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You can run S3-compatible storage locally without MinIO using either SeaweedFS or Garage in Docker Compose. SeaweedFS offers a one-node quick start and a route to separate services; Garage has a straightforward container setup but needs both its data and metadata directories mounted to keep data across container replacement. Choose based on the S3 operations your application actually needs, then test those operations against the exact release you plan to run.
Choose by deployment shape and required S3 features
Both projects can provide a local S3 endpoint, but their documented setup paths and compatibility claims differ. SeaweedFS can start as a single process or be arranged as separate master, volume, filer, S3, and WebDAV services. Garage’s quick start centers on a configured node; preserving its data requires mounting both data and metadata paths. Neither project’s general compatibility statements guarantee that every application or AWS SDK call will work unchanged.
| Decision point | SeaweedFS | Garage |
|---|---|---|
| Quick-start S3 endpoint | http://localhost:8333, per the SeaweedFS README. |
http://localhost:3900, per Garage’s Quick Start. |
| Setup shape | One-node weed mini option; Compose documentation describes separate master, volume, filer, S3, and WebDAV services. |
Docker startup with a garage.toml; more elaborate clustered layouts require additional planning. |
| Persistence detail | Docker example mounts a named volume at /data; the one-node command uses a data directory. |
Mount both configured data and metadata directories. The sample Docker command alone does not persist data. |
| Documented S3 feature claims | The project README lists versioning, lifecycle, object lock, IAM/STS, and server-side encryption among its supported capabilities. | The compatibility documentation says ACLs, bucket policies, versioning, replication endpoints, object-lock endpoints, and server-side encryption are not implemented; lifecycle support is limited. |
| Access control | The README describes IAM and STS API coverage. | Uses its own permissions model based on access keys and buckets rather than S3 ACLs or bucket policies. |
These feature descriptions come from the projects’ documentation, not an independent compatibility test. Garage’s lifecycle support is partial: its documentation names incomplete-multipart-upload abort and expiration actions, with constraints. SeaweedFS’s broader list should likewise be treated as a project claim, not proof that every AWS behavior or edge case is identical.
Start SeaweedFS with Docker Compose
Use the one-node option for a local trial
The SeaweedFS README’s single-node path sets access key, secret, and bucket environment variables, then starts weed mini -dir=./data. Its S3 endpoint is http://localhost:8333. For Docker, the project also shows mapping port 8333 and mounting a named volume at /data. Set credentials deliberately and keep the data directory on storage you intend to preserve.
Use the multi-service Compose layout when you need its components separated
SeaweedFS documents a Compose arrangement with separate master, volume server, filer, S3, and WebDAV services. Its README points to Compose files and variants in the project’s docker/compose directory. Because that directory’s master branch can change, do not assume its current contents are a pinned production recipe: choose a release or image tag and inspect the matching Compose configuration before deploying.
The documented architecture distinguishes the master, which tracks volumes, from volume servers, which hold blobs, and filer servers, which expose S3 and other interfaces. The project says volume servers can add capacity and filer/S3 gateways can be scaled separately. Those descriptions help explain the layout; they do not by themselves establish a performance or resilience guarantee for a particular deployment.
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Configure Garage with persistent data and metadata
Prepare configuration and storage paths
Garage’s Quick Start uses a garage.toml file to configure data and metadata directories, credentials, and S3 endpoint settings. Its sample Docker command maps ports 3900–3903 and uses the dxflrs/garage image. The displayed image tag is an example for that documentation, not a recommendation to use an old or floating tag; check current releases and use documentation matching the selected image.
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The quick-start command does not create persistent data volumes. Mount host directories or named volumes for both the configured data directory and metadata directory, and make the paths in garage.toml match those mounts. If either path exists only inside a disposable container, replacing that container can lose the corresponding stored state.
Rank #3
- Low Cost Professional Grade Network Attached Storage - Optimized to organize, store, share, and back up your important and everyday files.
- Purpose-Built for Data Protection – Secure NAS with 256-bit drive encryption, a closed system, and flexible replication and backup features to keep your data safe.
- Fast Data Transfers – Native 2.5GbE port for high speed file transfers with no cable upgrade needed.
- Reliable Storage with Effortless Setup – Hard drives included and RAID pre-configured for hassle-free, out-of-the-box protection, and can be changed to other RAID modes to best suit your needs.
- Cloud Integration – Sync with Amazon S3, Dropbox, Azure and OneDrive to create a hybrid cloud for extra data security, cost savings, and flexible scalability.
Connect an S3 client
Garage’s example uses AWS CLI environment variables, including AWS_ENDPOINT_URL=http://localhost:3900, a region, and credentials. It demonstrates listing buckets and uploading and downloading a file. Recent enough AWS CLI versions can use AWS_ENDPOINT_URL; older supported versions may require an explicit endpoint option on each invocation. The exact CLI version and application client therefore belong in your validation, not just the server configuration.
Check compatibility against the application’s actual calls
Before choosing either server, list the S3 operations and behaviors the application uses. A service can accept basic object uploads while still failing an application that relies on policies, versioning, encryption, or a specific addressing convention.
- Access control: Determine whether the application configures S3 ACLs, bucket policies, IAM, or only credentials. Garage documents its own per-key/per-bucket permissions, not S3 ACL or bucket-policy endpoints.
- Object and bucket operations: Check whether it needs versioning, lifecycle rules, replication, object lock, CORS, multipart uploads, or presigned URLs. Garage documents several of these as absent or limited; SeaweedFS lists a wider set, but the list remains a project claim.
- Encryption: If the client expects server-side encryption, verify the exact encryption mode and request behavior. Garage says server-side encryption is not implemented; SeaweedFS lists SSE-S3, SSE-KMS, and SSE-C.
- Connection behavior: Test the client’s endpoint URL, path-style or virtual-host-style addressing, region handling, authentication, and upload-size patterns against the selected release.
- Operational behavior: Exercise restart and recovery procedures with the persistent paths and topology you intend to use, rather than treating a successful local upload as a deployment test.
SeaweedFS says compatibility tests run in its CI, and Garage publishes an S3 compatibility page; neither statement guarantees your application’s calls. Test against a pinned release and consult the relevant project documentation: SeaweedFS README, Garage Quick Start, and Garage S3 Compatibility status.
Plan persistence and growth before relying on the service
A local endpoint is not automatically durable or fault-tolerant. Decide where data and metadata live, what happens if a container or host is replaced, and how you will back up and restore the state your deployment needs. A single mounted disk can preserve files across container recreation, but it is not itself a backup or redundancy strategy.
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For a laptop or small self-hosted service, the simplest documented setup may be enough to validate an application. If you need multiple nodes, plan topology, metadata storage, replication, monitoring, and recovery rather than assuming a quick-start Compose file addresses them. Do not infer a speed ranking from the feature lists: the cited documentation does not provide a controlled SeaweedFS-versus-Garage benchmark for these local Compose configurations.
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