Let's now explore the different alternatives to MinIO, and how easy they are to switch MinIO out for. I've taken the above project and tried to implement it with as few changes to use the replacement for MinIO.

S3Proxy Version tested: 3.0.0 Docker image (5M+ pulls) Licence: Apache 2.0 S3 compatibility Ease of config: Very easy to implement, and seems like a nice lightweight option. One thing I did notice was that one of the projects that S3Proxy uses, jclouds, was moved to the Apache Attic (i.e. retired) in mid-2025—although probably nbd if you're only using local storage anyway?

Rust FS Version tested: 1.0.0-alpha.79 Ease of config: Docker image (100k+ pulls) Licence: Apache 2.0 S3 compatibility Be aware that there was recently a pretty bad security vuln found in Rust FS, which has put some people off from using it. The website looks pretty smart but several links resolve to the same page, giving it that "fresh paint" smell of a new project :)

Seaweed FS Version tested: 4.06 Docker image (5M+ pulls) Licence: Apache 2.0 S3 compatibility Ease of config: This quickstart is useful for getting bare-minimum S3 functionality working. Overall there's not too much to change here; a fairly straightforward switchout of Docker images, but the auth does need its own config file. Edit: Straight after posting this blog, the project replied to say they'll be removing this extra requirement, making it even easier to use! Seaweed FS comes with its own basic UI which is handy.

Zenko Cloud Server Version tested: 9.2.8 Docker image (also outdated ones on Docker Hub with 5M+ pulls) Licence: Apache 2.0 S3 compatibility Ease of config: Formerly known as S3 Server, Cloud Server is part of a toolset called Zenko, published by Scality. It drops in to replace MinIO pretty easily, but I did find it slightly tricky at first to disentangle the set of names.

Garage Ease of config: Version tested: 1.0.0 Docker image (1M+ pulls) Licence: AGPL S3 compatibility I had to get a friend to help me with this one. As well as the garage container, I needed another to do the initial configuration, as well as a TOML config file which I've inlined in the Docker Compose to keep things concise. Garage does work, but gosh...it is not just a drop-in replacement in terms of code changes. Excellent for production hygiene...overkill for local demos.