Working with Multiple Storage Accounts

To add a new storage account

CS Browser can work with multiple Amazon S3 and Amazon S3 compatible storage accounts. Add each account once, then switch between accounts from the Accounts menu.

For account types that use an access key ID and secret access key, CS Browser encrypts both values before storing them locally. See Access Keys encryption for details.

To add a new account:

1. Start CS Browser and choose Accounts -> Add new account...

   

   The Add New Account dialog will open:

   

2. Fill out account details:

   • Display name - enter any name that helps you identify the account.
   • Account type - Choose the storage service or authentication method you want to use.

     The following account types are currently supported:

     • Amazon S3 Storage
     • Amazon S3 Compatible Storage
     • Amazon S3 in China
     • Amazon S3 GovCloud Storage
     • Amazon S3 GovCloud Storage (FIPS 140-2)
     • Amazon S3 European Sovereign Cloud
     • Amazon S3 via EC2 IAM Role
     • Amazon S3 via AssumeRole
     • Amazon S3 via GetSessionToken
     • Amazon S3 via SSO
     • Amazon S3 GovCloud Storage via SSO
     • Amazon S3 GovCloud Storage (FIPS 140-2) via SSO
     • Amazon S3 (Credentials from Environment Variables)
     • Amazon S3 (Credentials from AWS Config or Credential file)
   • Access Key ID and Secret Access Key - Access keys are used to sign requests sent to the storage service. If you need help retrieving your access keys, see: AWS Access Keys .
   • Encrypt Access Keys with a password - Access keys are always encrypted before they are stored on disk. By default, CS Browser uses a built-in application key. Enable this option to use your own master password instead.

     CS Browser will prompt for the master password whenever it needs to unlock this account.

     The current encryption format uses AES-256-CBC with HMAC-SHA256 authentication and PBKDF2-SHA256 key derivation.

   • Use secure transfer (SSL/TLS) - Keep this option enabled to encrypt communications with the storage service using TLS.

3. Click Add new account.

   The new account is now available from the Accounts menu.

Advanced Account Settings

You can also configure additional settings when adding a new account or editing an existing account.

To open advanced account settings, click the advanced settings link located at the bottom-left corner of the dialog.

The Advanced Account Settings dialog will open:

The General tab contains the following settings:

List all my buckets when account assigned - CS Browser calls the Amazon S3 ListBuckets operation when the account is assigned. This requires the s3:ListAllMyBuckets permission. If the account does not have permission to list all buckets, you can uncheck this option to avoid failed tasks and warnings in the log.

Check CloudFront distributions when account assigned - CS Browser calls the CloudFront ListDistributions operation when the account is assigned. This requires the cloudfront:ListDistributions permission and allows CS Browser to set a special icon for buckets used as origins for CloudFront distributions. If the account does not have permission to list CloudFront distributions, you can uncheck this option to avoid failed tasks and warnings in the log.

External Buckets - Enter one bucket or bucket/path value per line. Use / to separate a bucket name from an optional path, for example my-bucket/optional/path.

Connection settings

Open the Connection tab to configure SSL/TLS certificate validation, a proxy, dual-stack endpoints, and Transfer Acceleration for this account. Proxy and certificate validation settings are also available for the other account types, including Amazon S3 compatible storage.

SSL/TLS certificate validation offers three choices:

• Use global settings - Inherit Tools, Options, Advanced, Bypass SSL/TLS validation. This is the default.
• Validate certificates - Validate server certificates for this account, regardless of the global setting.
• Bypass certificate validation - Ignore certificate validation errors for this account and trust all certificates.

Proxy shows the current connection mode. Click the summary or the pencil button to open Proxy Settings.

In Proxy mode, choose Use global settings (the default), Do not use proxy (direct connection), Autodetect proxy settings, or Use proxy settings below. For a manual proxy, enter Address and Port (8080 by default). If authentication is required, select My proxy server requires authentication and enter the username, password, and optional domain. Click OK to return to Connection.

Use dual-stack endpoints (IPv4/IPv6) - Allow connections over both IPv4 and IPv6.

Use Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration - Use a Transfer Acceleration endpoint for file transfers. Enable it only for buckets where Transfer Acceleration is configured.

Click Close, then Add new account or Save changes in the account dialog to save the settings. Proxy and certificate validation changes take effect for new connections without restarting CS Browser.

To switch between accounts

Select an account from the Accounts menu.

If the account's access keys are protected with a master password, CS Browser will prompt you for it.

If you forgot the master password, see how to regain access to the account.

To edit an account

1. Choose Accounts -> Manage accounts...

   

   The Storage Accounts dialog will open:

   

2. Select the account you want to edit and click Edit.

   The Edit Account dialog will open:

   

3. Edit the account properties, then click Save changes in the Edit Account dialog. To discard your changes, click Cancel.

4. Click Save changes again in the Storage Accounts dialog to apply the account-list changes, or click Cancel to close the dialog without applying them.

To delete an account

1. Choose Accounts -> Manage accounts...

   

   The Storage Accounts dialog will open:

   

2. Select one or multiple accounts you want to delete and click Delete.

3. In the Storage Accounts dialog, click Save changes to save and close it, or click Cancel to close it without saving.

Deleting an account removes its configuration from CS Browser after you save the changes. It does not delete buckets or files from the storage service.

Organize accounts into folders

Organize storage accounts into folders to group them by environment, customer, or purpose and keep a long account list manageable.

To create a new folder:

1. Choose Accounts -> Manage accounts...

2. In the Storage Accounts dialog, choose More -> Create new folder.. or use the Ctrl+N keyboard shortcut.

   

3. Enter the folder name and click Create new folder.

   

To move accounts into a folder:

1. Select one or multiple accounts in the Storage Accounts dialog.

2. Right-click the selected accounts and choose Move to folder.., or use the Ctrl+M keyboard shortcut. Alternatively, you can use drag-and-drop to move accounts and folders into another folder.

   

3. Select the destination folder and click OK.

   

To work with accounts in folders:

Accounts placed into folders remain fully functional and can be used the same way as before. You can expand folders in the Accounts menu and quickly access the accounts inside them:

You can move accounts between folders and rename folders at any time.

If you delete a folder and save the changes, CS Browser also removes the accounts contained in that folder. Their remote buckets and files are not deleted.

Import, export, and reorder accounts

Choose Accounts -> Manage accounts...

To export accounts:

Choose Accounts File to transfer CS Browser account settings. Access keys remain in CS Browser's encrypted account format.

Choose AWS Credentials File only when you specifically need that format. It stores access key IDs and secret access keys as plain text, so protect the exported file and delete it when it is no longer needed.

1. Select one or multiple accounts you want to export and click More -> Export accounts... The Save As dialog will open:

   

2. Choose Accounts File or AWS Credentials File from the file type list, specify the file name, and click Save.

   You can now transfer the resulting file to another machine and import accounts.

To import accounts:

CS Browser can import an Accounts XML file or an AWS credentials file. Review the imported accounts, then click Save changes.

1. Choose More -> Import accounts... The Open File dialog will open:

   

2. Select an accounts file and click Open.

   Accounts will be loaded from the file and added to the list:

   

3. Click Save changes.

To reorder accounts:

1. Select one or multiple accounts you want to reorder and click More -> Move up to move them up or More -> Move down to move them down.

   

   You can also use the Ctrl+Up and Ctrl+Down keyboard shortcuts.

   You can also use the context menu to perform the actions described in this tutorial.