Storage setup

Setting up Cloudflare R2

Cloudflare R2 is a friendly object-storage option for many first-time VOD Manager setups. This guide walks you through creating a Cloudflare account, making a bucket, and generating an R2 API token. The first 10 GB are free, and downloads cost nothing — ever.

First 10 GB

Free

R2 starts with 10 GB free storage. Most small test archives stay free while you get comfortable.

Setup time

~10 minutes

Account, bucket, token, endpoint, connect. No website migration, no Twitch settings to change.

Region setting

Always 'auto'

R2 uses auto for the region. Don't use us-east-1 or any AWS-style region.

Walkthrough

Five steps to a working bucket

01

Step 1

Create a Cloudflare account

R2 sits inside the normal Cloudflare dashboard, so the first step is just account setup. You do not need to move your website to Cloudflare or change any Twitch settings.

  • Open Cloudflare sign up .
  • Use an email address you can access; Cloudflare will ask you to verify it.
  • After verification, sign in to the Cloudflare dashboard.
  • Look for R2 in the sidebar — that's where buckets, API tokens, and the S3 endpoint live.
02

Step 2

Enable R2 and create a bucket

A bucket is the storage container VOD Manager writes into. Give it a boring, recognizable name now so you can spot it later on invoices, token screens, and connection forms.

  1. From the Cloudflare dashboard sidebar, open R2, then Overview.
  2. Click Purchase R2. The free tier is provisioned automatically; payment information is mainly there to gate paid usage if you grow past the free limits.
  3. Click Create bucket.
  4. Name the bucket something clear, such as vod-manager-archives.
  5. Leave the location hint set to Automatic, then click Create.
03

Step 3

Generate an R2 API token

An API token is a private key pair that lets VOD Manager write files to your bucket without using your Cloudflare password. Scope the token to this one bucket so it only has the access it needs.

  1. In the R2 sidebar, open Manage R2 API Tokens.
  2. Click Create API token.
  3. Set permission to Object Read & Write.
  4. Set bucket scope to the bucket you just made, not every bucket in the account.
  5. Leave TTL blank for a long-lived token.
  6. Click Create.
04

Step 4

Find your account-specific S3 endpoint

R2 uses an S3-compatible endpoint, which is the account-specific address VOD Manager connects to. In the R2 dashboard, Cloudflare shows it in the S3 API area as https://<account-id>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com. Copy that account host only. Do not add the bucket name to the endpoint field.

05

Step 5

Connect VOD Manager

Now move the Cloudflare details into VOD Manager. The important part is the region: for R2, the region is always auto. Don't use us-east-1 or another AWS-style region.

  1. Open VOD Manager, then Storage, then Add storage profile.
  2. Choose Cloudflare R2 as the provider.
  3. Use any friendly name you'll recognize later.
  4. Paste the endpoint from step 4.
  5. Set Region to auto.
  6. Enter the bucket name, Access Key ID, and Secret Access Key.
  7. Click Test connection and watch for the green check.

Troubleshooting

Common issues

Test connection failed: 403

The access keys are usually wrong or weren't saved correctly. Regenerate the token, copy both keys, and update the storage profile.

No such bucket

Check the bucket name for typos, then check the region. R2 uses auto for the region every time.

Endpoint missing or rejected

Use Cloudflare's S3 API copy button in the R2 dashboard. Don't paste a public bucket URL or one with the bucket name attached.

Pricing

What R2 costs after the free tier

Cloudflare lists R2 storage around $0.015 per GB each month after the first 10 GB free. R2 doesn't charge download fees, which helps when you pull VODs down later for editing or uploads. Writes, lists, and reads are counted as Class A and Class B operations, but their free tiers are generous enough that many small streamer archives stay close to free.

Connect your Twitch account for real numbers

Last step

Save your VODs on R2 automatically

Once R2 is connected, VOD Manager saves future streams to your bucket after Twitch finishes processing them. You can re-run this guide for a different region or a second account any time.

Cloudflare may change UI, rates, or rules. Check Cloudflare's docs for current details: R2 overview, R2 API tokens, R2 pricing.