S3

Full documentation at mcp-s3.txn2.com

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Amazon S3 and S3-compatible object storage, enabling AI assistants to browse buckets, read and write objects, and generate presigned URLs.

AI assistants can help with file organization, data migration, and content management, but they need secure access to storage systems. mcp-s3 bridges this gap by connecting S3-compatible storage to AI assistants through the MCP protocol, with configurable safety controls and multi-account support.

MCP Data Platform Ecosystem

mcp-s3 is part of a broader suite of open-source MCP servers designed to work together as a composable data platform. Each component can run standalone or be combined to give AI assistants unified access to storage, query engines, and metadata catalogs.

• txn2/mcp-data-platform
• txn2/mcp-datahub
• txn2/mcp-trino

Core Capabilities

Composable Architecture

• Import as a Go library to build custom MCP servers
• Add authentication, tenant isolation, audit logging without forking
• Middleware and interceptor patterns for enterprise requirements
• Combine with other MCP servers (mcp-trino, mcp-datahub) for unified data access

Multi-Provider Support

• Works with AWS S3, SeaweedFS, LocalStack, and any S3-compatible storage
• Connect to multiple accounts/regions from a single MCP installation
• Unified interface across production, staging, and development environments

Secure Defaults

• Read-only mode prevents accidental data modification
• Size limits prevent large file transfers
• Prefix-based ACLs restrict access to specific paths
• Audit logging for compliance requirements

Features

• List Buckets: Browse accessible S3 buckets across connections
• List Objects: Navigate bucket contents with prefix/delimiter/pagination
• Read Objects: Retrieve object content with automatic text/binary detection
• Write Objects: Upload content (disabled by default in read-only mode)
• Delete Objects: Remove objects (disabled by default in read-only mode)
• Copy Objects: Copy within or between buckets
• Presigned URLs: Generate temporary access URLs for GET/PUT operations
• Compose Custom Servers: Import as a Go library with middleware and interceptors

Installation

Go Install

go install github.com/txn2/mcp-s3/cmd/mcp-s3@latest

From Source

git clone https://github.com/txn2/mcp-s3.git
cd mcp-s3
make build

Docker

docker run -e AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=... -e AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=... ghcr.io/txn2/mcp-s3

Quick Start

Claude Code CLI

Claude Code is the terminal-based coding assistant. Add mcp-s3 as an MCP server:

# For AWS S3
claude mcp add s3 \
  -e AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-access-key \
  -e AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret-key \
  -e AWS_REGION=us-east-1 \
  -- mcp-s3

# For SeaweedFS
claude mcp add seaweedfs \
  -e S3_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:8333 \
  -e S3_USE_PATH_STYLE=true \
  -e AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=any \
  -e AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=any \
  -- mcp-s3

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json (find via Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "s3": {
      "command": "mcp-s3",
      "env": {
        "AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID": "your-access-key",
        "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY": "your-secret-key",
        "AWS_REGION": "us-east-1"
      }
    }
  }
}

MCP Tools

Tool	Description
s3_list_buckets	List all accessible S3 buckets
s3_list_objects	List objects with prefix/delimiter/pagination
s3_get_object	Retrieve object content
s3_get_object_metadata	Get object metadata without content
s3_put_object	Upload object (disabled in read-only mode)
s3_delete_object	Delete object (disabled in read-only mode)
s3_copy_object	Copy object within/between buckets
s3_presign_url	Generate presigned GET/PUT URLs
s3_list_connections	List configured S3 connections

Configuration

Environment Variables

Primary Connection:

Variable	Description	Default
AWS_REGION	AWS region	us-east-1
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID	Access key	(credential chain)
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY	Secret key	(credential chain)
AWS_SESSION_TOKEN	Session token	(optional)
AWS_PROFILE	Profile name	(optional)
S3_ENDPOINT	Custom endpoint (SeaweedFS)	(AWS default)
S3_USE_PATH_STYLE	Path-style URLs	false
S3_TIMEOUT	Operation timeout	30s

Extensions:

Variable	Default	Description
MCP_S3_EXT_READONLY	true	Block write operations
MCP_S3_EXT_SIZELIMIT	true	Enforce size limits
MCP_S3_MAX_GET_SIZE	10MB	Max bytes for GET
MCP_S3_MAX_PUT_SIZE	100MB	Max bytes for PUT
MCP_S3_EXT_LOGGING	false	Enable structured logging
MCP_S3_EXT_AUDIT	false	Enable audit logging

Multi-Connection Setup

Set S3_ADDITIONAL_CONNECTIONS with a JSON object:

export S3_ADDITIONAL_CONNECTIONS='{
  "production": {
    "region": "us-east-1",
    "access_key_id": "prod-key",
    "secret_access_key": "prod-secret"
  },
  "seaweedfs": {
    "region": "us-east-1",
    "endpoint": "http://seaweedfs:8333",
    "use_path_style": true
  }
}'
export S3_CONNECTION_NAME=production

Library Usage

mcp-s3 is designed as a composable Go library. Import the packages to build custom MCP servers with S3 capabilities:

package main

import (
    "context"
    "log"

    "github.com/mark3labs/mcp-go/server"
    "github.com/txn2/mcp-s3/pkg/client"
    "github.com/txn2/mcp-s3/pkg/tools"
)

func main() {
    ctx := context.Background()

    // Create S3 client from environment
    cfg := client.FromEnv()
    s3Client, err := client.New(ctx, &cfg)
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    defer s3Client.Close()

    // Create toolkit with options
    toolkit := tools.NewToolkit(s3Client,
        tools.WithReadOnly(true),
        tools.WithMaxGetSize(10*1024*1024),
        tools.WithToolPrefix("myapp_"),
    )
    defer toolkit.Close()

    // Create MCP server and register tools
    mcpServer := server.NewMCPServer("my-server", "1.0.0")
    toolkit.RegisterTools(mcpServer)

    // Add custom middleware
    toolkit.Use(myLoggingMiddleware)
    toolkit.AddInterceptor(myAuthInterceptor)

    // Serve
    if err := server.ServeStdio(mcpServer); err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
}

Extensibility Patterns

Middleware wraps tool execution for cross-cutting concerns:

func loggingMiddleware(next tools.ToolHandler) tools.ToolHandler {
    return func(ctx context.Context, req mcp.CallToolRequest) (*mcp.CallToolResult, error) {
        log.Printf("Tool called: %s", req.Params.Name)
        return next(ctx, req)
    }
}

Interceptors can block or modify requests before execution:

type authInterceptor struct{}

func (a *authInterceptor) Intercept(ctx context.Context, tc *tools.ToolContext, req mcp.CallToolRequest) tools.InterceptResult {
    if !isAuthorized(ctx, tc.ToolName) {
        return tools.InterceptResult{Allow: false, Message: "Unauthorized"}
    }
    return tools.InterceptResult{Allow: true}
}

Transformers modify results after execution:

type redactTransformer struct{}

func (r *redactTransformer) Transform(ctx context.Context, tc *tools.ToolContext, result *mcp.CallToolResult) *mcp.CallToolResult {
    // Redact sensitive content from results
    return redactedResult
}

Security Considerations

• Read-Only Mode: Enabled by default, blocks PUT and DELETE operations
• Size Limits: Default 10MB for GET, 100MB for PUT to prevent abuse
• Prefix ACLs: Restrict access to specific bucket prefixes
• Audit Logging: Optional logging of all operations for compliance

Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/txn2/mcp-s3.git
cd mcp-s3

# Build
make build

# Run tests
make test

# Run linter
make lint

# Run all checks
make verify

# Serve documentation locally
make docs-serve

Testing with SeaweedFS

# Start SeaweedFS with S3 API
docker run -d -p 8333:8333 -p 9333:9333 \
  chrislusf/seaweedfs server -s3

# Configure environment
export S3_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:8333
export S3_USE_PATH_STYLE=true
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=any
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=any

# Run
./build/mcp-s3

Contributing

We welcome contributions for bug fixes, tests, and documentation. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

License

Apache License 2.0

Related Projects

• Model Context Protocol - The MCP specification
• mcp-trino - MCP server for Trino SQL queries
• mcp-datahub - MCP server for DataHub metadata
• Amazon S3 - Object storage service
• SeaweedFS - S3-compatible object storage

---

Open source by Craig Johnston, sponsored by Deasil Works, Inc.