First Upload

With Opndrive running locally (Installation), connect your S3 bucket and upload your first file.

1. Connect Your Bucket

1. Click Get Started on the landing page. You’ll land on /connect.
2. Fill in the form:
   • AWS Access Key ID
   • AWS Secret Access Key
   • AWS Region (for example us-east-1)
   • S3 Bucket Name
3. Click Connect. Opndrive verifies the credentials against the bucket, then redirects you to the dashboard.

Don’t have an AWS account or bucket yet?

1. Create a free account at aws.amazon.com  (S3 has a free tier).
2. Create a bucket and generate access keys in the AWS console.
3. Come back and connect through the form above.

Using a non-AWS S3-compatible service (MinIO, DigitalOcean Spaces)? See Connecting Storage for the custom-endpoint option.

2. Your Credentials, Your Browser

Opndrive has no backend and no database. Credentials you enter are stored in your browser’s localStorage and used to talk to S3 directly from there - they never pass through an Opndrive-operated server. Click the user icon → Clear Session at any time to remove them.

3. Upload a File

From the dashboard, use the upload button (or drag a file onto the file list). See Uploading Files for the different upload methods (direct, multipart, signed URL) and when each is used.

Switching Buckets or Accounts

1. Click the user icon → Clear Session.
2. Refresh - you’ll land back on the home page.
3. Click Get Started again and enter the new credentials.

Stopping and Restarting the Dev Server

# Stop: Ctrl+C in the terminal running `pnpm dev:frontend`
 
# Restart later:
cd opndrive
pnpm dev:frontend

Troubleshooting

AWS/S3 connection errors - double-check the access key, secret, region, and that the bucket name is exact. Opndrive surfaces the S3 error message directly in the UI, which is usually specific enough to point at the problem (wrong region, insufficient IAM permissions, bucket doesn’t exist).

Next: Codebase Tour if you’re planning to contribute, or Uploading Files to go deeper on the upload flow.