AWS S3 Copy and Sync Tutorial with Examples

AWS S3 is a powerful cloud storage service that allows you to store and manage large amounts of data.

To copy data from one S3 bucket to another, you can use the AWS CLI command `aws s3 cp`. This command is useful for transferring files between buckets.

You can also use the `aws s3 sync` command to synchronize files between two buckets. This command is useful for keeping two buckets in sync.

For example, you can use the following command to copy a file from one bucket to another: `aws s3 cp s3://source-bucket/file.txt s3://destination-bucket/`.

AWS S3 Copy is a powerful command that allows you to copy files to and from Amazon S3 buckets. It's used for uploading, downloading, and moving data efficiently in and across AWS S3 storage environments.

The aws s3 cp command is the way to go for this task.

You can't use the aws cp command to copy files to and from your local filesystem.

You can use the aws s3 cp command to copy files to and from an S3 bucket. It can handle various use cases, including copying multiple files and applying access control lists (ACLs). The command can be used with flags to unlock additional functionalities.

To use the aws s3 cp command, you must specify the source and destination. The basic syntax is aws s3 cp source destination. The command can also be used recursively, which means it can copy files and subdirectories.

The aws s3 sync command is another option for synchronizing directories to and from S3. It's a recursive copy that ignores empty directories. You can use the CLI to create two new S3 buckets for demonstration purposes.

To use the command, you'll need to specify a source and destination. The aws s3 cp command can handle various use cases, from copying multiple files to applying access control lists (ACLs) and much more.

You can use the following flags with the base aws s3 cp command to unlock additional functionalities:

Here are some examples of how to use the command with these flags:

The Workflow Library is a powerful tool that allows you to automate tasks using a visual interface.

You can create custom workflows by combining various actions, such as copying an object from S3 using AWS.

For example, the "S3 Copy Object with Aws and Send Results Via Email" workflow copies an object from S3 to another bucket, then sends the results via email.

This workflow is a great example of how the Workflow Library can be used to streamline complex tasks.

The "S3 Copy Object with Aws and Send Results Via Email" workflow uses the AWS S3 action to copy the object, and the Email action to send the results.

By using the Workflow Library, you can create custom workflows that automate tasks and save time.

To copy files between EC2 and S3, you'll need to consider bucket policies that allow servers from certain AWS accounts or VPC endpoints.

S3 buckets can have specific bucket policies.

First, create an article that explains the process in a simple way.

We have an article that breaks it down into a 4-step configuration.

The 4-step configuration makes it easy to copy files between EC2 and S3.

Transferring objects between S3 buckets is a straightforward process. You can copy a file from one bucket to another using the `aws s3 cp` command, replacing the source with the name of the source S3 bucket followed by the path to the file and the destination with the name of the destination S3 bucket where the file is to be copied.

Prefix both the source and the destination bucket names with `s3://`. If you want to copy the file with a different name, add the desired file name to the destination S3 bucket path.

You can also use the `aws s3 cp` command to rename files within an S3 bucket by setting the same bucket as both the source and the destination and adding the new file name to the destination path.

To copy the content of one S3 bucket to another, use the `aws s3 cp` command with the source and destination buckets specified. You can also use the `--recursive` parameter to copy all objects from the source bucket to the destination bucket.

It's essential to give the user permission to perform certain actions and access to the S3 bucket, which requires modifying the user policy. You'll need to add the "s3:PutObject" Action to the user policy and include the destination bucket name in the list of resources.

You can synchronize content between buckets by using an S3 URI as both the source and destination paths. This will copy the files to both buckets.

To recursively upload or download files, pass the `--recursive` parameter with the `aws s3 cp` command. This can be used to download and upload large sets of files from and to S3.

Downloading files from S3 is nothing but copying files from an S3 bucket to your machine. You can use the aws s3 cp command to achieve this.

To download a file, replace the source with the s3 bucket name followed by the path to the file and the destination with the desired location on your machine. If you want to download the file with a different name, simply add the new file name to the destination path.

You can download files as a local file stream as well. The command to download a file as a stream to the standard output is similar to uploading a local file stream to S3. Note that downloading as a stream is not currently compatible with the --recursive parameter.

Uploading a local file stream to S3 is also supported, but be aware that when uploading a local file stream larger than 50GB, the --expected-size option must be provided. This is to prevent the upload from failing when it reaches the default part limit of 10,000.

Downloading files from S3 is nothing but copying files from an S3 bucket to your machine. You can use the aws s3 cp command to achieve this.

To download the robot.txt file from the aws-s3-cp-tutorial bucket, you'll need to replace the source with the s3 bucket name followed by the path to the file and the destination with the desired location on your machine.

If you want to download the file with a different name, simply add the new file name to the destination path. For example, if you want to save the file as myrobot.txt, you would use the command with the new file name in the destination path.

You can also download files from S3 as a local file stream using the aws s3 cp command. This command downloads the stream.txt file from an S3 bucket as a stream to the standard output.

Note that downloading as a stream is not currently compatible with the --recursive parameter. However, you can still use it to download individual files as a stream.

To download from S3 to a local directory, you can use the same syntax as uploading. For example, to download from the demo-bucket-download folder, you would run the command with the s3 bucket name followed by the path to the file and the destination with the desired location on your machine.

You can upload a local file stream to an S3 bucket using the cp command, which supports copying from standard input to a file in the destination S3 bucket.

The cp command can handle large file streams, but it's essential to note that if the file stream exceeds 50GB, the --expected-size option must be provided to avoid upload failures due to the default part limit of 10,000.

To copy files between EC2 and S3, you'll need to follow a 4-step configuration, which includes creating an article that explains the process.

The aws s3 sync command is a powerful tool for synchronizing local directories and S3 buckets, and it's also useful for synchronizing two existing S3 buckets.

You can exclude specific files from the copy operation using the --exclude flag, and include specific files using the --include flag.

Uploading to an S3 access point is a straightforward process. You can use an Access Point alias, which provides the same functionality as an Access Point ARN, to substitute for an S3 bucket name for data access.

To successfully copy files to an S3 bucket using an access point, ensure that the access point policy allows the s3:PutObject action for your principal. This is a crucial step to avoid any upload issues.

You can upload a file via the access point using a command like the following: Note the specific access point name, access-point-cp-tutorial, which is used for the upload.

The aws s3 sync command allows selecting specific files to include or exclude in the copy operation.

You can exclude specific files from the copy operation using the --exclude flag. This flag enables the exclusion of certain files from the copy operation.

The --include flag lets you include specific files in the copy operation, often used in conjunction with the --exclude flag. These flags can be repeated multiple times in a single sync command.

UNIX-style wildcards are supported, which determine which files will be considered as part of the sync operation. The flags are applied in the order they appear, with later flags overriding previous ones.

Symlinks are automatically followed when uploading to S3 from your filesystem. This means that if you have symlinks in your source directory, they will be preserved in the destination S3 bucket.

You can specify the storage class for the files being copied using the --storage-class flag. The accepted values for the storage class are STANDARD, REDUCED_REDUNDANCY, STANDARD_IA, ONEZONE_IA, INTELLIGENT_TIERING, GLACIER, DEEP_ARCHIVE, and GLACIER_IR. STANDARD is the default storage class.

The --storage-class flag allows you to set the storage class to apply to newly copied files. This can be useful for optimizing the cost and managing the disk efficiency and IO performance during file read and write operations.

You can use the --storage-class flag to copy a file with a specific storage class. For example, to copy a file with the REDUCED_REDUNDANCY storage class, you would use the following command: aws s3 cp file1.txt s3://aws-s3-cp-acl-tutorial --storage-class REDUCED_REDUNDANCY.

The available storage classes include S3 Standard, S3 Intelligent-Tiering, S3 Standard-IA, S3 One Zone-IA, S3 Glacier, and S3 Glacier Deep Archive. These classes determine the performance, pricing, and access frequency restrictions for your files.

Here are the available storage classes:

By specifying the storage class, you can optimize the cost and manage the disk efficiency and IO performance during file read and write operations.

Let's give the two buckets names. We will call the one bucket from-source, which belongs to the Source AWS account and will be the bucket we are going to copy from. The other bucket will be called to-destination, which belongs to the Destination AWS account and is where we are going to copy/move the objects to.

The from-source bucket is the source of our content, and we'll be copying from it to the to-destination bucket. This is where we'll be moving the objects to.

We'll need to make sure the buckets exist before we can start copying. If they don't exist, we'll need to create them.

The aws s3 sync command is your go-to tool for synchronizing a local directory and an S3 bucket, or even two existing S3 buckets. It's a recursive operation that matches the content of the source and destination.

Sync is optional, so you must remember to set the --delete flag if you need to delete redundant files from the destination. This is crucial if you want to keep your S3 buckets tidy.

Sync is useful for creating a local copy of an S3 bucket, ready to move elsewhere or transfer to another provider. This is especially helpful for backups or seeding a new bucket with initial content.

The aws s3 sync command can also be used to synchronize two existing S3 buckets, which can be a lifesaver if you need to mirror content between buckets.

To manage access to S3 buckets and objects, Access Control Lists (ACLs) are crucial.

You can set Canned ACLs using the aws s3 cp command with the --acl flag, which accepts a range of values including private, public-read, public-read-write, and more.

The s3:PutObjectAcl permission must be included in the list of actions for your IAM policy to use the --acl flag. To verify this, use the following command.

Grants allow managing fine-grained access control in S3, and you can use the --grants flag to grant read access to all authenticated users.

It's also possible to apply multiple grants simultaneously to grant different levels of access.

Setting the ACL is a crucial step in managing access to S3 buckets and the objects they contain. You can set Canned ACLs using the --acl flag with the aws s3 cp command.

To apply a Canned ACL, you can use the --acl flag with values like private, public-read, public-read-write, and more. The s3:PutObjectAcl permission must be included in your IAM policy for this to work.

Granting public read access to files being copied to an S3 bucket is as simple as using the --acl flag to apply the public-read ACL on the file. Make sure the bucket allows setting ACLs for public access, or try a different canned ACL.

Fine-grained grants can also be managed using the --grants flag. This allows you to grant read access to all authenticated users, or even specific users identified by their email address.

You can apply multiple grants simultaneously, granting read access to all authenticated users and full control to a specific user. The result is a more secure and controlled access to your S3 objects.

For security and compliance reasons, you might want to restrict the files being copied to S3 buckets with specific Access Control Lists. This can be achieved by applying a specific ACL on the destination bucket after copying the file.

S3 supports several predefined ACLs, including private, public-read, public-read-write, and bucket-owner-full-control. To set the ACL on newly synced files, pass the desired policy's name to the --acl flag.

To create an IAM user account, you need to create an IAM user within the Destination AWS account where you want to copy or move data. This user will be used to perform all S3 operations.

The IAM user doesn't need a password, but only access keys. For example, in this blog, I'll be referring to the user "copy_user" as the IAM user that will perform all S3 operations.

You can create an IAM user by following the instructions in the AWS documentation, specifically in the section on "Creating an IAM User in Your AWS Account".