Other S3-compatible storage

Use an S3 server you run yourself, like Ceph or SeaweedFS, or any other service that speaks the S3 protocol without its own preset. It has to support conditional writes, which setup checks. See Choosing storage.

To back up to a machine of your own without running an S3 server, Self-hosted storage is simpler. It only needs SSH.

#In setup

Run frost init, choose S3-compatible, then Other S3-compatible.

Setup asks	Answer
What is the S3 endpoint?	The host name from your server's or provider's docs. A host name on its own, without `https://`, means HTTPS
Which region?	Only if your server or provider asks for one. Leave it blank otherwise
What is the bucket name?	Its name, exactly as you created it. The bucket must already exist
Paste the Access Key ID.	From your server's or provider's console
Paste the Secret Access Key.	From your server's or provider's console

Frost keeps your backups in a frost folder inside the bucket.

#Servers you run

Server	What to know
Ceph	Its RADOS Gateway supports conditional writes. Give setup the gateway's address and port
SeaweedFS	Its S3 gateway documents conditional writes. Give setup its address, like `http://<server>:8333`
MinIO	It supports conditional writes but is no longer maintained, so it gets no fixes. An existing server still works if it passes setup's check. Give setup its address, like `https://<server>:9000`
Garage	It doesn't support conditional writes, so Frost can't use it

Create the bucket and an access key in the server's own tools first.

#A server without TLS

For a server on your own computer or network, give the endpoint with http://, like http://localhost:9000. That turns off TLS for every request, so only use it where you trust the network. Setting storage.s3.insecure to true selects HTTP when the endpoint has no scheme. An explicit https:// or http:// takes precedence.

#The folder inside the bucket

Frost keeps everything in one folder inside the bucket, frost by default. The full-screen setup doesn't ask about it.

After completing setup, to use another folder or the top of the bucket before your first backup:

Run frost config edit and change prefix under [storage.s3]. Leave it empty for the top of the bucket. Frost warns that there are no backups there yet. Type yes to save anyway.
Run frost init again. Its review screen warns that this starts a separate set of backups. Press [s] to go ahead.

If you already have backups, move them instead, as described in Moving your backups.