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Overview

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) is a cloud object storage service for storing and retrieving any amount of data. Once connected, Workshop can help you explore buckets, list objects, and work with your S3 data through natural conversation.

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What You’ll Need

CredentialDescriptionExample
Access Key IDAWS access key identifierAKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE
Secret Access KeyAWS secret access keywJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY
Default RegionAWS region for your bucketsus-east-1

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Creating AWS Credentials

1

Open the IAM Console

Log in to the AWS Management Console and navigate to IAM (Identity and Access Management).
2

Create or select a user

Go to Users in the sidebar. Either select an existing user or click Create user to create one specifically for Workshop.
3

Set permissions

Attach the AmazonS3ReadOnlyAccess managed policy for read-only access. For access to specific buckets only, create a custom IAM policy.
4

Create an access key

Select your user, go to the Security credentials tab, click Create access key, and select Application running outside AWS.
5

Copy credentials

Copy both the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key immediately. The secret is only shown once.
For security, create a dedicated IAM user for Workshop with only the permissions needed to access your S3 buckets. Avoid using root account credentials.

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Connecting to Workshop

1

Open the Hub

Open the Workshop Hub from the sidebar.
2

Go to Connectors

Click the Connectors tab.
3

Select AWS S3

Click the AWS S3 card.
4

Enter details

Enter a Connection Name (e.g., “Production S3”), your Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, and Default Region.
5

Save

Click Add Connection.

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Verifying Your Connection

Ask Workshop: 
List all buckets in my S3 connection
If Workshop returns your bucket list, the connection is working.

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Using Your Connection

Show me all objects in my "data-exports" bucket

What files were uploaded to my S3 bucket in the last 7 days?

List all CSV files in the "reports" folder of my analytics bucket

What's the total size of objects in my backup bucket?

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Security Best Practices

  • Least privilege: Use AmazonS3ReadOnlyAccess for read-only operations. For specific buckets, create a custom policy.
  • Dedicated users: Create a dedicated IAM user for Workshop. Never use root credentials.
  • Key rotation: Rotate access keys regularly. Create a new key, update Workshop, then delete the old key.
  • Never share keys: Don’t commit credentials to version control or share them publicly.
If you suspect your access key has been compromised, immediately deactivate it in the IAM console and create a new one.

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Troubleshooting

IssueSolution
Invalid access keyVerify the Access Key ID was copied correctly. Check it’s active in IAM (not deactivated).
Access deniedVerify the IAM user has S3 permissions. Check bucket policies. Ensure the correct region is specified.
Bucket not foundVerify the bucket name (case-sensitive). Ensure it exists in the specified region.

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