Action: S3 / Cloud Storage (s3_api)

This node allows an automation to read, write, delete, or manage files and folders in an S3 bucket (Amazon S3 or any compatible service such as MinIO, Wasabi, Backblaze B2, etc.). Use it to save evidence, download configuration files, archive recordings, or any workflow that requires interaction with cloud storage.

When to use it?

• When an automation must upload evidence or snapshots (camera photos, event logs) to an S3 bucket.
• When you need to download a configuration file or template from S3 to process it within the flow.
• When you want to archive video recordings or access reports in external storage.
• When an audit flow requires deleting expired files from a retention bucket.
• When you need to list or search for files to make dynamic decisions within the flow.
• When using MinIO or another S3-compatible service installed on-premise at the site.

If you need to send the file by email, combine this node with the Action: Send Email node. If the file comes from a camera or sensor URL, first use an HTTP node to fetch it, then upload it with this node.

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How to configure it

Step 0) Open the parameter form

• On the automations canvas, double-click the S3 API node.
• A modal opens with two tabs: Form and JSON Editor. Use Form unless you are an advanced user.

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Step 1) Configure AWS credentials

The node requires credentials of type AWS to connect to the bucket.

• Use the credential selector to choose an existing credential or create a new one.
• Credentials securely store:

Field	Description	Example
Access Key ID	Access key for AWS or the compatible S3 service	AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE
Secret Access Key	Corresponding secret key	wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/...
Region	Bucket region (for AWS) or any value (for S3-compatible services)	us-east-1, eu-west-1
Endpoint	S3 server URL (required only for compatible services)	https://minio.installation.com

For official Amazon S3, leave the Endpoint field empty — the system uses the standard AWS URL. For MinIO or other S3-compatible services, the Endpoint is required.

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Step 2) Force Path Style (S3-compatible services only)

The Force Path Style switch changes the URL format the node uses to access the bucket.

State	Generated URL	When to use
Off	https://my-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/file.jpg	Standard Amazon S3
On	https://minio.host.com/my-bucket/file.jpg	MinIO, Backblaze, Wasabi, Cloudflare R2

• Off by default (compatible with AWS).
• Enable it if you use a custom S3 server (MinIO, etc.).

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Step 3) Choose the action

The Action field defines what operation the node performs on the bucket. There are 12 available operations:

Bucket Operations

Action	What it does	Additional required fields
List Buckets	Lists all buckets accessible with the credentials	None
Create Bucket	Creates a new bucket with the specified name	Bucket Name
Delete Bucket	Deletes a bucket (must be empty)	Bucket Name
Search Bucket	Searches buckets whose name contains the specified term	Search Term

File Operations

Action	What it does	Additional required fields
List Files	Lists files inside a bucket (with optional prefix)	Bucket Name, Prefix (optional), Max Results
Upload File	Uploads a file from a URL to a bucket	Bucket Name, Key, File URL, Content Type
Download File	Downloads a file from the bucket (passes it to the next node)	Bucket Name, Key
Copy File	Copies a file from one bucket/path to another	Source Bucket, Source Key, Dest Bucket, Dest Key
Delete File	Deletes a file from the bucket	Bucket Name, Key

Folder Operations

Action	What it does	Additional required fields
List Folders	Lists folders inside a bucket with a given prefix	Bucket Name, Prefix (optional), Max Results
Create Folder	Creates a "folder" (empty object with / at the end of the name)	Bucket Name, Prefix
Delete Folder	Deletes a folder and its contents	Bucket Name, Prefix

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Step 4) Fill in the fields based on the action

Fields appear and disappear automatically based on the selected action.

Common fields

Field	Description	Example
Bucket Name	Exact name of the bucket being operated on	camera-evidence-2024
Key	Path and filename of the object inside the bucket	north-zone/cam01-20240506.jpg
Prefix	Prefix to filter files or folders (acts as a folder path)	recordings/january/
Max Results	Maximum number of results in listings (0 = no limit)	500

Upload-specific fields

Field	Description	Example
File URL	Public or reachable URL of the file to upload	https://cam01.local/snapshot.jpg
Content Type	MIME type of the file (important for correct browser download behavior)	image/jpeg, application/pdf

Copy-specific fields

Field	Description	Example
Source Bucket	Origin bucket	evidence-raw
Source Key	Path of the file to copy	north-zone/event-001.mp4
Dest Bucket	Destination bucket	archived-evidence
Dest Key	Path of the copied file in the dest	2024/may/north-zone-001.mp4

Search-specific field

Field	Description	Example
Search Term	Text to search for in bucket names	cameras-north

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Best practices

• Use minimum-privilege credentials: if the node only uploads files, the credential does not need delete or bucket-creation permissions.
• Name keys with folder structure: zone/date/event.jpg is easier to audit than file123.jpg.
• Set Content Type correctly: in Upload File, an incorrect content_type may prevent files from opening in the browser or reporting system.
• Use Max Results to limit large listings: in buckets with thousands of files, an unlimited listing can slow down the flow.
• For on-premise MinIO: always enable Force Path Style and configure the Endpoint with the internal server URL.
• Do not use the same bucket for temporary files and long-term retention: separate by retention type into different buckets.
• Test credentials first with List Buckets: it is the safest operation to verify the connection works.

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Troubleshooting (common issues)

• Node fails with authentication error (403)
• Verify that the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key are correct.
• Make sure the AWS credential has permissions for the operation being executed.

• Confirm that the Region matches the bucket region in AWS.

• Node fails with "No such bucket" or "Bucket not found"

• Check that the Bucket Name is spelled exactly right (case-sensitive).

• Verify that the credential has access to that specific bucket.

• Cannot connect to server (timeout or connection refused)

• For S3-compatible services (MinIO), verify that the Endpoint is reachable from the automation server.
• Check that Force Path Style is enabled if using MinIO or another compatible service.

• Verify that the endpoint uses https:// or http:// as appropriate.

• File uploads but cannot be opened correctly

• Check the Content Type field. For JPEG images use image/jpeg, for PDF use application/pdf.

• List Files returns empty results but the bucket has files

• If a Prefix is configured, verify that it matches the actual file path.

• A prefix north-zone/ only lists files whose path starts exactly with north-zone/.

• Delete Bucket fails with "BucketNotEmpty" error

• The bucket must be empty before deleting it. Delete the files first or use Delete File in a loop.

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Advanced configuration (JSON Editor) — expert users only

The JSON Editor tab allows you to view and directly edit the node structure. Useful for copying configurations between flows or instances.

Full input structure

{
  "endpoint": "https://minio.installation.com",
  "region": "/**$credential(\"region\", 1)**/",
  "access_key_id": "/**$credential(\"access_key_id\", 1)**/",
  "secret_access_key": "/**$credential(\"secret_access_key\", 1)**/",
  "force_path_style": false,
  "action": "upload_file",
  "bucket_name": "camera-evidence",
  "key": "north-zone/cam01-20240506.jpg",
  "file_url": "https://cam01.local/snapshot.jpg",
  "content_type": "image/jpeg",
  "search_term": "",
  "source_bucket": "",
  "source_key": "",
  "dest_bucket": "",
  "dest_key": "",
  "prefix": "",
  "max_results": 0
}

All fields table

Field	Type	Required by	Description
endpoint	string	S3-compatible (MinIO, etc.)	S3 server URL. Empty for official Amazon S3
region	string	Always	Bucket region (credential reference)
access_key_id	string	Always	Access key (credential reference)
secret_access_key	string	Always	Secret key (credential reference)
force_path_style	boolean	S3-compatible	true for MinIO and other S3-compatible services
action	string	Always	One of the 12 available actions
bucket_name	string	Most actions (except search, copy, list_buckets)	Bucket name
search_term	string	search_bucket	Text to search in bucket names
key	string	upload_file, download_file, delete_file	Full path of the file in the bucket
source_bucket	string	copy_file	Origin bucket for the copy
source_key	string	copy_file	Path of the file to copy
dest_bucket	string	copy_file	Destination bucket for the copy
dest_key	string	copy_file	Path of the file in the destination
file_url	string	upload_file	URL of the file to upload to the bucket
content_type	string	upload_file	MIME type of the file (e.g.: image/jpeg)
prefix	string	get_many_files, create_folder, delete_folder, get_many_folders	Folder prefix/path
max_results	number	get_many_files, get_many_folders	Results limit. 0 = no limit

The access_key_id, secret_access_key, region, and endpoint fields are credential references when configured from the form. Do not put plain-text keys in the JSON.

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JSON examples by use case

Upload an image to the evidence bucket

{
  "endpoint": "",
  "region": "/**$credential(\"region\", 5)**/",
  "access_key_id": "/**$credential(\"access_key_id\", 5)**/",
  "secret_access_key": "/**$credential(\"secret_access_key\", 5)**/",
  "force_path_style": false,
  "action": "upload_file",
  "bucket_name": "security-evidence",
  "key": "north-zone/camera01-2024-05-06.jpg",
  "file_url": "https://cam01.local/api/snapshot",
  "content_type": "image/jpeg"
}

List files from a month in on-premise MinIO

{
  "endpoint": "http://minio.internal.installation:9000",
  "region": "/**$credential(\"region\", 3)**/",
  "access_key_id": "/**$credential(\"access_key_id\", 3)**/",
  "secret_access_key": "/**$credential(\"secret_access_key\", 3)**/",
  "force_path_style": true,
  "action": "get_many_files",
  "bucket_name": "cctv-recordings",
  "prefix": "2024/may/",
  "max_results": 200
}

Copy a file to historical archive bucket

{
  "endpoint": "",
  "region": "/**$credential(\"region\", 5)**/",
  "access_key_id": "/**$credential(\"access_key_id\", 5)**/",
  "secret_access_key": "/**$credential(\"secret_access_key\", 5)**/",
  "force_path_style": false,
  "action": "copy_file",
  "source_bucket": "active-evidence",
  "source_key": "event-2024-001/video.mp4",
  "dest_bucket": "historical-archive-2024",
  "dest_key": "may/event-001/video.mp4"
}

Delete file from temporary bucket

{
  "endpoint": "",
  "region": "/**$credential(\"region\", 5)**/",
  "access_key_id": "/**$credential(\"access_key_id\", 5)**/",
  "secret_access_key": "/**$credential(\"secret_access_key\", 5)**/",
  "force_path_style": false,
  "action": "delete_file",
  "bucket_name": "temporary-evidence",
  "key": "tmp/snapshot-20240101.jpg"
}

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Quick guides (recipes)

Recipe A — "Upload camera photo when an alarm triggers"

• Action: Upload File
• Bucket Name: alarm-evidence
• Key: north-zone/{{date}}-{{event-id}}.jpg
• File URL: Camera snapshot URL
• Content Type: image/jpeg
• Result: the evidence is automatically saved to S3 when the alarm fires

Recipe B — "Archive last week's recordings"

• Action: List Files → then Copy File for each file → then Delete File
• Bucket Name: active-recordings
• Prefix: last-week/
• Dest Bucket: historical-archive
• Result: recordings are moved to the archive bucket without manual intervention

Recipe C — "Download configuration from S3 when a flow starts"

• Action: Download File
• Bucket Name: installation-configs
• Key: devices/camera-profile.json
• Result: the configuration file is available for the next node in the flow

Recipe D — "Check if a report exists before generating it"

• Action: List Files
• Bucket Name: monthly-reports
• Prefix: 2024/may/
• Max Results: 1
• Result: if the listing returns results, skip generation; if empty, generate it

Recipe E — "Create folder structure for a new installation"

• Action: Create Folder
• Bucket Name: installations
• Prefix: new-installation-2024/cameras/
• Then repeat for other subfolders (access/, reports/, evidence/)
• Result: storage structure is ready before devices arrive

Recipe F — "Clean up temporary processing files"

• Action: Delete Folder
• Bucket Name: processing-tmp
• Prefix: jobs/completed/
• Result: temporary storage space is freed automatically when processes finish

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Internal reference

• Node key: s3_api
• Class: action
• Always required fields: region, access_key_id, secret_access_key, action
• Required credential: type aws (Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, Region, Endpoint)
• Compatible services: Amazon S3, MinIO, Wasabi, Backblaze B2, Cloudflare R2, Google Cloud Storage (S3-compatible mode)
• Force Path Style: required for MinIO and S3-compatible services that do not support virtual-hosted style