Manage provider presets

A provider preset supplies a new account’s initial settings: regions and endpoints, default region, protocol and port, server-side copy domain, capabilities, and compatibility policies. Once created, the account keeps its own editable configuration. S3Client uses that configuration, not the provider name, to determine available features.

The two built-in presets are Amazon S3 and S3-compatible storage. The latter is a starting point to adapt to your service: the initial endpoint is localhost, the signing region is us-east-1, and optional capabilities are disabled. Installed custom presets appear alongside these presets.

Presets and account exports#

A preset never contains access keys, secrets, AWS profile names, service account IDs, bucket lists, or local bucket settings. It also omits the account comment, saved ACL grantees, KMS key favorites, and local permission to make direct copies with other accounts. Its name becomes the initial name of a new account.

A preset created from an account is first saved locally in S3Client. Export selected preset… creates an unencrypted, password-free JSON file when you need one.

The file includes the copy domain and the ACL policy’s predefined groups. It can reveal your service addresses and some of their settings. Check this information before sharing it.

To move an account with its personal settings and optionally its secrets, use Import and export accounts. Both file types can use the .s3client.json extension, but they have separate import actions: Manage accounts > Import accounts… in Accounts and Import preset… in Providers.

Install and use a preset#

Before using a preset, check that its endpoints and capabilities match your service. Installation does not test a connection or grant permissions.

On the download page, Copy link copies the full JSON URL and briefly displays Link copied. Download saves the same file for local import.

URL accepts HTTP or HTTPS links without embedded credentials. Downloads use S3Client’s configured proxy, stay in memory and do not create a local file. Loading… indicates an active download; the source fields are disabled while it runs, and Cancel stops it. Downloads are limited to 48 MiB, 60 seconds in total and five redirects; HTTPS-to-HTTP redirects are rejected. The downloaded document undergoes the same validation as a local file, including the preset’s 32 MiB limit. Changing the source or editing the path or URL clears the previously loaded document; load it again before installing it.

Install provider or Replace provider saves the preset without changing existing accounts or asking for another confirmation. To update selected accounts after importing, use Apply to accounts… in Providers, as described below.

1. In the main window, choose File > Accounts…, then click Manage accounts > Providers….
2. In Providers, click Import preset….
3. In Import provider preset, File is selected by default. Click Browse… or enter a local file path; S3Client reads the file when you leave the field. For a direct link, select URL, paste it, and click Load.
4. Check the name under Provider preset, then click Install provider or Replace provider.
5. Back in Accounts, click New….
6. In New account, select the preset under Provider and click OK.
7. Enter the name and credentials in Account, check the settings, use Test connection, and save with OK.

Preset files do not require a source password. A file that is not a provider preset is rejected under Provider import error; download failures appear under Import error. Installation failures also appear under Provider import error. A name cannot match Amazon S3 or S3-compatible storage, regardless of case, or another custom preset with a different identity. Each document is limited to 32 MiB; local storage accepts up to 1,000 custom presets and 16 MiB of data.

Apply a preset to existing accounts#

Applying a preset replaces the checked accounts’ capabilities, compatibility policies, general request limits, and Object Lock settings. It preserves their internal IDs, names, comments, enabled states, service account IDs, credential sources and secrets, buckets and local bucket settings, saved ACL grantees, KMS favorites, and local permission for direct copies. The vault can stay locked. The applied preset becomes the reference shown in the account editor; later updates to that preset are not applied automatically.

Replace connection settings is unchecked by default. Regions and all their settings, the default region, protocol, port, and server-side copy domains are then preserved. Check this option to replace them with the preset’s values too. This can overwrite custom endpoints and make a saved bucket connection incompatible, so check the service settings before applying it. Preset policies are replaced in full, including their region and endpoint assignments; these are not automatically adapted to the addresses you keep. Applying a preset does not test the connection or grant service permissions.

You can apply installed Custom presets and Built-in presets. To apply a preset received as a file, import it into Providers first.

1. Open File > Accounts… > Manage accounts > Providers….
2. Select the preset and click Apply to accounts….
3. In Apply provider preset, check the accounts to update. Use Account, Current preset, and Default endpoint to identify them. Accounts with the same preset ID appear first, but none are checked automatically. Other accounts remain selectable.
4. Choose whether to enable Replace connection settings. Check the selected-account count.
5. Click Apply to accounts. At least one account must be checked to enable the button. No additional confirmation is requested. Cancel closes this dialog without changing accounts.
6. To check the result, open an updated account from Accounts and review its capabilities and connection settings.

The checked accounts are saved together: an application failure cannot leave only part of the batch updated. If Preset application error reports that accounts have changed, click Reload, review the refreshed list and the retained checks for accounts that still exist, then retry. An empty or unavailable list prevents application. Applying a preset to accounts does not change the installed preset.

Choose a Google Cloud Storage preset#

The download page offers two files for the Google XML API. Choose the one matching the access mode of the buckets you use:

Google rejects ACL requests on buckets with uniform access. Selecting a preset does not change the bucket’s access mode in Google Cloud. The ACL policy applies to the entire S3Client account; use separate accounts to retain the respective capabilities of Fine-grained and Uniform buckets. S3Client does not select a policy automatically for each bucket. Google Cloud Storage uniform bucket-level access.

After installing the preset and creating the account, enter a Google HMAC key’s access ID and secret in the S3 access fields. A Google API key or service account JSON file cannot replace these two values. The files preconfigure HTTPS at storage.googleapis.com, Signature Version 4, signing region auto, and path-style access. The identity still needs the required permissions. Google HMAC keys.

Both files assume buckets without hierarchical namespace, with STANDARD as the default storage class and Autoclass disabled. If the default class differs, adjust Account > Capabilities > Storage classes > Default class and Assignments for those buckets. STANDARD, NEARLINE, COLDLINE, and ARCHIVE are offered for uploads and ordinary copies; all remain directly readable without an S3 restore. Google Cloud Storage classes.

Change storage class on the same object is disabled in both files: properties and Rewrite storage class cannot change the class by copying back to the same key. This does not prevent choosing a class for an upload or a copy to another key. Both files also disable S3 logging APIs, so Access logging is hidden. These settings describe the operations available through S3Client, rather than every feature Google provides.

Replace, export, or remove a preset#

Each preset file contains an identifier that S3Client uses to recognize it. If a preset with that identifier is already installed, importing the file offers Replace provider, even if its name has changed. Clicking this button replaces the installed preset without another confirmation.

Replacement alone changes the defaults offered to future accounts. To update existing accounts, use Apply to accounts… in Providers after importing. In the account editor, Restore Defaults on Regions can also use the regions from the new version of the preset: check them before saving.

To export an installed custom preset:

1. Open File > Accounts… > Manage accounts > Providers….
2. In Providers, select a row whose type is Custom.
3. Click Export selected preset… and choose the .s3client.json file to create.
4. If Replace file appears, check the path and click Yes to overwrite the existing file, or No to keep it.
5. Check that the file was created. A write failure appears under Provider export error; the installed preset remains available.

To remove a preset, select its Custom row in Providers, click Remove…, then confirm with Remove in Remove provider. Cancel keeps it. Built-in rows can neither be exported nor removed. Existing accounts keep their settings and capabilities after removal; the provider is simply no longer offered for new accounts. Any previously exported file remains on disk.

Custom providers are unavailable. means the custom preset storage cannot be read. Built-in presets remain available; consult the technical details before retrying.

An invalid locally stored preset, or one using an unsupported schema, is skipped individually together with its account associations; other presets remain available. When valid entries share an ID or name, the first is kept. Reading does not change the file; a normal change to the store removes skipped entries. A corrupt top-level store or one using a future version is rejected as a whole and is never overwritten. File import remains strict: invalid presets and unsupported versions are rejected.

Create a preset from an account#

First prepare and save the source account with the service settings you want to distribute. Pay particular attention to regions and connections and capabilities.

More > Save as provider preset… saves the account settings as a local preset. It does not create a file to share. The credential vault can remain locked because this action reads the account settings, not its secrets.

The dialog offers Create a new preset and Update an installed preset. If a custom preset is already associated with the account, or the account was created from a custom preset that is still installed, the matching update is preselected. Otherwise, creation is preselected. You can change modes before saving. Updating replaces the chosen preset for future accounts; it does not change existing accounts.

1. In File > Accounts…, select the source account.
2. Click More > Save as provider preset….
3. In Save account as provider preset, choose Create a new preset and enter a Preset name, or choose Update an installed preset and select the Installed preset. The name is editable only when creating a preset.
4. Click Create preset or Update preset, depending on the chosen mode.
5. Open Manage accounts > Providers… and check that the preset appears with type Custom. It is also available under Provider when you create an account.

When creating a preset, Preset name initially contains the account name. It cannot be empty or already used by another preset; Preset name required and Preset already exists prompt you to correct it. Updating keeps the chosen preset’s name. Save failures appear under Provider preset error.

The preset uses the saved account’s effective settings, including your changes. The source account’s name and configuration are unchanged. To get a file to share, export the preset from Providers with Export selected preset….

An exported file contains neither the source account’s secrets nor account-specific bucket settings. Still, check endpoints, the copy domain, and other settings before sharing it.

File format#

Presets accept only schema 1.0. Files declaring any other version are rejected during import; no conversion is performed.

Updating a preset does not automatically reconfigure accounts already created from it. They retain their settings until you explicitly apply the preset to them.