{"id":"cloud-accounts.access-denied-when-listing-buckets","url":"/faq/cloud-accounts/access-denied-when-listing-buckets","category":{"id":"cloud-accounts","title":"Cloud accounts"},"subcategory":{"id":"amazon-s3","title":"Amazon S3"},"question":"Why do I get \"Access Denied\" when listing S3 buckets?","alt_questions":["S3 Access Denied Storage Studio","AccessDenied list buckets AWS","Can't see my buckets in Storage Studio","Least privilege user can't list buckets","403 error S3 Storage Studio"],"short_answer":"With a least-privilege user that's expected: it can't list every bucket in your AWS account, only use its own. Enter that bucket's exact name. If reads or writes inside it are denied too, fix the user's policy in AWS.","answer_markdown":"That's expected with a least-privilege user. A user limited to one bucket can't list every bucket in your AWS account — that's the safe setup. Work with your specific bucket, which it can read and write.\n\nMake sure the **Bucket** field holds that bucket's exact name. If you also get Access Denied when reading or writing inside the bucket, the user's permissions don't include that bucket — check the policy in the AWS console.","answer_html":"

That's expected with a least-privilege user. A user limited to one bucket can't list every bucket in your AWS account — that's the safe setup. Work with your specific bucket, which it can read and write.

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Make sure the Bucket field holds that bucket's exact name. If you also get Access Denied when reading or writing inside the bucket, the user's permissions don't include that bucket — check the policy in the AWS console.

","answer_text":"That's expected with a least-privilege user. A user limited to one bucket can't list every bucket in your AWS account — that's the safe setup. Work with your specific bucket, which it can read and write.\n\nMake sure the Bucket field holds that bucket's exact name. If you also get Access Denied when reading or writing inside the bucket, the user's permissions don't include that bucket — check the policy in the AWS console.","tags":["amazon s3","access denied","errors"],"related":[{"id":"cloud-accounts.what-aws-permissions-does-storage-studio-need","question":"What AWS permissions should the S3 user for Storage Studio have?","url":"/faq/cloud-accounts/what-aws-permissions-does-storage-studio-need"},{"id":"cloud-accounts.common-amazon-s3-setup-mistakes","question":"What are the most common mistakes when setting up Amazon S3?","url":"/faq/cloud-accounts/common-amazon-s3-setup-mistakes"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"Why do I get \"Access Denied\" when listing S3 buckets? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"With a least-privilege user that's expected: it can't list every bucket in your AWS account, only use its own. Enter that bucket's exact name. If reads or writes inside it are denied too, fix the user's policy in AWS.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Cloud accounts","path":"/faq/cloud-accounts/"},{"name":"Why do I get \"Access Denied\" when listing S3 buckets?","path":"/faq/cloud-accounts/access-denied-when-listing-buckets"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/cloud-accounts/access-denied-when-listing-buckets","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why do I get \"Access Denied\" when listing S3 buckets?","alternateName":["S3 Access Denied Storage Studio","AccessDenied list buckets AWS","Can't see my buckets in Storage Studio","Least privilege user can't list buckets","403 error S3 Storage Studio"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"That's expected with a least-privilege user. A user limited to one bucket can't list every bucket in your AWS account — that's the safe setup. Work with your specific bucket, which it can read and write.\n\nMake sure the Bucket field holds that bucket's exact name. If you also get Access Denied when reading or writing inside the bucket, the user's permissions don't include that bucket — check the policy in the AWS console.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/cloud-accounts/access-denied-when-listing-buckets"}}]},"fragment":"
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Cloud accounts · Amazon S3

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Why do I get "Access Denied" when listing S3 buckets?

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Short answer: With a least-privilege user that's expected: it can't list every bucket in your AWS account, only use its own. Enter that bucket's exact name. If reads or writes inside it are denied too, fix the user's policy in AWS.

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That's expected with a least-privilege user. A user limited to one bucket can't list every bucket in your AWS account — that's the safe setup. Work with your specific bucket, which it can read and write.

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Make sure the Bucket field holds that bucket's exact name. If you also get Access Denied when reading or writing inside the bucket, the user's permissions don't include that bucket — check the policy in the AWS console.

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