What Is Amazon S3?
Amazon S3 is AWS object storage for scalable buckets, archives, application data, and backup targets. OurClone can use Amazon S3 for transfers, sync tasks, encrypted backup repositories, and mounted access.
Official website: https://aws.amazon.com/s3/
- Good for durable object storage and large backup archives.
- Uses Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, and bucket region.
- Works well when you want a programmable storage backend for OurClone backups.
What OurClone Supports for Amazon S3
| Operation | How it works in OurClone |
|---|---|
| Sync | Keep a folder on Amazon S3 synchronized with another cloud storage account or a local folder. OurClone compares file changes and updates only what needs to change. |
| Transfer | Copy or move files between Amazon S3, your Mac, and other connected cloud providers. Transfers run through your local computer, so you stay in control of the data path. |
| Backup | Create an encrypted backup repository on Amazon S3, then save snapshots of local folders. Later snapshots are incremental, so unchanged files do not need to be uploaded again. |
| Mount | Mount Amazon S3 as a local directory in macOS or Windows, then browse and manage remote files from the operating system file manager. |
Amazon S3 Upload and Download Limits
These limits come from the storage provider or protocol, not from OurClone. OurClone still has to respect provider file-size caps, API quotas, bandwidth rules, account storage quota, and server-side throttling.
| Upload limits | Amazon S3 multipart upload documentation lists a maximum object size of 48.8 TiB, with up to 10,000 parts and part sizes from 5 MiB to 5 GiB. The S3 console has a lower upload limit than API/SDK tools. |
| Download limits | S3 object downloads are generally limited by object size, permissions, request rate, and network/egress capacity rather than a small per-download cap. |
| OurClone tip | Use multipart-capable workflows for very large S3 objects and avoid relying on console-style limits for OurClone transfers. |
How to Add Amazon S3 in OurClone
Amazon S3 connects through S3-compatible access keys in OurClone.
- Sign in to the Amazon S3 console.
- Create or locate an Access Key ID and Secret Access Key for the bucket you want OurClone to use.
- Find the bucket region in the S3 bucket properties and enter it in OurClone.
- Open OurClone, click Add Storage, select Amazon S3, enter the credentials, and connect.
Sync and Transfer Workflow
After Amazon S3 is connected, open the Migrate area in OurClone. Choose Amazon S3 as the source or destination, select the folders you want to work with, then choose the task mode.
- Copy duplicates files while keeping the source unchanged.
- Move transfers files and removes them from the source after completion.
- Sync keeps the destination aligned with the source folder.
Task progress is visible in the Task tab, including completed, skipped, and failed files.
Backup Workflow
For backups, first create a backup repository on Amazon S3. A repository needs a name, a storage path, and an encryption password. Keep this password safe because it is required for both future snapshots and restores.
- Open Backup and create or choose a repository on Amazon S3.
- Open the repository and click New Backup.
- Select local folders such as
~/Documents,~/Pictures, or a project folder. - Start the snapshot. The first run uploads the full selection; later runs are incremental.
- Use Restore from a backup record when you need to recover files to a local directory.
Mount Amazon S3 as a Local Folder
OurClone can mount Amazon S3 as a local operating-system directory. This is useful when you want to browse cloud files in Finder or File Explorer, open files from desktop apps, or copy files with the same habits you use for local folders.
- Open the mount area in OurClone and select your connected Amazon S3 account.
- Choose the remote path you want to expose locally.
- Pick a local mount point, then start the mount.
- When finished, unmount cleanly from OurClone before disconnecting your network or shutting down.
Best Practices for Amazon S3
- Use a clear folder naming convention such as
/ourclone-backups,/sync, or/archive. - Confirm that your Amazon S3 account has enough storage before running a large migration or backup.
- Run a small test sync or restore before relying on a new workflow for important files.
- For large first-time jobs, keep your computer awake and connected to a stable network.
- If authentication fails later, reconnect the account or refresh the token before restarting the task.