How to Build Your Own S3-Compatible Object Storage with MinIO on Ubuntu 24.04

 

While storing data in public cloud object storage is relatively inexpensive, data transfer, cross-region traffic, and internet egress charges can become a massive burden as workloads grow. With the continuous rise of AI datasets, LLM training, RAG pipelines, and Kubernetes clusters in 2026, many organizations are realizing the cost-efficiency of moving their large datasets back to private infrastructure.

The ultimate solution? Self-hosted Object Storage.

By running MinIO on a dedicated server, you get full Amazon S3-compatible API support for the vast majority of applications—without the unpredictable cloud egress fees.

In this step-by-step guide, we will walk you through deploying a secure MinIO server on Ubuntu 24.04 that provides a solid foundation for production deployments.

Prerequisites

Before starting your installation, ensure you have the following:

• A Linux storage server running Ubuntu 24.04.

• Root or sudo privileges on the server.

• A registered domain name (optional, but recommended for production HTTPS).

Update your system first to ensure all packages are up to date:

Bash sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 1: Download and Install MinIO

MinIO is shipped as a single binary, making the installation process incredibly simple. Download the latest 64-bit Linux executable:

Bashwget https://dl.min.io/server/minio/release/linux-amd64/minio

Make the downloaded file executable and move it to your system’s binaries directory:

Bashchmod +x minio
sudo mv minio /usr/local/bin/

Step 2: Create a Secure User and Directory

Running services as the root user is a major security risk. We will create a dedicated system user with no login privileges, along with a directory for your data.

Bash

sudo groupadd -r minio-user
sudo useradd -r -s /usr/sbin/nologin -g minio-user minio-user

Create the data directory (e.g., /mnt/data) and set the correct permissions:

Bashsudo mkdir -p /mnt/data
sudo chown -R minio-user:minio-user /mnt/data
sudo chmod 750 /mnt/data

Step 3: Configure the UFW Firewall
MinIO uses port 9000 for the S3-compatible API and port 9001 for the Web Console. If you are using UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall), allow these ports before starting the service:

Bashsudo ufw allow 9000/tcp
sudo ufw allow 9001/tcp
sudo ufw reload

Step 4: Create the Systemd Service
To manage MinIO like a standard background service, create a systemd configuration file:
Bashsudo nano /etc/systemd/system/minio.service

Paste the following configuration into the file.

Security Warning: Replace the MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD with a long, random password generated by a password manager. Do not use default or weak passwords!

Ini, TOML[Unit]
Description=MinIO High Performance Object Storage
Documentation=https://docs.min.io
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target

[Service]
User=minio-user
Group=minio-user
WorkingDirectory=/mnt/data

# Environment Variables for easy configuration
Environment="MINIO_VOLUMES=/mnt/data"
Environment="MINIO_OPTS=--console-address :9001"
Environment="MINIO_ROOT_USER=admin"
Environment="MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD=ReplaceWithYourSecurePassword!"

ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/minio server $MINIO_VOLUMES $MINIO_OPTS

Restart=always
RestartSec=5

# Security restrictions
CapabilityBoundingSet=CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE
AmbientCapabilities=CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE
NoNewPrivileges=true

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Step 5: Start and Verify the Service
Reload systemd to detect the new service, then start and enable MinIO to launch on boot:
Bashsudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start minio
sudo systemctl enable minio

Check if the service is running without errors:

Bashsudo systemctl status minio

To confirm that MinIO is actively listening on the correct ports (9000 and 9001), run:

Bashsudo ss -tulpn | grep minio

Step 6: Access the MinIO Console & Set Policies
Open your web browser and navigate to: http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:9001
Log in with your configured Root User and Password.
Navigate to Buckets -> Create a Bucket.
Access Control: By default, buckets are Private. In the console, you can configure Anonymous Rules (for public read access) or generate Access Keys (for your applications to connect securely).

Step 7: Install the MinIO Client (mc)

For command-line management, the MinIO Client (mc) is an essential tool. It functions as a modern alternative to UNIX commands like ls, cat, and cp.

Install it using:

Bashwget https://dl.min.io/client/mc/release/linux-amd64/mc
chmod +x mc
sudo mv mc /usr/local/bin/

Connect mc to your new local MinIO server:

Bashmc alias set local_s3 http://127.0.0.1:9000 admin ReplaceWithYourSecurePassword!

Now you can list your buckets or create a new one directly from the terminal:

Bashmc ls local_s3
mc mb local_s3/my-new-bucket

Production and Security Best Practices
If you are using this MinIO setup for production data, please implement the following:
Enable HTTPS (SSL): Never send API requests in plain text over the public internet. Use a reverse proxy like Nginx, Caddy, or Traefik with a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate. 
 Remember, MinIO is Not a Backup: If your server's single hard drive fails, your data dies. Ensure you have proper backup strategies in place. 
 High Availability: For enterprise workloads, consider deploying MinIO in a distributed cluster across multiple drives (RAID) or multiple servers to ensure fault tolerance and data redundancy.

Ready to host your own data?
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Read Full Tutorial Here!