Backup Your Files! 10x Speed Upload to AWS S3 (Tested 2Gbps)

This guide covers how to upload both single files and entire folders to AWS S3 using the AWS CLI. We'll focus on sending them directly to the DEEP_ARCHIVE storage class for inexpensive, long-term backup.

Step 1: Prerequisites ⚙️

This guide assumes you have already installed and configured the AWS CLI. If you haven't, please complete our first guide:

➡️ How to Install & Configure the AWS CLI

It also assumes a basic understanding of AWS S3 (file storage) and have an S3 bucket ready.

Step 2: Optimize Upload Speed (Optional but Recommended) ⚡

For large files (e.g., videos, large archives), you can increase speed by configuring multipart uploads. This allows the CLI to upload multiple parts of a file in parallel.

To set the maximum number of parallel requests to 100, run this command:

aws configure set default.s3.max_concurrent_requests 100

This is a one-time configuration that will speed up all subsequent large uploads. 🚀

You can also set the multipart chunk size. A common setting is 64MB.

aws configure set default.s3.multipart_chunksize 64MB

This command instructs the CLI to break large files into 64MB pieces before uploading them in parallel.

Step 3: Upload a Single File ⬆️

Use the aws s3 cp (copy) command to upload files.

The command requires a source path (what to copy) and a destination path (your s3:// bucket).

For example, to upload my-backup.zip from your Desktop to a bucket named my-super-safe-bucket and send it directly to DEEP_ARCHIVE, use the --storage-class flag:

aws s3 cp "C:\Users\YourName\Desktop\my-backup.zip" "s3://my-super-safe-bucket/" --storage-class DEEP_ARCHIVE

(On Mac/Linux, your path would be something like /home/YourName/Desktop/my-backup.zip)

The file will be uploaded directly to the Deep Archive storage class. 🥶

Step 4: Upload an Entire Folder 📂

To back up an entire folder (e.g., "My Photos"), use the same cp command with the --recursive flag. This copies all contents, including subfolders.

Example path: C:\Users\YourName\Documents\MyPhotos.

To upload the entire folder and set all files within it to DEEP_ARCHIVE, use both the --recursive and --storage-class flags:

aws s3 cp "C:\Users\YourName\Documents\MyPhotos" "s3://my-super-safe-bucket/MyPhotos/" --recursive --storage-class DEEP_ARCHIVE

The command copies the folder and all its subfolders, applying the storage class to every file.

Step 5: Verify the Upload ✅

You can verify the files were uploaded by listing the contents of your bucket from the CLI.

To list (ls) all files in your bucket recursively, run:

aws s3 ls "s3://my-super-safe-bucket/" --recursive

Your newly-uploaded files and folders will appear in the list. ✨

Alternatively, you can navigate to the S3 service in your AWS Console, open your bucket, and view the uploaded files. 😌

Step 6: A Note on Storage Classes 🗄️

This guide focuses on DEEP_ARCHIVE for the cheapest long-term backup. However, AWS offers several storage classes for different needs.

• If you omit the --storage-class flag entirely, your files will be uploaded to the default STANDARD class, which is more expensive but allows for instant access.
• Other common classes include STANDARD_IA (for infrequent access) and GLACIER_IR (Instant Retrieval), which balance cost and access speed.

For this guide's goal of cheap archival, DEEP_ARCHIVE is the correct choice.

Backup Complete! 😌

You've successfully learned how to use the aws s3 cp command to back up your important files and folders to S3, using the --recursive and --storage-class flags to ensure they are archived efficiently and cost-effectively.