Requirements

S3 File Manager is a self-contained desktop application. No external runtime or dependencies are required to run the pre-built binaries.

  • Windows 10 / 11 (x64)
  • macOS 12 Monterey or later (Intel & Apple Silicon)
  • Linux — AppImage (most distros), .deb (Debian/Ubuntu)
  • A DigitalOcean account with at least one Space, or any S3-compatible endpoint

Installation

Option A — Portable EXE (recommended for Windows)

No installation required. Download the file, double-click, and it runs. Settings are stored in your user profile folder, not next to the executable.

  1. Download S3-File-Manager-portable.exe from the Releases page.
  2. Place it anywhere convenient (Desktop, USB drive, etc.).
  3. Double-click to launch. Windows may show a SmartScreen prompt on first run — click More info → Run anyway.
ℹ The portable build stores data in %APPDATA%\s3-file-manager, so your profiles and preferences persist between launches even without installation.

Option B — NSIS Installer

  1. Download S3-File-Manager-Setup.exe from the Releases page.
  2. Run the installer and follow the prompts. It installs to Program Files and adds a Start Menu shortcut.
  3. Launch from Start Menu or the desktop shortcut.

First Launch

On first launch you'll see the Connection Screen. It has two panels:

  • Saved Profiles (left) — lists credentials you've saved. Empty on first run.
  • Profile Form (right) — where you create or edit a profile.

Creating a Profile

A profile stores the connection settings for one Spaces region or S3-compatible endpoint.

  1. Click New Profile (or the form is already open on first run).
  2. Fill in the fields:
FieldExampleNotes
Profile Name Production SGP1 Any label you like
Endpoint sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com Without https://
Region sgp1 Must match your Space's region
Access Key DO00XXXXXXXXXXXX From DigitalOcean API settings
Secret Key •••••••••••••••• Encrypted on save

Finding your DigitalOcean Spaces credentials

  1. Log into cloud.digitalocean.com.
  2. Go to API in the left sidebar.
  3. Click the Spaces Keys tab.
  4. Click Generate New Key. Give it a name and copy both the Access Key and Secret Key — the secret is only shown once.
  5. Your endpoint is <region>.digitaloceanspaces.com (e.g. nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com).
⚠ Copy the secret key immediately after generating it. DigitalOcean does not show it again after you navigate away.

Test & Connect

  1. Click Test Connection. The app sends a signed request to your endpoint to verify the credentials are valid. You should see a green "Connection successful!" toast.
  2. Click Save Profile to persist the credentials (encrypted on disk).
  3. Click Connect next to the profile in the left panel. Your buckets will appear in the sidebar.
ℹ Test Connection will report an error if the endpoint is unreachable, the region doesn't match, or the credentials are invalid. Fix the highlighted field and try again.