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Authentication

Filebase authentication is AWS Signature Version 4 (AWS4-HMAC-SHA256) — the same protocol used by AWS S3. Every modern S3 client and SDK signs requests automatically; you only need to supply your access key pair and, for some clients, the endpoint and region.

What you need​

SettingValue
Access Key IDfrom console.filebase.com/keys
Secret Access Keyfrom console.filebase.com/keys
Regionauto
Services3
Signature versions3v4 (SigV4)

How signing works​

For every API request:

  1. The client builds a canonical request string from the HTTP method, the URL path, the query string, the signed headers, and a SHA-256 hash of the body.
  2. The client computes a signing key from your secret access key, the request date, the region, and the service.
  3. The client HMAC-SHA-256s the canonical string with the signing key to produce the signature.
  4. The signature plus metadata (key ID, signed-header list, region, date) is sent in the Authorization header.

Filebase repeats the same calculation server-side and rejects the request if the signatures don't match.

Example: a signed request​

This is what a GetObject request looks like on the wire:

GET /my-bucket/photo.jpg HTTP/1.1
Host: s3.filebase.io
X-Amz-Date: 20260501T120000Z
X-Amz-Content-Sha256: e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855
Authorization: AWS4-HMAC-SHA256
  Credential=ACCESS_KEY/20260501/auto/s3/aws4_request,
  SignedHeaders=host;x-amz-content-sha256;x-amz-date,
  Signature=abc123...

The body of the request is hashed (SHA-256), and that hash is included in the canonical string. For streaming uploads where the body length isn't known in advance, use UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD as the content hash and authenticate the body with chunked signing.

SigV2 is not supported​

Filebase does not accept the older AWS Signature Version 2. If your tool only supports SigV2, upgrade — every actively-maintained S3 client supports SigV4, and most have for years.

Pre-signed URLs​

To grant short-lived access to a single object without sharing your access keys, generate a pre-signed URL. The signature is computed once, embedded in the URL as a query parameter, and the URL works for any client (browser, curl, fetch) until it expires.

Best practices​

  • Never commit secret keys. Use environment variables or a secrets manager.
  • Rotate keys if you suspect exposure (Access Keys → Rotate in the console).
  • Use pre-signed URLs for browser uploads and time-limited shares — never hand out your raw secret key.
  • Keep clocks in sync. SigV4 includes a timestamp; if your client clock drifts more than 15 minutes from server time, requests fail with RequestTimeTooSkewed.

What's next​