One Workflow for Every S3-Compatible Service
Whether your bucket lives on a self-hosted MinIO box, in Google Cloud, at DigitalOcean, IBM, a Ceph cluster, or Synology C2, OurClone backs up your Mac to it the same way. It connects through the S3 API and stores your backup as an encrypted restic repository inside the bucket.
- 🔐 Encrypted on Your Mac -- The repository is encrypted with a password you set before anything is uploaded, so the storage provider only ever holds encrypted data.
- 🚀 Incremental After the First Run -- The first backup uploads everything; later runs upload only data that changed, and each run becomes a snapshot you can restore.
- 💻 Back Up the Folders You Choose -- Documents, Pictures, a project tree, or folders on an external disk.
- 🗂️ Snapshots and Retention -- Go back to an earlier version of a file, and let retention rules prune old snapshots.
- 🖥️ Restore on Another Mac -- Add the same storage in OurClone on another Mac and use Create Repository on the same bucket path: OurClone detects the existing repository, checks its password, and lists your snapshots.
Which Card to Pick, and Which Endpoint to Enter
All of these cards live under S3 Provider on OurClone's Add tab, and all of them ask for an Access Key ID and a Secret Access Key. The endpoint is what usually goes wrong, so check your service's row before you start.
| Service | Card in OurClone | Keys | Endpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| MinIO | MinIO | An access key from the MinIO Console | Your server's S3 API address, such as https://minio.example.com or http://192.168.1.20:9000 — not the web console port |
| Google Cloud Storage | Google Cloud Storage (the one under S3 Provider) | HMAC keys from Cloud Storage settings → Interoperability, not a JSON key | Pre-filled with https://storage.googleapis.com; leave it |
| DigitalOcean Spaces | DigitalOcean Spaces | A Spaces access key from the DigitalOcean control panel | Pre-filled with nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com; change nyc3 to your Space's region, such as fra1 or sgp1 |
| IBM Cloud Object Storage | IBM COS S3 | HMAC credentials: create a service credential with HMAC enabled | Your bucket's regional endpoint, such as s3.us-south.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud. The field is marked optional, but fill it in: left empty, the connection goes to Amazon S3 and fails |
| Ceph | Ceph Object Storage | An S3 user's keys from your Ceph admin (radosgw-admin user create) | Your RADOS Gateway address, such as https://rgw.example.com |
| Synology C2 Object Storage | Synology C2 Object Storage | An access key from the Synology C2 console | Choose your region's Endpoint (such as eu-001.s3.synologyc2.net) and the matching Region (eu-001) from the two lists. Needs OurClone 1.6.0 or later |
| Anything else that speaks S3 | Other S3 Compatible | Whatever your provider issues as S3 access keys | The S3 endpoint from your provider's documentation |
Many other S3 services have a card of their own — Amazon S3, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, IDrive e2, Hetzner, Scaleway, OVHcloud, MEGA S4 and more. Search for the name on the Add tab first; use Other S3 Compatible only when there's no dedicated card.
What to Know Before You Start
- 🔑 The Key Must Be Able to List Buckets -- OurClone's folder picker starts by listing your buckets, so give the key permission to list them as well as read and write the backup bucket. A key that can only see one bucket may leave the picker empty.
- 🪣 Create the Bucket First -- Make the bucket in your provider's console, then point the repository at it or at a folder inside it, such as
mac-backups/macbook-pro. - 🧪 OurClone Doesn't Test Keys When You Add Them -- The connection is saved as entered. The first real check is when your buckets load while creating the repository; if nothing appears, re-check the keys and the endpoint.
- 🔒 Keep the Repository Password Safe -- It encrypts the backup and is needed for every restore. Without it, nobody — including you — can read the snapshots.
- 📶 Plan the First Upload -- The first backup is the heavy one. Start with a small folder to confirm the whole path, then add larger folders.
How to Back Up macOS Folders to S3-Compatible Storage
The screenshots use the Other S3 Compatible card; the steps are the same with any card from the table above.
- 🔐 Add Your Storage -- Open OurClone, go to the Add tab and search for your service (here other s3). Pick its card under S3 Provider, fill in a Remote Name (here
s3-storage), the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key, and the Endpoint from the table. Click Confirm; the storage appears under Manage. - 🗄️ Create a Backup Repository -- Go to the Backup tab and click Create Repository. Give it a name (here
MacBook backup), choose Cloud Remote, pick your storage, and select the bucket that will hold the backup (heremac-backups) or a folder inside it. Set a repository password and click Create. - 📁 Select Folders to Back Up -- Click Open on the repository, then New Backup. Use Choose Folders (or Choose Files) to add what you want to protect, such as
~/Documentsand~/Pictures. Optionally add exclude patterns, one per line. Enter the repository password — OurClone checks it before the run starts — and click Start Backup. With Pro, Enable Schedule repeats the backup one time, weekly, or monthly at a time you choose. - 📊 Track Backup Progress -- Open the Task tab and switch to Backups to follow the run: progress, amount transferred, speed, and time left, then Completed. A running backup can be cancelled from here.
- 🔄 Restore When Needed -- Open the repository, find the snapshot you want, and click Restore. Choose a target folder on your Mac (for example a new
Restoredfolder), enter the repository password, and click Start Restore. To get back a single file or folder, use Browse Files on the snapshot and restore just that item.
When the Connection or Backup Fails
- 🧭 No Buckets Appear -- Usually the endpoint: an empty IBM COS endpoint, a Spaces endpoint left on
nyc3for a Space in another region, a MinIO console address instead of the API address, or a Synology C2 Endpoint and Region that don't match. Otherwise the key lacks permission to list buckets. - 🔑 Access Denied While Backing Up -- The key can list buckets but can't write to this one. Widen its permissions or create a new key, then add the storage again.
- 📄 Check Task Completion -- In Task → Backups, the latest backup should show Completed. If some files couldn't be read, the task offers View failed files with their paths.
- 🗂️ Look Inside the Snapshot -- Open the repository and use Browse Files on the new snapshot to confirm the folders you expected are there.
Run a Practice Restore
Restore one small folder from a recent snapshot into a throwaway folder on your Mac. It's the only honest proof that the backup, the keys and the repository password all work together — before the day you need them.