Back up to S3-compatible storage
How to get an access key, secret key, bucket, endpoint, and region for S3-compatible storage — AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, or Wasabi — and paste them into CreateYourVPN Backups.
Almost every object storage provider speaks the S3 protocol, so CreateYourVPN can back up to any of them. Whichever you pick, you'll end up with the same five things to paste in:
- Endpoint — the storage server address (only AWS lets you omit this).
- Region — the region code.
- Bucket — the container your backups live in.
- Access key and Secret key — the credentials, ideally scoped to just that bucket.
- Optional prefix — a "subfolder" inside the bucket, e.g.
cyv/.
The general flow is always the same: create a bucket, then create an access key limited to it. Below are the specifics per provider.
Create the bucket as private — backups are already encrypted with your passphrase, but there's no reason for them to be publicly reachable. Do not enable public access.
AWS S3
In the S3 console, create a bucket. Note the Region you pick (for example us-east-1, eu-central-1).
In IAM, create a user (or access key) with permission to read/write that bucket, and copy its Access key ID and Secret access key.
- Endpoint: leave blank, or use
https://s3.<region>.amazonaws.com. - Region: the bucket's region, e.g.
eu-central-1.
Cloudflare R2
R2 has no egress fees, which makes it a popular choice.
In the Cloudflare dashboard, open R2 and create a bucket.
Under R2 → Manage API Tokens, create an API token / access key scoped to that bucket. Copy the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key.
- Endpoint:
https://<your-account-id>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com(your account ID is shown on the R2 overview page). - Region: use
auto.
Backblaze B2
Backblaze is one of the cheapest options.
In B2 Cloud Storage, create a bucket (keep it private).
Under App Keys, create an Application Key limited to that bucket. Copy the keyID (access key) and applicationKey (secret key) — the secret is shown only once.
- Endpoint: the S3 Endpoint shown on the bucket page, e.g.
https://s3.us-west-004.backblazeb2.com. - Region: the region embedded in that endpoint, e.g.
us-west-004.
Wasabi
Wasabi is flat-rate storage with no egress fees.
In the Wasabi console, create a bucket and note the region you chose.
Under Access Keys, create a key pair and copy the Access Key and Secret Key.
- Endpoint: matches your region, e.g.
https://s3.eu-central-1.wasabisys.com. - Region: the bucket's region, e.g.
eu-central-1.
Rule of thumb for the endpoint: it's the S3 URL your provider shows on the bucket or "S3 API" page. When in doubt, copy it verbatim from there — a wrong endpoint or region is the most common reason a first backup fails.
Paste it into CreateYourVPN
In the dashboard, open Account menu → Backups, choose S3-compatible as the destination, and paste your endpoint, region, bucket, access key, secret key, and an optional prefix. Then set your passphrase, frequency, and retention, and save.