and run it: ```sh python example.py ``` ```sh Uploaded myfile.txt Downloaded to downloaded.txt Object: myfile.txt ``` Refer to [boto3 examples](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/examples/aws/boto3/) for more operations. 1. Install the [@aws-sdk/client-s3 ↗](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@aws-sdk/client-s3) package: ```sh npm install @aws-sdk/client-s3 ``` 2. Use your credentials to create an S3 client and interact with your bucket: ```js import { S3Client, PutObjectCommand, GetObjectCommand, ListObjectsV2Command, } from "@aws-sdk/client-s3"; const s3 = new S3Client({ region: "auto", // Required by AWS SDK, not used by R2 // Provide your R2 endpoint: https://.r2.cloudflarestorage.com endpoint: "https://.r2.cloudflarestorage.com", credentials: { // Provide your R2 Access Key ID and Secret Access Key accessKeyId: "", secretAccessKey: "", }, }); // Upload a file await s3.send( new PutObjectCommand({ Bucket: "my-bucket", Key: "myfile.txt", Body: "Hello, R2!", }), ); console.log("Uploaded myfile.txt"); // Download a file const response = await s3.send( new GetObjectCommand({ Bucket: "my-bucket", Key: "myfile.txt", }), ); const content = await response.Body.transformToString(); console.log("Downloaded:", content); // List objects const list = await s3.send( new ListObjectsV2Command({ Bucket: "my-bucket", }), ); console.log( "Objects:", list.Contents.map((obj) => obj.Key), ); ``` 3. Save this as `example.mjs` and run it: ```sh node example.mjs ``` ```sh Uploaded myfile.txt Downloaded: Hello, R2! Objects: [ 'myfile.txt' ] ``` Refer to [AWS SDK for JavaScript examples](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/examples/aws/aws-sdk-js-v3/) for more operations. ## Next steps ### [Presigned URLs](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/api/s3/presigned-urls/) Generate temporary URLs for private object access. ### [Public buckets](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/buckets/public-buckets/) Serve files directly over HTTP with a public bucket. ### [CORS](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/buckets/cors/) Configure CORS for browser-based uploads. ### [Object lifecycles](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/r2/buckets/object-lifecycles/) Set up lifecycle rules to automatically delete old objects. Was this helpful? YesNo ## On this page [![](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/_astro/logo.te5VL_aD.svg)Docs](https://fec4cfc0.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","@id":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/r2/get-started/s3/#page","headline":"S3 · Cloudflare R2 docs","description":"Use R2 with S3-compatible SDKs like boto3 and the AWS SDK.","url":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/r2/get-started/s3/","inLanguage":"en","image":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/og-docs.png","dateModified":"2026-08-31","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Cloudflare","description":"One platform for your apps, agents, and workforce. 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