InfrastructureObject Storage

Mount a Bucket as a Filesystem

A bucket can be mounted as a local filesystem, letting tools that expect POSIX paths read and write objects without any code changes. This is useful for migrations, backup tools, build pipelines, or any utility that doesn’t speak S3 natively.

Object Storage isn’t a real POSIX filesystem. Mounted access works well for sequential reads, batch writes, and general file workflows — but avoid it for random small writes or anything that depends on file locking.

Before you begin

  • A bucket (Create a bucket)
  • An API credential with at least Object Read & Write scope on the target bucket
  • The S3 endpoint for your organization: https://{workspaceId}.blob.ibeestorage.com

Pick a tool

ToolBest forNotes
s3fsLinux / macOS — quick mount of a single bucketSimple, FUSE-based
rcloneCross-platform, large transfers, scriptingHas both mount and sync modes

s3fs (Linux / macOS)

Install:

$# Ubuntu / Debian
$sudo apt-get install s3fs
$
$# macOS
$brew install s3fs

Save your credentials:

$echo "AKIA...:<your-secret-access-key>" > ~/.passwd-s3fs
$chmod 600 ~/.passwd-s3fs

Mount the bucket:

$mkdir -p /mnt/my-bucket
$
$s3fs my-bucket /mnt/my-bucket \
>    -o url=https://{workspaceId}.blob.ibeestorage.com \
>    -o use_path_request_style \
>    -o passwd_file=~/.passwd-s3fs

Now /mnt/my-bucket reads and writes against the bucket.

Unmount:

$fusermount -u /mnt/my-bucket   # Linux
$umount /mnt/my-bucket          # macOS

Auto-mount at boot (Linux)

Add to /etc/fstab:

my-bucket /mnt/my-bucket fuse.s3fs _netdev,allow_other,url=https://{workspaceId}.blob.ibeestorage.com,use_path_request_style,passwd_file=/root/.passwd-s3fs 0 0

rclone

Install: rclone.org/install

Configure a remote:

$rclone config
$# n) New remote
$# name> ibee
$# Storage> s3
$# provider> Other
$# access_key_id> AKIA...
$# secret_access_key> <your-secret-access-key>
$# endpoint> https://{workspaceId}.blob.ibeestorage.com

Mount:

$mkdir -p /mnt/my-bucket
$rclone mount ibee:my-bucket /mnt/my-bucket --vfs-cache-mode writes

Or sync without mounting:

$rclone sync ./local-dir ibee:my-bucket/remote-dir

Performance notes

  • Sequential is fast, random is slow. Mounted filesystems shine for whole-file reads and writes; small in-place edits trigger full re-uploads.
  • Cache aggressively. Tools like rclone and s3fs have local cache options — use them.
  • Don’t use as a database backing store. No file locking, no atomic appends.

Common pitfalls

  • Symlinks are not real symlinks — they become regular files containing the link path.
  • File modification time comes from object metadata; tools that rely on mtime may behave unexpectedly.
  • du is slow because it has to list every object.