AWS S3 Bucket

This guide walks you through connecting your existing Amazon S3 bucket to PixelFiddler as a media source.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• An existing S3 bucket with your media files
• AWS account access with permission to create IAM users/policies
• Your S3 bucket name and region

Step 1: Create IAM Policy and User

Create the Policy First

1. Open the AWS IAM Console

• Navigate to AWS IAM Console
• Click “Policies” in the left sidebar

• Click “Create policy”

2. Define the Policy

• Switch to the JSON tab

• Replace the default content with this read-only policy:

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "PixelFiddlerReadOnlyAccess",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "s3:GetObject",
                "s3:ListBucket"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "arn:aws:s3:::YOUR_BUCKET_NAME",
                "arn:aws:s3:::YOUR_BUCKET_NAME/*"
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Reminder

Replace YOUR_BUCKET_NAME with your actual bucket name.

3. Complete Policy Creation

• Click “Next”
• Name the policy: PixelFiddlerS3ReadOnly
• Add description: Read-only access to S3 bucket for PixelFiddler media source
• Click “Create policy”

Now Create the User

4. Create IAM User

• Click “Users” in the left sidebar
• Click “Create user”

• Enter username: pixelfiddler-s3-readonly

• Click “Next”

5. Attach the Existing Policy

• Select “Attach policies directly”

• Search for PixelFiddlerS3ReadOnly

• Check the box next to your policy
• Click “Next”

6. Review and Create

• Review the user configuration
• Click “Create user”

Generate Access Keys

7. Create Access Keys

• Click on the newly created username

• Go to the “Security credentials” tab

• Scroll down to “Access keys”
• Click “Create access key”

• Choose “Application running outside AWS”

• Click “Next”
• Add description tag: PixelFiddler S3 Access

• Click “Create access key”
• Save both the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key

Save Access Key

The secret access key will only be displayed once. Store it securely or download the CSV file.

Step 2: Gather Required Information

Collect the following information for your S3 configuration:

Field	Description	Example	Required
Bucket Name	Your S3 bucket name	my-product-images	✅ Yes
Region	AWS region where your bucket is located	eu-top-1	✅ Yes
Access Key ID	From the IAM user you created	AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE	✅ Yes
Secret Access Key	From the IAM user you created	wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/...	✅ Yes
Base URL	Custom S3 endpoint (see note below)	https://s3.amazonaws.com	❌ No

About Base URL

For Standard Amazon S3 Buckets: Leave the baseUrl field empty or omit it entirely. PixelFiddler will automatically use the correct AWS S3 endpoints.

For S3-Compatible Services Only: Specify the base URL if you’re using services like:

• DigitalOcean Spaces: https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com
• Wasabi: https://s3.us-east-1.wasabisys.com
• MinIO: https://minio.mycompany.com

Step 3: Create Media Source in PixelFiddler

Once your AWS setup is complete, you can link your S3 bucket to PixelFiddler:

1. Navigate to your Sources page in the PixelFiddler dashboard
2. Click “Link new source”
3. Select S3 as your source type
4. Fill in the connection details using the information from your AWS setup

Required Configuration

Field	Description	Example
Name	Display name for your source	Product Gallery
Alias	Unique identifier (kebab-case)	product-gallery
Access Key ID	Your IAM user’s access key ID	AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE
Secret Access Key	Your IAM user’s secret access key	Keep this secure
Bucket	Your S3 bucket name	my-product-images
Region	AWS region code	us-east-1

Optional Configuration

• Base URL: Custom S3 endpoint (only needed for S3-compatible services like MinIO or Wasabi)

Verifying Your Connection

After clicking “Create”, PixelFiddler will attempt to connect to your S3 bucket:

✅ Success

If the connection succeeds, you’ll see a confirmation message and can immediately:

• Browse your files in Media Management
• Start transforming images

❌ Connection Failed

If you see an error message:

1. Double-check your credentials:

• Verify the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key
• Ensure the bucket name is correct
• Confirm the region matches your bucket’s location

2. Review IAM permissions:

• Make sure your IAM user has the required permissions
• Check that the bucket policy allows access from your IAM user