Minio is an object storage server released under Apache License v2.0. It is compatible with Amazon S3 cloud storage service. It is best suited for storing unstructured data such as photos, videos, log files, backups and container / VM images. Size of an object can range from a few KBs to a maximum of 5TB.
> NOTE: If you previously installed minio using `brew install minio` then it is recommended that you reinstall minio from `minio/stable/minio` official repo instead.
Source installation is only intended for developers and advanced users. If you do not have a working Golang environment, please follow [How to install Golang](https://docs.minio.io/docs/how-to-install-golang).
Minio Server comes with an embedded web based object browser. Point your web browser to http://127.0.0.1:9000 ensure your server has started successfully.
`mc` provides a modern alternative to UNIX commands like ls, cat, cp, mirror, diff etc. It supports filesystems and Amazon S3 compatible cloud storage services. Follow the Minio Client [Quickstart Guide](https://docs.minio.io/docs/minio-client-quickstart-guide) for further instructions.
When deployed on a single drive, Minio server lets clients access any pre-existing data in the data directory. For example, if Minio is started with the command `minio server /mnt/data`, any pre-existing data in the `/mnt/data` directory would be accessible to the clients.
The above statement is also valid for all gateway backends.