---
title: "Connect with s3cmd"
description: "Install s3cmd on Linux, macOS, or Windows, configure it with your access key, and list and sync files with your E2E Object Storage bucket."
content_type: "how-to"
product: "object-storage"
platform: "MyAccount"
url: "/myaccount/object-storage/how-to/connect-with-s3cmd/"
topic: ["create-and-connect"]
relationships: {"requires":["/myaccount/object-storage/how-to/generate-an-access-key/"]}
---

# Connect with s3cmd

`s3cmd` is a command-line tool for S3-compatible storage that works the same way against Object
Storage as it does against Amazon S3. You need a bucket and an access key first; see
[Generate an access key](/myaccount/object-storage/how-to/generate-an-access-key/).

## Install s3cmd

On **Linux**, install it from your distribution's package manager: `yum install s3cmd` on
CentOS or RHEL, `sudo apt-get install s3cmd` on Ubuntu or Debian. On **macOS**, use Homebrew:
`brew install s3cmd`. On **Windows**, s3cmd runs on Python, so you install Python first and then s3cmd;
[Install s3cmd on Windows](#install-s3cmd-on-windows) walks through both.

### Install s3cmd on Windows

s3cmd supports Python 3 from its version 2 onward. Python 3.12 is the newest version the s3cmd
project lists, so it is a good choice.

1. Download the Python 3.12 installer from
   [python.org/downloads/windows](https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/) and run it. On the
   installer's first page, tick the option to add Python to `PATH`, so you can run `python` from
   any Command Prompt. If you missed it, run the installer again, choose **Modify**, and tick it
   there.
2. Open a new Command Prompt and check that Windows finds Python:

   ```bat frame="none"
   python --version
   ```

   It prints the version you installed, such as:

   ```text
   Python 3.12.10
   ```

3. Install the one library s3cmd needs to run:

   ```bat frame="none"
   python -m pip install python-dateutil
   ```

4. Download the s3cmd `.zip` file from its [official page](https://s3tools.org/download) and
   extract it. Rename the folder it creates to `C:\s3cmd`, so that the `s3cmd` file sits directly
   inside that folder.
5. Move into the folder and check that s3cmd starts:

   ```bat frame="none"
   cd C:\s3cmd
   python s3cmd --version
   ```

   It prints its version, such as `s3cmd version 2.4.0`.

On Windows, you start s3cmd through Python from this folder. Every command on this page works
the same way with `python` put in front of it: `python s3cmd --configure`,
`python s3cmd ls s3://<bucket-name>`, and so on.

## Configure s3cmd

Run the configuration wizard:

```bash frame="none"
s3cmd --configure
```

Enter your access key and secret key when asked. For **S3 Endpoint**, enter
`objectstore.e2enetworks.net` for a Delhi bucket, or the Chennai endpoint from
[S3 compatibility](/myaccount/object-storage/concepts/s3-compatibility/) for one there. For the
DNS-style bucket template, enter `%(bucket)s.objectstore.e2enetworks.net` in Delhi, or the
same pattern with your region's endpoint in place of it: `%(bucket)s.` followed by the Chennai
endpoint for a bucket there. The DNS-style template is how s3cmd builds each bucket's address
from your endpoint: the `%(bucket)s.` part is where s3cmd substitutes the bucket name, so every
bucket gets an address like `<bucket-name>.objectstore.e2enetworks.net`. Leave the region blank,
and accept the rest of the defaults. When
it asks whether to test your credentials, answering **y** shows a permission error. This is
expected; see [S3 compatibility](/myaccount/object-storage/concepts/s3-compatibility/) for why.
Answer **y** again to save the configuration. s3cmd prints where it saved it, for example
`Configuration saved to '/home/<user>/.s3cfg'`.

You can also skip the wizard and edit `~/.s3cfg` directly instead:

```text
host_base = objectstore.e2enetworks.net
host_bucket = %(bucket)s.objectstore.e2enetworks.net
access_key = <access-key>
secret_key = <secret-key>
```

Use `in-south1-objectstore.e2enetworks.net` in place of `objectstore.e2enetworks.net` in both
`host_base` and `host_bucket` when your bucket is in Chennai.

On Windows, the same settings live in a file named `s3cmd.ini` in your user's application data
folder, and the wizard prints its full path when it saves. To open
it in Notepad:

```bat frame="none"
notepad %APPDATA%\s3cmd.ini
```

## Use s3cmd with your buckets

List a bucket's contents (an access key cannot list every bucket on your account, so name one):

```bash frame="none"
s3cmd ls s3://<bucket-name>
```

An empty bucket returns nothing; an object in it lists like this:

```text
2026-01-15 09:32         0   s3://<bucket-name>/<object-name>
```

Upload or sync a file:

```bash frame="none"
s3cmd sync <local-file> s3://<bucket-name>/
```

A successful sync looks like this:

```text
upload: 'report.pdf' -> 's3://<bucket-name>/report.pdf'  [1 of 1]
 1258291 of 1258291   100% in    0s     3.81 MB/s  done
Done. Uploaded 1258291 bytes in 0.3 seconds, 3.81 MB/s.
```

Run `s3cmd ls s3://<bucket-name>` again, and the file is in the list.

From here on, every s3cmd command reads the keys and endpoint from `~/.s3cfg`, or from
`s3cmd.ini` on Windows. For jobs that
run on a schedule, see
[Back up a MySQL database to E2E Object Storage](/myaccount/object-storage/how-to/back-up-a-mysql-database-to-object-storage/)
or [Archive logs to E2E Object Storage with logrotate and s3cmd](/myaccount/object-storage/how-to/archive-logs-with-logrotate-and-s3cmd/).
If the credential test during setup showed a permission error, see
[Troubleshooting E2E Object Storage](/myaccount/object-storage/troubleshooting/object-storage/#my-s3cmd-test-shows-a-permissions-error-even-though-my-uploads-work-fine).