# Discourse: If S3 is enabled, is it recommended to configure in the yml or the admin panel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Community Building\ **Tags:** chat\ **Created:** [October 30, 2026, 4:32pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-s3-yml/416206 "2026-10-30T16:32:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![danguaitu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danguaitu](https://meta.discourse.org/u/danguaitu)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 4:32pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-s3-yml/416206/1 "2026-10-30T16:32:12Z")
Hi, for Discourse, if enabling S3, is it recommended to configure it in the YML file or via the admin UI (/admin/site\_settings/category/files)? ---
**Author:** ![awesomerobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/awesomerobot/32/142900_2.png) [@awesomerobot](https://meta.discourse.org/u/awesomerobot)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-s3-yml/416206/2 "2026-10-30T18:38:02Z")
We recommend the YML file if you’re self-hosting, [Configure an S3 compatible object storage provider for uploads](https://meta.discourse.org/t/configure-an-s3-compatible-object-storage-provider-for-uploads/148916) > [@Configure an S3 compatible object storage provider for uploads](https://meta.discourse.org/t/configure-an-s3-compatible-object-storage-provider-for-uploads/148916/1): > > Configuring these settings in environment variables in your `app.yml` is recommended because it’s how CDCK does it in their infrastructure, so it’s well-tested. Also, the task to upload assets happen after assets are compiled, which happens in a rebuild. If you want to spin a Discourse that works properly with Object Storage since the beginning you need to set the env vars so the assets are uploaded before the site starts. If you’re using [discourse.org](http://discourse.org) hosting we handle upload storage, so you don’t have access to these settings.