| name | roboflow-cloud-storage |
| description | Use when connecting cloud storage (AWS S3 / S3-compatible or Google Cloud Storage) to Roboflow to mirror images into a workspace — creating storage credentials, defining datasources (bucket-mirror configs), selecting objects with glob rules, validating access, and running/scheduling mirror jobs. |
For agents — source-of-truth: This skill is authored in roboflow/computer-vision-skills and shipped with the Roboflow plugin. If your client has loaded the plugin (you'll see roboflow:<name> skills in your available skills list), use those local skills — they're read fresh from disk every session. The same content served as MCP resources at roboflow://skills/<name>/... is a fallback for clients without the plugin and may lag this repo. Don't call ReadMcpResourceTool for roboflow://skills/... URIs when a local roboflow:<name> skill is available.
Cloud Storage (Datasources & Credentials)
Mirror a cloud bucket's contents into a Roboflow workspace so new objects flow
in automatically. Two pieces work together:
- Credential — the secret Roboflow uses to reach the bucket (stored,
masked server-side, reusable across datasources).
- Datasource — a bucket-mirror configuration: which bucket (via a
credential), which objects (glob rules), and how they sync. "Datasource" is
the user-facing name; the platform stores it as a bucket-mirror config.
Imports land at the workspace level. The datasource API cannot target a
specific project/dataset today.
Fast path — one call
connect_cloud_storage does the whole flow in one shot: (optionally) create a
credential, create the datasource, validate access, and start the first mirror
run. Prefer it for new setups.
- Reuse a credential: pass
credential_id (from credentials_list).
- Create a new credential: pass
credential_name + credential_type (the
secret is collected securely out-of-band — see Security).
- Describe the datasource so it can be created first:
bucket_type (s3/gcs),
bucket_name, region, plus optional mirror_configs glob rules (see
Datasources). The datasource must exist before anything can be validated or
triggered — there is nothing to mirror without it.
trigger (default true) starts a mirror run only if validation passes;
triggering consumes credits.- Returns
{credentialId, credentialCreated, datasourceId, validation, triggered, batchIds?}. If a new credential was created but a later step
failed, you get status: "partial" with the ids so you can clean up with
credentials_delete / datasource_delete.
Credentials
Security — secrets never enter the chat
The secret (keys, service-account JSON, password) is collected out-of-band
via MCP elicitation, never as a tool argument and never in the transcript or
model context. credentials_list returns only masked, non-secret fields.
If your client can't elicit securely, the tool returns
manual_entry_required with a URL to create the credential in the app
(app.roboflow.com/<workspace>/settings/datasources), then call
credentials_list to get its id.
Credential types
credential_type | Provider | Secret fields collected |
|---|
IAM | AWS S3 | accessKeyId, secretAccessKey, sessionToken? |
AssumeRole | AWS S3 | roleArn, externalId, sessionName? |
AssumeRoleWithWebIdentity | AWS S3 | roleArn, webIdentityAudience, webIdentityRoleArn, externalId, sessionName? |
gcs | Google Cloud Storage | projectId, credentialFile (full service-account JSON) |
usernamePassword | S3-compatible | username, password |
apiKey | S3-compatible | apiKey |
AWS PrivateLink (require_vpce) requires an
AssumeRoleWithWebIdentity credential; the server rejects the datasource
otherwise.
Datasources
Bucket
bucket_type: s3 or gcsbucket_name (no scheme/path), region (e.g. us-east-1)endpoint: custom URL for S3-compatible providers (S3 only)
Mirror rules (mirror_configs)
Optional list; omit to mirror the whole bucket with default settings. Each
rule selects a subset and controls sync behavior:
glob_patterns (list) — the key field. Selects objects, e.g.
["images/**/*.jpg", "batch-*/**"]. Set it to avoid importing unwanted files
or to split a bucket into multiple rules. Omit only when you truly want
everything.glob_file_path — alternative: path to a manifest file in the bucket whose
lines list object paths to import.id — rule id (auto-generated; pass an existing id on update to edit in place).settings (omitted keys use server defaults):
removeOrphanedSourcesWhenDisappeared (default true) — delete mirrored
images when the source object is removed.namingStrategy (fullPath|fileName|eTag|metadata, default
fullPath); namingStrategyMetadataKey required when metadata.updateImageWhenNewer (true) / updateImageStrategy (overwrite).updateMetadataWhenNewer (true) / updateMetadataStrategy
(mergeBucketWins default; also overwrite|merge|mergeUserWins|
untilFirstChange|append).runScheduledEvery (hours, default 0 = off) — >0 enables a recurring mirror
(fixed 24h cadence today; only on/off is honored).
Lifecycle & validation
- Create (
datasource_create, or connect_cloud_storage). Nothing is
mirrored yet.
- Validate (
datasource_validate) — checks listFiles, headFile,
getFile, and per-rule headGlobFile; returns {checks, errors}. Run it to
self-diagnose a bad credential/bucket before triggering.
- Trigger (
datasource_trigger) — starts the mirror job; consumes
compute/storage credits. Returns {batchIds}.
- Poll (
datasource_job_get with a batchId) — status
(running/completed/failed), per-stage counters, errors, timestamps.
Update (datasource_update): only fields you pass change; to change the
bucket pass bucket_type + bucket_name + region together.
Delete (datasource_delete): removes the config, not already-mirrored
images. Deleting a credential still referenced by a datasource makes its runs
fail.
MCP Tools Available
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|
connect_cloud_storage | End-to-end: credential + datasource + validate + first run |
credentials_list | List masked cloud-storage credentials |
credentials_create | Create a credential (secret collected securely out-of-band) |
credentials_delete | Delete a credential |
datasources_list / datasource_get | List / inspect datasource configs |
datasource_create / datasource_update / datasource_delete | Manage a datasource |
datasource_validate | Check bucket access before a run |
datasource_trigger | Start a mirror run (consumes credits) |
datasource_job_get | Poll a mirror run's status and counters |
Related Pages
roboflow://skills/data-management/SKILL — what to do with the images once mirrored (tags, splits, versions, search)roboflow://skills/product-navigation/SKILL — the app's settings/datasources page
