Step 1Create an iDrive e2 account

Sign up for iDrive e2 through our referral link. iDrive e2 is our recommended storage supplier. We may earn a commission, at no cost to you.

iDrive e2 bills you directly for storage; Dropbucket doesn't charge for it. Prices change, so check iDrive e2's pricing page for current rates.

Step 2Create a private bucket and pick a region

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. Click Create Bucket (on the Dashboard, or on the Buckets page).
  4. Enter a name using lowercase letters, numbers and dashes, for example agency-transfers. Dropbucket won't accept capitals or underscores.
  5. Check the region in the pop-up matches the one you enabled.
  6. Default Encryption is fine to turn on. Leave Object Locking off: Dropbucket needs to delete files when you remove a transfer.
  7. Click Create Bucket.

New buckets are private. Leave it that way: Dropbucket uses short-lived signed links, so the bucket never needs public access.

Step 3Create an access key for that bucket only

  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 breaks your links when it does.
  4. Choose read and write permission.
  5. Select only the bucket from Step 2.
  6. Click Create Access Key.

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

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

Step 4Find your endpoint and region

Back on the Dashboard, the Enabled regions section lists each region with its endpoint URL. Copy the one for your bucket's region. Endpoints come in a couple of shapes, for example:

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

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

For the Region field, use the region code if the console shows one (for example us-west-1 in s3.us-west-1.idrivee2.com). If it doesn't, the default Dropbucket fills in usually works.

Step 5Enter the details in Dropbucket

  1. In Dropbucket, go to Settings → Storage.
  2. Provider: choose iDrive e2. Dropbucket fills in the endpoint https://<ENDPOINT> and region us-west-2 for you.
  3. Endpoint: replace https://<ENDPOINT> with the endpoint from Step 4.
  4. Bucket: the bucket name from Step 2.
  5. Region: the region code from Step 4, or leave the default us-west-2 if your endpoint has no code in it.
  6. Access key ID and Secret access key: the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key from Step 3.
  7. Folder inside the bucket (optional): leave it blank, or enter a folder such as client-files if the bucket holds other things too.
  8. Path-style URLs: leave it ticked. That's the right setting for iDrive e2.

Read Step 6 before you press Test and save. Your keys are encrypted before they're stored, and Dropbucket only uses them to sign uploads and downloads. Files never pass through Dropbucket's servers.

Step 6Add the CORS rule

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

The Storage page in Dropbucket shows the exact rule under CORS rule, and tries to apply it for you when you save.

Dropbucket tries to add the rule itself when you press Test and save. 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
  }
]

Using your own domain for download and upload pages? Add it as a second origin, for example "https://files.youragency.com", with a comma after the first. No trailing slash. The Storage page in Dropbucket shows the rule with your verified domains already filled in, so copying it from there is safest. See Put your download pages on your own domain.

Keep ETag in ExposeHeaders. Dropbucket reads it after every chunk of a large upload, and uploads stop without it.

Step 7Run the connection check

  1. Press Test and save.
  2. Dropbucket writes a tiny test file to the bucket, reads it back and deletes it. When that works, the Status card shows a tick next to Keys work.
  3. It then tries to add the CORS rule and runs a real test upload from your browser. When that works, Browser uploads allowed (CORS) shows a tick.

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 6, wait a minute and press Check again.

Two ticks means you're connected. Send a small test transfer to yourself to see the whole thing working.

Step 8Fix common errors

The messages below are exactly what Dropbucket shows on the Storage page.

Permissions

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

“Wrote a test file but could not read it back”The key can write but not read. Give it read and write access to the bucket, then press Test and save again.

Keys work, but uploads fail with a 403 errorCheck CORS first. If CORS passes, check the key hasn't expired. Keep Path-style URLs ticked for iDrive e2.

Region and endpoint

“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.”Set Region to the region code in your endpoint (for example us-west-1 from s3.us-west-1.idrivee2.com). A signature error has the same fix.

“We couldn't reach your storage with these settings. Check the endpoint and region.”The endpoint has a typo, is missing https://, or has a path on the end. Copy it again from Enabled regions on the Dashboard.

“Endpoint should be just the address, with no path”Remove everything after the domain, including any bucket name. The endpoint must also start with https://.

“Custom S3 endpoints come with a lifetime plan. Pick one of the listed providers, or upgrade.”On the free plan the endpoint has to be one of the listed providers' own addresses. This usually means a typo in the domain part of the endpoint.

CORS

Keys work, but Browser uploads allowed (CORS) doesn't tickThe CORS rule is missing, was saved on a different bucket, or has a typo in the origin. The origin must be exactly https://app.dropbucket.io, with no slash at the end. Fix it, wait a minute, then press Check again.

“Your storage didn't return an ETag. Check its CORS settings (expose ETag).”Your CORS rule is missing ETag under ExposeHeaders. Add it back and save the rule.

Still stuck? Email support@dropbucket.io with the message you see. Never send us your secret key.