I’m trying to upload files that are several gigabytes to AWS S3, but I’m running into timeouts and errors. I need a reliable method or tool for handling very large files. Has anyone solved this or can recommend best practices for large file uploads?
Struggling to Move Big Files to Amazon S3? Here’s the Lowdown.
Okay, so you’re sitting there with a chunky file (think “HD family vacation video plus ten thousand raw photos” level) and you want it parked safely in AWS S3. I’ve been there—and it’s not as easy as dragging stuff into your cloud drive, trust me. Let’s break it down, forum-style, with a couple of different takes on how you could tackle this (and a little hard-earned real talk thrown in).
First Time Uploading? Here’s the Usual Route
You wanna go basic? The AWS Management Console is about as straightforward as it gets for anything under 5GB. I mean, it’s fine if you’re not dealing with movie studio archives or trying to upload with hotel WiFi, but yeah, it gets the job done:
- Crack open your browser and log in to the AWS Management Console.
- Jump into the Amazon S3 section (yellow-orange cube icon—can’t miss it).
- Either spin up a new bucket (think of it like a new folder) or pick one you already set up.
- Hit “Upload,” then select your file.
- Set who can see your stuff, pick how you want it stored, and then let that upload dance begin.
- Watch that little progress bar crawl. Don’t close your laptop—if you lose connection or the file is bigger than 5GB, you’re starting over.
- Real talk: this method is NOT for bad internet or files that take hours to upload. You’ll be cursing before you’re done.
“Why Is My Upload So Slow?” The Cross-Continent Crowd
Got files living in one hemisphere and your S3 bucket chilling in another? Wanna avoid crawl-speed uploads? Slide in with S3 Transfer Acceleration.
- Go find the fancy “Transfer Acceleration” toggle in your bucket’s settings.
- Flip the switch to ON. That hooks you up with AWS’s global network voodoo.
- Upload just like normal—but behind the scenes, AWS uses their speedy connections so your file isn’t playing Marco Polo halfway around the planet.
- Heads up: This will add a couple of bucks to your bill, especially if you’re blasting terabytes across the ocean. Don’t use it just for fun.
Looking for a Desktop App with a Little More Oomph?
If clicking around web consoles or dealing with command lines isn’t your vibe, there’s CloudMounter—a standalone app that lets you map S3 as if it were just another drive on your computer. Full-on, double-click, drag-and-drop goodness.
The How-To (Condensed for Your Sanity):
- Fire up CloudMounter, and hit the big Amazon S3 logo.
- Give your connection a name (something you’ll remember—like “Production Backups” or “Grandma’s Cat Photos”).
- Pop in your access key and secret access key from AWS (grab these from your AWS account, don’t lose them!).
- Choose between “path style” or “virtual-hosted style” (AWS docs have the nitty-gritty if you care).
- Enter your bucket name, or just a
/if you wanna start at the root. - Hit Mount. Boom—S3 shows up like any other drive.
Sneaky catch: you’re not logging in with a regular username and password. CloudMounter needs your AWS-generated keys. If you can copy-paste, you can do it.
CloudMounter isn’t just about sending files north—download, rename, and even snag URLs right from your desktop. Power user vibes without console headaches.
The Ugly Truth (And Some Quick Tips)
- AWS web upload = cake for small/medium files, nightmare for massive stuff.
- S3 Transfer Acceleration = spendier but saves your sanity if you’ve got a deadline and a ton of data.
- CloudMounter = easy if you like the desktop experience, don’t mind third-party apps, and can handle the access key thing.
Final thought: If you’re uploading whopper-sized files regularly, look into the AWS CLI with multipart upload so mid-transfer hiccups don’t ruin your day. Your future self will thank you.
Hope this peels back the mystery on giant S3 uploads. If anyone’s got spicy horror stories or a “magic tool” I missed, drop it below!
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All this uploading drama and no one’s talking about AWS CLI? @mikeappsreviewer’s got a nice breakdown (props for the plain language), but honestly, web UIs and apps like CloudMounter are cute until your upload bombs 90% into a 10GB file and your will to live evaporates.
Here’s the deal: you want reliable, use the Multipart Upload via AWS CLI. This isn’t just tech-hipster gatekeeping – it’s because if (and when!) your 50GB upload drops halfway, the CLI can resume or retry only the missing parts, not start over. Web UI? Losses every. single. time. Desktop apps? Sometimes they promise resume but behind the scenes, it’s the same web pain, just in drag-and-drop form.
Quick 101:
- Install the AWS CLI (literally, download and pip install – painless).
- aws s3 cp YourHugeFile s3://YourBucket/ --storage-class STANDARD_IA --expected-size 10000000000 (replace w/ your details).
- By default, for stuff over 8MB, it chunks in parts and powers through hiccups. Pause? Resume? No stress. Control-C, run again – it starts where it left off.
Don’t want terminal life? Scripts turn multipart upload into point-and-clicks. For those allergic to code, CloudMounter’s solid, but for mission-critical uploads, CLI is the only way you don’t throw your laptop into traffic. Transfer Acceleration is great – if you have money to light on fire and latency’s your main enemy. Otherwise: pipe, cable, CLI. Trust.
Or just drive your hard disk to the datacenter like in the olden days. Sometimes old school wins!
Okay, so I’m seeing everyone spilling the tea on AWS CLI and multipart uploads—which, yeah, are kind of the big-name tools for handling those “it’s so big my laptop fans are screaming” uploads. Props to @mikeappsreviewer and @chasseurdetoiles for repping the CLI and CloudMounter. But honestly, let’s talk about what everyone skips: plain old S3 browser uploads and how it’s probably THE WORST choice for your situation. I mean, if your file is so big you need to ask a forum, the AWS browser interface is basically a rage-inducing “start over at 94%” meme in real life.
But lemme sprinkle some nuance here: have you tried third-party transfer managers like Cyberduck, Transmit (yeah, mac only, sorry Windows folks), or even rclone for the terminal crowd? These do chunked/multipart uploads as well, often with cleaner UIs for tracking progress, and way less “uh oh” if your WiFi hiccups. Some even let you queue uploads AND set bandwidth throttling, so your Netflix binge doesn’t choke mid-transfer.
CloudMounter, like mentioned, is dope if you want mount-and-drag ease and aren’t allergic to the idea of a paid app. It’s not pure magic, but for anyone who melts down facing a command prompt, it beats wrestling with cryptic error codes, and yes, it does multipart under the hood.
One time I had to upload a 20GB VM backup over hotel WiFi (never again). AWS CLI died on me mid-transfer because my config was botched. Ended up using Transmit because it let me resume the failed parts and, unlike the AWS web console, didn’t make me weep into my sweet, overpriced hotel breakfast.
For actual best practices: always do multipart, pick a tool that won’t make you start over, and maybe just overnight ship a drive if it’s hundreds of GBs. Also—don’t trust any method that doesn’t let you resume. And if you’re in the weeds so bad that none of this works? AWS’s Snowball is a thing, although it’s overkill unless you’re playing with real enterprise-level loads.
tl;dr: Browser upload = misery. AWS CLI is boss but can be finicky. CloudMounter, Cyberduck, Transmit = friendly, resumable, probably what you want if “reliable” is the main ask. And let the pros debate Transfer Acceleration—unless you’re moving stuff from Mars, it’s not usually worth the extra spend for personal projects.
So, here’s my kinda contrarian two cents: People love waxing poetic about AWS CLI and multipart uploads (and honestly, fair—if you’re comfy with terminals and need ultra-granular control or deep automation, it rocks). But if your eyes glaze over at terminal flags and yaml configs, or you’ve ever lost hours to a flaky console upload dying at 97%, you might still be hunting for that holy grail. Don’t feel bad.
CloudMounter’s getting its shoutouts, and rightfully so. Mounting S3 as a native drive is straight-up user-friendly, with some actual desktop feel. Drag, drop, get on with your life. No secret decoder rings necessary. Pros? Super clean UI, resumable uploads, no AWS Console nightmares, and low burnout if your transfer flubs (thanks to multipart handling under the hood). Also: handles more than just S3, so if you’re juggling Dropbox or Google too, bonus.
Cons, though: CloudMounter ain’t free, and if you’re a power user needing deep automation—batch scripting, programmatic actions, headless servers—it’s not your weapon. Also, while it works great for dragging over 10–50GB files, I’d get twitchy about pushing terabytes weekly without at least test-piloting it D2D.
On the competition side, Cyberduck has a cult following for cross-platform users, and Transmit is beloved on Mac (albeit, again, for a price). rclone is a beast for CLI heads who live and breathe batch jobs, but the learning curve is real.
If “reliable” is your big ask, pick a tool with true multipart/resumable features—CloudMounter’s solid for that, so long as the desktop approach suits you. Just avoid the web UI altogether for files over 5GB unless you enjoy existential dread. For the cloud-skeptical: AWS Snowball for petabytes, snail mail style, but that’s a whole other rabbit hole.
Bottom line: Give CloudMounter a whirl if you want reliability and sanity without going full DevOps. For long-term, high-freq, automated push, maybe keep CLI/rclone in your back pocket, but don’t let anyone convince you browser uploads are anything but pure punishment at scale.