Garage - An open-source distributed object storage service | WarmIndex

Garage is an open-source, S3-compatible distributed object storage service tailored for self-hosting small-to-medium scale clusters with geo-distributed nodes.

🚀 Overview

Garage provides a lightweight and resilient S3-compatible object storage solution for self-hosting, enabling data replication across multiple physical locations without a dedicated backbone.

It solves the problem of deploying reliable, distributed storage on commodity hardware for small-scale users who want to avoid expensive cloud providers like AWS S3 while maintaining high availability despite failures.

Garage is built for self-hosters, sysadmins, and small service providers like Deuxfleurs, who have used it in production since 2020.

What problem does this project solve? Lack of easy-to-operate, geo-distributed, self-hosted S3 storage that's resilient to network and hardware failures.
Who is it built for? Self-hosting enthusiasts, small teams with heterogeneous servers across datacenters.
Why did you build it? Deuxfleurs created it to power their ethical, self-hosted internet services with operator-friendly software emphasizing redundancy and simplicity.

✨ Key Features

S3 API compatibility (what it does and why it matters): Full support for Amazon S3 API, allowing seamless integration with tools like rclone, Cyberduck, or any S3 client—no vendor lock-in.
Geo-distributed replication: Data chunks replicated across 3 zones (groups of servers), ensuring high availability even if entire datacenters go offline.
Low resource footprint: Runs on old x86_64/ARM hardware (1GB RAM min), heterogeneous clusters, low network reqs (50Mbps, <200ms latency).
Single binary deployment: Dependency-free executable for all Linux distros, fast setup and safe operation.
High resilience: Inspired by Dynamo, CRDTs, Maglev; tolerates disk failures, network partitions, sysadmin errors.
Optional: Experimental admin tools and K2V storage engine in recent versions.

🛠 Tech Stack

Frontend: N/A (server-side service)
Backend: Rust (94.9% of codebase)
Database: Custom distributed storage with replication (Dynamo/CRDT-inspired)
Other: Shell, Clojure, Nix, Python (minor tooling)
Auth: S3 access keys and API
Hosting: Self-hosted on Linux (any distro)

👥 Who Is This For?

This project is useful for:

Developers and self-hosters seeking a MinIO alternative for distributed setups
Sysadmins building resilient storage on second-hand or heterogeneous hardware
Indie providers and small teams avoiding cloud costs and centralization

📸 Screenshots / Demo

Live demo: https://garagehq.deuxfleurs.fr/
GitHub: https://github.com/deuxfleurs-org/garage (mirror)

🔥 Project Status

🟢 Actively building

Last updated: 2026-03-24

❓ FAQ

Is this project free?

Yes / Open Source (AGPLv3 license, entirely free software).

Is the source code available?

Yes — https://git.deuxfleurs.fr/Deuxfleurs/garage (main) and GitHub mirror https://github.com/deuxfleurs-org/garage

Can I contribute?

Yes — report issues or submit merge requests on the Git forge. Star the repo, provide feedback via email or Mastodon. Development welcomes contributions to features, docs, or testing.