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👋 Introduction

What is L3?​

L3 is Lighthouse's S3-compatible API for its storage network (IPFS + Filecoin). Point the AWS CLI, boto3, rclone, or any tool that speaks the Amazon S3 protocol at the L3 endpoint, and your files land on Lighthouse — content-addressed by CID, backed by Filecoin deals — with the bucket-and-key workflow your tools already understand.

No SDK migration, no new upload API to learn: if it works with the S3 protocol, it works with L3.

Your existing S3 tools ──▶ s3.lighthouse.storage ──▶ Lighthouse (IPFS + Filecoin)
   aws cli / boto3 /            S3 API                 files stored by CID,
   rclone / SDKs            (SigV4, buckets, keys)     billed to your account

What You Can Do​

  • Use any S3 client – AWS CLI, boto3, aws-sdk-js, rclone, and other SigV4 S3 tools work out of the box.
  • Keep your workflow – buckets, keys, multipart uploads, presigned URLs, pagination: standard S3 semantics.
  • Get CIDs for free – every object response carries its IPFS CID in the x-amz-meta-cid header, so content addressing comes built in.
  • Bill through your Lighthouse account – uploads count against your existing Lighthouse plan; no separate billing.
  • Self-serve credentials – trade your Lighthouse API key for S3 credentials with a single API call. See Create S3 Keys.
  • Share with presigned URLs – hand out time-limited download links without sharing credentials.

Endpoint at a Glance​

Endpointhttps://s3.lighthouse.storage
Regionauto (any value works)
AddressingPath-style (https://s3.lighthouse.storage/bucket/key)
AuthAWS Signature Version 4 (standard S3 credentials)

Where to Go Next​

note

Amazon S3 is a trademark of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Lighthouse is not affiliated with or endorsed by Amazon; "S3" is used here to describe protocol compatibility.