S3 Storage Setup

speak-mintlify uploads generated audio files to S3-compatible storage for efficient delivery. This guide covers setup for AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, and self-hosted MinIO.

Storage Providers Overview

AWS S3

Industry standard, global CDN, pay-per-use pricing

Cloudflare R2

Zero egress fees, fast global delivery, simple pricing

MinIO

Self-hosted, full control, no vendor lock-in

AWS S3 Setup

Create an S3 bucket

Log in to AWS Console
Click Create bucket
Choose a unique bucket name (e.g., my-docs-audio)
Select a region close to your users (e.g., us-east-1)
Uncheck “Block all public access” (we need public read access)
Click Create bucket

Configure bucket policy

Add a bucket policy to allow public read access:

Go to your bucket → Permissions → Bucket Policy
Add this policy (replace YOUR_BUCKET_NAME):

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Sid": "PublicReadGetObject",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Principal": "*",
      "Action": "s3:GetObject",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::YOUR_BUCKET_NAME/*"
    }
  ]
}

This allows public read access to all files in the bucket. Only upload files you want to be publicly accessible.

Create IAM user

Create an IAM user with programmatic access:

Go to IAM Console → Users
Click Add users
User name: speak-mintlify-uploader
Select Access key - Programmatic access
Click Next: Permissions

Attach permissions

Create an inline policy with these permissions:

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "s3:PutObject",
        "s3:ListBucket",
        "s3:DeleteObject"
      ],
      "Resource": [
        "arn:aws:s3:::YOUR_BUCKET_NAME",
        "arn:aws:s3:::YOUR_BUCKET_NAME/*"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Complete the user creation and save the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key.

Configure environment variables

Add credentials to your .env file:

.env

# AWS S3 Configuration
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=AKIA...
S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your_secret_key
S3_BUCKET=my-docs-audio
S3_REGION=us-east-1
S3_PUBLIC_URL=https://my-docs-audio.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com

# No S3_ENDPOINT needed for AWS S3

Optional: CloudFront CDN

For better performance, serve audio through CloudFront:

Create CloudFront distribution

Go to CloudFront Console
Click Create distribution
Origin domain: Select your S3 bucket
Origin access: Legacy access identities → Create new OAI
Viewer protocol policy: Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
Click Create distribution

Update bucket policy

CloudFront will update your bucket policy automatically. Remove the public access policy if using CloudFront exclusively.

Update S3_PUBLIC_URL

Use your CloudFront domain:

.env

S3_PUBLIC_URL=https://d123456789.cloudfront.net

Cloudflare R2 Setup

Cloudflare R2 offers zero egress fees and is more cost-effective for high-traffic sites.

Create R2 bucket

Log in to Cloudflare Dashboard
Go to R2 from the sidebar
Click Create bucket
Enter bucket name (e.g., docs-audio)
Choose a location hint (optional)
Click Create bucket

Enable public access

Go to your bucket → Settings
Scroll to Public access
Click Allow Access and confirm
Copy the Public bucket URL (e.g., https://pub-abc123.r2.dev)

Create API token

Go to R2 → Manage R2 API Tokens
Click Create API token
Token name: speak-mintlify
Permissions: Object Read & Write
(Optional) Apply to specific buckets only
Click Create API token
Save the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key

Configure environment variables

Add R2 credentials to your .env file:

.env

# Cloudflare R2 Configuration
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your_access_key_id
S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your_secret_access_key
S3_BUCKET=docs-audio
S3_REGION=auto
S3_ENDPOINT=https://<account_id>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com
S3_PUBLIC_URL=https://pub-abc123.r2.dev

Replace <account_id> with your Cloudflare account ID (found in R2 settings).

Custom Domain for R2

Use your own domain for cleaner URLs:

Add custom domain

Go to your R2 bucket → Settings → Custom Domains
Click Connect domain
Enter your domain (e.g., audio.docs.com)
Follow DNS setup instructions

Update S3_PUBLIC_URL

.env

S3_PUBLIC_URL=https://audio.docs.com

MinIO Setup (Self-Hosted)

MinIO is perfect for self-hosted or on-premise deployments.

Install MinIO

Docker
Binary
Kubernetes

docker run -d \
  -p 9000:9000 \
  -p 9001:9001 \
  --name minio \
  -e "MINIO_ROOT_USER=admin" \
  -e "MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD=your_secure_password" \
  -v /data/minio:/data \
  minio/minio server /data --console-address ":9001"

# Download MinIO
wget https://dl.min.io/server/minio/release/linux-amd64/minio
chmod +x minio

# Start MinIO
export MINIO_ROOT_USER=admin
export MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
./minio server /data --console-address ":9001"

# Using MinIO Operator
kubectl apply -k github.com/minio/operator

# Or using Helm
helm repo add minio https://charts.min.io/
helm install minio minio/minio \
  --set rootUser=admin,rootPassword=your_secure_password

Create bucket

Access MinIO Console at http://localhost:9001
Login with root credentials
Go to Buckets → Create Bucket
Bucket name: docs-audio
Click Create Bucket

Set bucket to public

Go to your bucket → Anonymous → Add Access Rule
Prefix: * (all objects)
Access: readonly
Click Add

Create access key

Go to Access Keys → Create access key
Copy the Access Key and Secret Key
Click Create

Configure environment variables

.env

# MinIO Configuration
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your_access_key
S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your_secret_key
S3_BUCKET=docs-audio
S3_REGION=us-east-1
S3_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:9000
S3_PUBLIC_URL=http://localhost:9000/docs-audio

For production, use HTTPS with a reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy) and a proper domain.

Testing Your Setup

Verify your storage configuration works:

# Generate audio and upload to S3
npx speak-mintlify generate . --pattern "test.mdx"

Check that:

Files upload successfully
Public URLs are accessible
Audio plays in your browser
Cleanup correctly identifies orphaned files

Environment Variables Reference

S3_BUCKET

string

required

Your S3 bucket name

S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID

string

required

S3 access key ID (or R2/MinIO equivalent)

S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY

string

required

S3 secret access key

S3_PUBLIC_URL

string

required

Public URL where files are accessible. Examples:

AWS S3: https://bucket.s3.region.amazonaws.com
CloudFront: https://d123.cloudfront.net
R2: https://pub-abc.r2.dev
MinIO: https://minio.example.com/bucket

S3_REGION

string

default:"us-east-1"

AWS region (or auto for R2)

S3_ENDPOINT

string

Custom S3 endpoint (required for R2 and MinIO). Examples:

R2: https://abc123.r2.cloudflarestorage.com
MinIO: https://minio.example.com
Not needed for AWS S3

Troubleshooting

Upload fails with 403 Forbidden

AWS S3:

Check IAM user has s3:PutObject permission
Verify bucket name in IAM policy matches actual bucket
Ensure access keys are correct

Cloudflare R2:

Verify API token has “Object Read & Write” permissions
Check token is applied to correct bucket
Ensure endpoint URL includes account ID

MinIO:

Check access key has write permissions
Verify bucket policy allows uploads
Check MinIO server is running

Public URLs return 403 or 404

Check public access:

AWS S3: Verify bucket policy allows public read
R2: Ensure “Allow Access” is enabled
MinIO: Check anonymous access rules

Check URL format:

Remove trailing slashes from S3_PUBLIC_URL
Verify bucket name is correct
Test URL directly in browser

CORS errors in browser

Add CORS configuration to your bucket:AWS S3:

[
  {
    "AllowedHeaders": ["*"],
    "AllowedMethods": ["GET"],
    "AllowedOrigins": ["*"],
    "ExposeHeaders": []
  }
]

Cloudflare R2: CORS is automatically configured for public buckets.MinIO:

mc alias set myminio http://localhost:9000 admin password
mc anonymous set-json policy.json myminio/docs-audio

Connection timeout to S3_ENDPOINT

Verify endpoint URL is correct (including protocol)
Check firewall/security groups allow connections
For MinIO, ensure server is accessible from CI/CD
Test with curl or aws s3 ls

Files uploaded but not accessible

Check S3_PUBLIC_URL matches actual public URL
Verify content-type is set correctly (audio/mpeg)
Check bucket/object ACLs (legacy AWS S3)
Test URL in incognito/private browser

Best Practices

Use separate buckets

Keep audio files in a dedicated bucket separate from other assets for easier management.

Enable versioning

Enable S3 versioning to recover from accidental deletions.

Set lifecycle policies

Automatically delete old versions or move to cheaper storage tiers.

Monitor costs

Track storage and bandwidth usage, especially with AWS S3.

Use CDN

Serve through CloudFront, Cloudflare, or similar for better performance.

Secure credentials

Never commit credentials. Use environment variables or secrets managers.

Cost Optimization

AWS S3
Cloudflare R2
MinIO

Storage: ~$0.023/GB/month (Standard)
Bandwidth: $0.09/GB egress (first 10TB/month)
Requests: Minimal cost for PUT/GET

Optimize:

Use S3 Intelligent-Tiering for infrequently accessed files
Enable CloudFront to reduce egress costs
Set lifecycle rules to delete old versions

Next Steps

Fish Audio Setup

Configure Fish Audio API and choose voices

CI/CD Integration

Automate audio generation in your workflow

Get Started

Configuration

Commands

Guides

Reference

Storage Providers Overview

AWS S3

Cloudflare R2

MinIO

AWS S3 Setup

Optional: CloudFront CDN

Cloudflare R2 Setup

Custom Domain for R2

MinIO Setup (Self-Hosted)

Testing Your Setup

Environment Variables Reference

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

Use separate buckets

Enable versioning

Set lifecycle policies

Monitor costs

Use CDN

Secure credentials

Cost Optimization

Next Steps

Fish Audio Setup

CI/CD Integration

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Configuration

Commands

Guides

Reference

​Storage Providers Overview

AWS S3

Cloudflare R2

MinIO

​AWS S3 Setup

​Optional: CloudFront CDN

​Cloudflare R2 Setup

​Custom Domain for R2

​MinIO Setup (Self-Hosted)

​Testing Your Setup

​Environment Variables Reference

​Troubleshooting

​Best Practices

Use separate buckets

Enable versioning

Set lifecycle policies

Monitor costs

Use CDN

Secure credentials

​Cost Optimization

​Next Steps

Fish Audio Setup

CI/CD Integration

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Storage Providers Overview

AWS S3 Setup

Optional: CloudFront CDN

Cloudflare R2 Setup

Custom Domain for R2

MinIO Setup (Self-Hosted)

Testing Your Setup

Environment Variables Reference

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

Cost Optimization

Next Steps