Object Storage (S3)
You have files to store - user uploads, backups, a pile of images - and the disk on your server keeps filling up. Someone says "put it on S3," and you nod, but the moment you open the console it feels like a weird filesystem that lies to you: folders that aren't folders, permissions that bite, and a "Make public" button that has ended careers. This guide gives you the real mental model so object storage stops feeling like magic and starts feeling like a tool you trust.
How to read this
Read the phases in order the first time. Phase 1 rewires how you picture the thing - and almost everything confusing about S3 comes from picturing it wrong. Phase 2 is the daily working knowledge. Phase 3 is where it bites people, including the leak you've read about in the news. If you only have five minutes, read phase 1; it's the part that saves you.