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Storagedocker-ready1-click-deployOpen-Core🟢 Lightweight · ~256MB

MinIO: Open-Core alternative to Amazon S3 in 2026

MinIO is high-performance object storage, 100% compatible with the S3 API, ideal for anyone who wants their own storage infrastructure without changing a line of code in their AWS SDKs.

Core is open source, but advanced features or enterprise support may be behind a paid tier — check the license.

ℹ️ MinIO's community edition is no longer published as a public Docker image: the official repository was archived and the image was pulled from Docker Hub (and from its quay.io mirror too). The last free version still floating around has an unpatched critical authentication vulnerability. We don't recommend deploying MinIO this way until the project offers an official path again — consider another Amazon S3 alternative from this catalog in the meantime.

Alternative to Amazon S3
License AGPL-3.061.3k starsWebsite GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

View notes →

  • License — Matches GitHub

  • GitHub — Reduced maintenance

  • Latest release — RELEASE.2025-10-15T17-29-55Z · 1 year ago

  • Docker Compose — Partial

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

MinIO vs. Amazon S3

Pros

  • Drop-in S3 replacement, near-frictionless migration

Things to consider

  • Real high availability requires several nodes to configure
  • Public Docker image pulled (see note above) — not deployable today without an official path

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: the core is free to self-host on your own server — no more monthly SaaS fee, though some advanced features stay behind a paid plan.

⚠️ This tool's Docker image was archived/discontinued by the project on its origin registry. Check the official repo before deploying — there may be a replacement image.

docker-compose.yml
version: "3.9"
services:
  minio:
    image: minio/minio:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    command: server /data --console-address ":9001"
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
      - "9001:9001"
    environment:
      - MINIO_ROOT_USER=admin
      - MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD=change-me-super-secret
    volumes:
      - minio_data:/data
volumes:
  minio_data:

🚀 Deploy in 1 command

Recommended for beginners

Copy 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=minio" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.sh
See what this script does →

This docker-compose corresponds to an actively maintained project — last commit 5 months ago.

This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →

Technical profile

License
AGPL-3.0
Category
Storage
Replaces
Amazon S3
Tech stack
Go

Under the hood

Database

None / Object storage

Language

Go

Platforms

Web

Key features

  • 100% S3-compatible API
  • Encryption at rest and object versioning
  • Multi-site replication

Preview

MinIO interface preview

Public image provided by MinIO 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 ./data

2. 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:9000
}

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