Sync From MinIO

MinIO is a self-hosted, S3-compatible object store that many teams run on-premise or inside a private cloud. Datature Vi connects to MinIO the same way it connects to a cloud bucket, using an access key, a secret key, and an HTTPS endpoint. The integration is read-only, so the platform reads object metadata in place without copying files into Vi infrastructure.

1

Open the Explorer tab

In the left sidebar, click the Explorer tab on your dataset. This is where the synced assets will appear after the connection is set up.

Next →

You should see

Synced images appear in the dataset Explorer. The asset count in the header reflects the MinIO objects that passed the format checks.

Step 1: Create a scoped read policy

The default readonly policy in MinIO does not include s3:ListBucket, which Vi needs to enumerate objects. Create a policy that grants the three permissions Vi requires, scoped to a single bucket.

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "s3:GetBucketLocation",
                "s3:GetObject",
                "s3:ListBucket"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "arn:aws:s3:::your-bucket-name",
                "arn:aws:s3:::your-bucket-name/*"
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Replace your-bucket-name with the bucket you plan to sync. Apply the policy in the MinIO console or with mc:

Step 2: Create an access key for the integration

Create a dedicated MinIO user for the Vi integration so you can rotate or revoke its credentials without touching other services.

Step 3: Enter the connection details in Vi

Open your dataset, then walk through the wizard.

The Bucket Details tab asks for these fields:

Click Next to advance to the credentials step.

Step 4: Enter the access credentials

Paste the access key ID and the secret access key from Step 2.

Click Next. Vi tries the connection and reports success or failure on the Connection Status screen.

Step 5: Sync your assets

Choose Sync Now to start the first sync immediately, or Sync Later to set up the connection without syncing. If you pick Sync Now, Vi walks through three more screens before the sync starts in earnest.

1. Preview Files to Sync. Vi scans the bucket prefix and shows the file count alongside a sample of object paths. Confirm the preview matches what you expect, then click Sync.
2. Sync Started. A confirmation appears letting you know the job is running in the background. Click I Understand to dismiss the dialog; the sync continues even after you close the wizard or the browser tab.
3. Track progress. Open the Connected Bucket dropdown in the top-right of the Explorer to see the connection name, status, provider, bucket, prefix, asset count, and a live progress bar while assets are retrieved.

The first sync takes 5 to 40 minutes depending on the bucket size. Progress is also visible in the Connection Manager tab.

Asset requirements

MinIO accepts a wider set of MP4 major brands than the cloud providers, because the metadata sync uses the broader S3-compatible video pipeline.

Use ffprobe your-video.mp4 on Linux or macOS to read the major brand and pixel format before troubleshooting a video that fails to sync.

Annotations are not part of the bucket sync. Vi reads only image and video metadata from MinIO. If you have existing labels in COCO, YOLO, Pascal VOC, CSV, or Vi JSONL, upload them directly to Vi once the assets finish syncing.

Multiple buckets, one dataset

You can connect more than one MinIO bucket to the same dataset. Vi merges objects from every connection into a single asset list. If two buckets contain a file with the same name, the latest sync overwrites the earlier reference. Use folder prefixes to keep collections separate, or rename files at the source.

Troubleshooting

Next steps