Deployed S3 Interface and S3 Browser UI

A core part of the mission here at Data for Canada is modernizing how we access, store, and interact with public datasets. Today, we are excited to announce a step forward in our infrastructure with the deployment of a new S3-compatible API and a companion web-based explorer.

These two tools are designed to serve both programmatic workflows and everyday discovery.

1. The Programmatic S3 Interface

developmentseed/multistore has been successfully deployed to https://s3.dataforcanada.org/.

For data pipelines and cloud-native workflows, standard access protocols are everything. Multistore provides a robust S3-compatible interface, allowing developers, researchers, and data engineers to interact with our hosted datasets using familiar S3 tools and libraries. Whether you are automating data pipelines, querying cloud-optimized formats directly over the network, or syncing large datasets, this endpoint ensures that data retrieval is fast, scalable, and standardized.

    flowchart TD
    Client(["🌐 S3 Client / User"])
    Gateway["<b>s3.dataforcanada.org</b>\nS3-Compatible Gateway"]

    Client -->|"S3 API Request"| Gateway

    Gateway -->|"sourcecooperative bucket"| AWS
    Gateway -->|"backblaze-ca-east-006 bucket"| BB
    Gateway -->|"cloudflare-apac bucket"| CFAPAC
    Gateway -->|"cloudflare-enam bucket"| CFENAM
    Gateway -->|"tigris bucket"| TIGRIS

    subgraph AWS ["☁️ Amazon Web Services"]
        AWSNode["📍 Oregon, United States"]
    end

    subgraph BB ["🔵 Backblaze B2"]
        BBNode["📍 Toronto, ON, Canada"]
    end

    subgraph CFAPAC ["🟠 Cloudflare R2"]
        CFAPACNode["📍 Asia Pacific Region"]
    end

    subgraph CFENAM ["🟠 Cloudflare R2"]
        CFENAMNode["📍 Eastern North America"]
    end

    subgraph TIGRIS ["⚡ Tigris Data"]
        TIGRISNode["11 Regions Worldwide 🌍\nAuto-routes to nearest location\nfor lowest latency"]
    end

    style Gateway fill:#1a5f7a,color:#fff,stroke:#0d3d52
    style Client fill:#2d6a4f,color:#fff,stroke:#1b4332
    style AWSNode fill:#ff9900,color:#000,stroke:#cc7a00
    style BBNode fill:#e03c31,color:#fff,stroke:#b02d24
    style CFAPACNode fill:#f6821f,color:#fff,stroke:#c4681a
    style CFENAMNode fill:#f6821f,color:#fff,stroke:#c4681a
    style TIGRISNode fill:#6c3483,color:#fff,stroke:#512e6b
  

2. The S3 Browser UI

To complement the API, we have also deployed walkthru-earth/objex to https://objex.labs.dataforcanada.org/.

While an S3 API is perfect for code, sometimes you just need to look around. Objex provides a lightweight, clean, and intuitive web interface for browsing our storage buckets. This allows anyone to navigate through directory structures, discover what files are available, and download data directly from their browser—no command-line tools or specialized software required.

Supported Formats

As of May 3, 2026, objex supports over 100 file formats.

What’s Next?

By pairing a standardized S3 API with a human-readable explorer, we are bridging the gap between heavy-duty engineering requirements and general public accessibility.

Take a look around the new explorer, test out the S3 endpoint in your workflows, and stay tuned for more updates as we continue to build out the Data for Canada infrastructure!