Amazon Introduces Storage Browser for S3

Amazon has recently announced the alpha release of Storage Browser for Amazon S3, providing end users with a simple interface for accessing data stored in S3. The project is available in the AWS Amplify JavaScript and React client libraries.

Storage Browser is an open-source Amplify UI React component that customers can add to their web applications to provide end-users with a simple interface to access data stored in S3. Using the new interface, developers can grant authorized end-users the ability to browse, download, and upload data in the bucket from their applications.

Source: Project GitHub page

Danilo Poccia, chief evangelist of EMEA at AWS, summarizes the features of the new project:

An open source Amplify UI React component that you can add to your web applications to provide your end users with a simple interface for data stored in S3. The component uses the new ListCallerAccessGrants API to list all S3 buckets, prefixes, and objects they can access, as defined by their S3 Access Grants.

According to the documentation on GitHub, Storage Browser for S3 can be installed via npm or by using the tagged versions of the @aws-amplify/ui-react-storage and aws-amplify packages. The following dependencies should be added to the package.json file:
 

"dependencies": {
	"@aws-amplify/ui-react-storage": "storage-browser",
	"aws-amplify": "storage-browser",
  }

The Amplify project has three main views, starting with the locations view, which is the initial view that shows the root-level S3 resources the user has access to, along with their associated permissions (READ/READWRITE). The location detail view is a file-browser-like interface where users can browse files and folders in S3, as well as upload or download files. The location action view appears when users select an action, such as uploading files.

While the general feedback has been mostly positive, several users have requested search support, which is currently lacking. Jason Butz, principal architect and practice lead at DMI, instead highlights a potential use case:

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed a way for business users to have administrative access to files uploaded to your application? I have, and then we have to talk about how we can provide access to objects in an S3 Bucket in the application and whether the effort is worth it. That may be getting a little easier.

There are currently three ways to set up authentication and authorization with the storage browser component: AWS IAM Identity Center and S3 Access Grants, which are recommended for granting access on a per-S3-prefix basis; Amplify Auth, the fastest setup option for developers already using Amplify; or Custom Auth. The last option is suggested for applications that have their own identity and authorization services for authenticating and authorizing users. Eduardo Rabelo, senior ccoud Consultant at Serverless Guru, comments:

It is great to see AWS providing opinionated components for developers!

The AWS team behind the project is seeking feedback from developers, including suggestions for improving APIs, as well as additional features.