Lesson 9 / 26

S3 Basics: Buckets & Objects

Object storage for practically unlimited files.

Buckets and objects

S3 (Simple Storage Service) stores files as objects inside globally-unique-named buckets. Each object has a key (its path-like name), the data, and metadata.

An infinite filing cabinet

Think of a bucket as an infinite filing cabinet with a unique label. You can drop any file in at any 'path', fetch it by name over HTTP, and never worry about running out of drawers.

What it's used for

S3 is used for backups, static websites, images/videos, data lakes, and as a durable landing zone for logs — designed for 11 nines of durability.