Garage: Open Source alternative to Amazon S3 in 2026
Garage is distributed, S3-compatible object storage, designed to run across several small nodes (even geo-distributed) with high resilience.
Audit Snapshot
License — Not verifiable on GitHub
GitHub — No live data
Latest release — Not available
Docker Compose — Partial
Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack
Garage vs. Amazon S3
Pros
- Excellent for homelab clusters on modest hardware
Things to consider
- Cluster configuration has a bit more of a learning curve
Quick Docker installation guide
Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →
💡 Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?
- On the official cloud: a recurring monthly fee and usage limits on Amazon S3.
- On your own VPS: 100% free software on your own server, with no artificial row, project or user limits.
version: "3.9"
services:
garage:
image: dxflrs/garage:v2.4.1
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "3900:3900"
- "3903:3903"
volumes:
- garage_meta:/var/lib/garage/meta
- garage_data:/var/lib/garage/data
volumes:
garage_meta:
garage_data:
🚀 Deploy in 1 command
Recommended for beginnersCopy this single command and paste it into your freshly created VPS's console (Vultr, DigitalOcean...). It downloads the script, prints it to your screen so you can see exactly what it's about to do (never a blind direct pipe), and only then installs Docker if needed, writes the files with secrets already generated, and starts everything — no nano, no pasting code blocks.
curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=garage" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.shWe couldn't read the repository's recent activity from GitHub right now.
This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →Technical profile
- License
- AGPL-3.0
- Category
- Storage
- Replaces
- Amazon S3
- Tech stack
- Rust
Under the hood
Database
None / Object storage
Language
Rust
Platforms
Web
Key features
- 100% S3-compatible API
- Built for geo-distributed clusters
- Very low per-node resource usage
Frequently asked questions
What is Garage?
An open source object storage system (AGPL-3.0), S3 API-compatible, written in Rust and designed to run on several small nodes, even geo-distributed, with high resilience.
Is Garage compatible with the Amazon S3 API?
Yes, its API is 100% S3-compatible, so most clients and tools that already speak S3 work against Garage with no code changes.
What kind of cluster is Garage built for?
Home or self-hosted clusters of several small nodes with modest hardware, even geographically distributed, with very low resource use per node. Its clustering setup has a somewhat steeper learning curve in exchange.
Preview
Public image provided by Garage on its own website.
💾 Backups in 3 steps (Day 2)
As long as the ./data folder (the "volume" mapped into the container) exists on your server, your data survives any restart or container update — that's the only thing you need to back up.
1. Create a compressed backup on the server
tar -czvf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data2. Download it to your computer
From your computer's terminal (not your server's):
scp root@YOUR_IP:~/app/backup-*.tar.gz ./3. Restore in case of emergency
tar -xzvf backup-file.tar.gz🌐 Connect your domain with free SSL
Step 1 — Set up the DNS
In your domain registrar's dashboard (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy...), create a record:
- Type
- A
- Name/Host
- @ (root domain) or a subdomain, e.g. app
- Content/Value
- Your server's public IP
Wait 5 to 15 minutes for the record to propagate across the internet.
Step 2 — Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy
One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates — Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.
Create a file called Caddyfile:
yourdomain.com {
reverse_proxy localhost:3900
}Start Caddy with this command (pulls the image and runs it in the background):
docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name caddy --restart always -v $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile -v caddy_data:/data caddy