iDrive e2 is low-cost S3-compatible storage, and it works with Dropbucket like any other bucket. Check iDrive’s pricing page for current storage and download terms.

This guide takes about ten minutes.

What you need

  • An iDrive e2 account. If you don’t have one, sign up through our referral link. iDrive e2 is our recommended storage: 1 TB is US$29.75 for the first year, then $59.50 a year (as of November 2026), with free downloads up to three times what you store. We may earn a commission, at no cost to you.
  • A Dropbucket account. The free plan works with iDrive e2.

Step 1: Enable a region and create a bucket

iDrive e2 makes you switch on a region before you can store anything there.

  1. Sign in to the iDrive e2 console.
  2. On the Dashboard, choose a region from the Region list and click Enable. Pick one close to you and your clients.
  3. The Enabled regions section now shows the region with its endpoint URL. Copy it. You need it in Step 5.
  4. Click Create Bucket (on the Dashboard, or on the Buckets page).
  5. Enter a name. Use lowercase letters, numbers and dashes, for example agency-transfers. Dropbucket won’t accept capitals or underscores.
  6. Check the region in the pop-up matches the one you enabled.
  7. Default Encryption is fine to turn on. Leave Object Locking off: Dropbucket needs to delete files when you remove a transfer.
  8. Click Create Bucket.

Step 2: Create an access key

  1. Open the Access Keys tab and click Create Access Key.
  2. Enter a name, like dropbucket, and pick the region your bucket is in.
  3. If you’re asked for an expiry, choose the longest option or none. A key that expires will break your links when it does.
  4. Choose read and write permission.
  5. Select only the bucket from Step 1.
  6. Click Create Access Key.

iDrive shows an Access Key ID and a Secret Access Key. Copy or download both. Keep the secret somewhere safe.

The exact menu may differ slightly as iDrive updates its console.

Step 3: Check your endpoint

iDrive e2 endpoints come in a couple of shapes depending on the region and when your account was set up. For example:

https://s3.us-west-1.idrivee2.com
https://x1y2.la.idrivee2-12.com

Use exactly what the console shows for your region, with https:// in front and nothing after it. Don’t guess it from another region’s address.

Step 4: Add the CORS rule

Files travel from your client’s browser straight into the bucket. The browser only allows that if the bucket says Dropbucket’s pages may upload to it. That permission is a CORS rule.

Dropbucket tries to add the rule itself when you save your storage settings. If your key isn’t allowed to change bucket settings, add it once by hand:

  1. Go to Buckets, hover over your bucket and click its settings icon.
  2. Open the Bucket CORS tab.
  3. Click Add CORS, paste the rule below and click Apply.
[
  {
    "AllowedOrigins": [
      "https://app.dropbucket.io"
    ],
    "AllowedMethods": [
      "GET",
      "PUT",
      "HEAD"
    ],
    "AllowedHeaders": [
      "*"
    ],
    "ExposeHeaders": [
      "ETag"
    ],
    "MaxAgeSeconds": 3600
  }
]

If you use your own domain for download and upload pages, add it as a second origin, such as "https://files.youragency.com", with a comma after the first one. See Put your download pages on your own domain. The Storage page in Dropbucket shows this rule with your verified domains already included.

Keep ETag in ExposeHeaders. Dropbucket reads it after every chunk of a large upload.

Step 5: Connect iDrive e2 in Dropbucket

  1. In Dropbucket, go to Settings → Storage.
  2. Under Provider, choose iDrive e2.
  3. Endpoint: replace https://<ENDPOINT> with the endpoint from Step 3.
  4. Bucket: the bucket name.
  5. Region: if the console shows a region code for your region, use it. Otherwise leave the default and see Troubleshooting if the test complains.
  6. Access key ID and Secret access key: from Step 2.
  7. Folder inside the bucket (optional): leave blank, or enter a folder name like client-files.
  8. Leave Path-style URLs ticked.

Test the connection

Press Test and save.

Dropbucket writes a tiny test file, reads it back and deletes it. When that works, the Status card shows a tick next to Keys work. It then tries to set the CORS rule and runs a real upload from your browser.

If Browser uploads allowed (CORS) shows a tick, you’re done. If you see “We couldn’t set this automatically on your provider”, paste the rule as in Step 4, wait a minute and press Check again.

Troubleshooting

“The storage provider refused these keys.” Check the key and secret were copied in full. Check the key was created for the same region as the bucket and includes this bucket. Check it has write access, not read only.

“That bucket was not found at this endpoint.” The endpoint belongs to a different region. iDrive lets different customers use the same bucket name, so the endpoint matters more than usual. Copy it again from the Dashboard.

“Wrong region or endpoint for this bucket.” or a signature error. Try setting Region to the region code that appears in your endpoint (for example us-west-1 from s3.us-west-1.idrivee2.com).

“We couldn’t reach your storage with these settings.” The endpoint has a typo, is missing https://, or has a path on the end. It should be just the address.

Keys work, but the CORS check fails. The rule is missing, on another bucket, or the origin has a typo. It must be exactly https://app.dropbucket.io with no trailing slash.

Uploads fail with 403. Usually CORS. If CORS passes, check the key hasn’t expired.

“Your storage didn’t return an ETag.” ETag is missing from ExposeHeaders. Add it and apply the rule again.

Path-style. Keep Path-style URLs ticked for iDrive e2.

Next steps

Add your logo under Settings → Branding, then send a transfer or create a request link so clients can upload straight into iDrive e2.

Ready to try it? Create a free Dropbucket account and connect your bucket.