Recently, I’ve been working on a project that uses Filebase as an S3-compatible storage layer. Before (and during) development, I wanted a quick way to verify that my credentials, bucket, and basic operations were working correctly, without diving straight into application code.
Below is a simple workflow I use to test Filebase locally using AWS CLI (and later curl if needed).
1. Install AWS CLI
brew install awscli
2. Export Filebase Credentials
I prefer exporting environment variables so I don’t have to repeat them for every command:
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="your_filebase_key_id"
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="your_filebase_secret_key"
export FILEBASE_BUCKET="your_bucket_name"
Filebase is S3-compatible, so standard AWS credentials work fine here.
3. List Bucket Contents
This is usually the first check to confirm credentials and bucket access:
aws s3 ls s3://$FILEBASE_BUCKET \
--endpoint-url https://s3.filebase.com
If this works, your keys and bucket setup are correct.
4. Upload a Test File
aws s3 cp /path/to/file.png \
s3://$FILEBASE_BUCKET/test-upload.png \
--endpoint-url https://s3.filebase.com
5. Verify the Upload
aws s3 ls s3://$FILEBASE_BUCKET \
--endpoint-url https://s3.filebase.com
You should see test-upload.png in the output.
Why I Do This
When integrating object storage into a real project, I’ve found it very helpful to:
- Validate credentials early
- Confirm read/write permissions
- Eliminate infrastructure issues before debugging application code
This quick sanity check has saved me a lot of time, especially when working across different environments.
Filebase Signup
If you haven’t tried Filebase yet, here’s the referral link I’m using:
