How to Set Up s3cmd with Z1 Storage

11 June 2026 S3 API Tutorials

s3cmd command-line backups to Z1 Storage

s3cmd is a free command-line tool for managing data on S3-compatible cloud storage services like Z1 Storage. This guide walks you through installing it and connecting it to Z1 Storage.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

  • A Z1 Storage account
  • Your access keys (Access Key ID and Secret Access Key), available in your Z1 Storage client area

Installing s3cmd

s3cmd is a Python tool and runs on Linux, macOS and Windows (via Python).

  • Linux: install from your package manager, e.g. sudo apt install s3cmd (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo dnf install s3cmd (Fedora/RHEL)
  • macOS: brew install s3cmd (Homebrew)
  • Any platform (including Windows): with Python installed, run pip install s3cmd

Verify the installation with s3cmd --version.

Configuring s3cmd for Z1 Storage

Run the interactive configurator:

s3cmd --configure

Answer the prompts as follows:

Access Key: YOUR_Z1_ACCESS_KEY
Secret Key: YOUR_Z1_SECRET_KEY
Default Region [US]:            # press Enter to accept the default
S3 Endpoint [s3.amazonaws.com]: s3.z1storage.com
DNS-style bucket+hostname:port template for accessing a bucket []: s3.z1storage.com
Encryption password:            # optional, for client-side encryption
Path to GPG program:            # press Enter for default
Use HTTPS protocol [Yes]: Yes
HTTP Proxy server name:         # leave blank unless you use a proxy
Test access with supplied credentials? [Y/n] Y

Setting the bucket+hostname template to s3.z1storage.com tells s3cmd to use path-style bucket access, which is the recommended access method for Z1 Storage.

Your settings are saved to ~/.s3cfg. The two important values should read:

host_base = s3.z1storage.com
host_bucket = s3.z1storage.com

Basic s3cmd Commands

s3cmd ls                                  # list your buckets
s3cmd mb s3://mybucket                    # create a bucket
s3cmd put myfile.txt s3://mybucket        # upload a file
s3cmd get s3://mybucket/myfile.txt        # download a file
s3cmd del s3://mybucket/myfile.txt        # delete a file
s3cmd sync /local/folder s3://mybucket/folder/    # sync a local folder to Z1

Useful Flags

  • --recursive — perform operations on whole directories
  • --acl-public — make uploaded files publicly accessible (use with care)
  • --dry-run — preview what a sync or delete would do before running it

Conclusion

s3cmd is an effective tool for managing your data on Z1 Storage — well suited to scripted backups and cron jobs. For more detail see the s3cmd usage documentation, or check out our other S3 API tutorials for more integration options.

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