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How to enable AWS S3 bucket click stream export and manage your data

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AWS general purpose buckets are containers for objects stored in Amazon S3 cloud. In a bucket, you can keep any number of objects, including your short links click stream statistics.

Note

The S3 clicks export feature is available on Short.io Enterprise pricing plan.

To export click stream​

AWS prerequisites​

  1. In AWS, set up a distinct user dedicated to the management of the click stream bucket:

    AWS IAM user summary page with ARN highlighted

  2. Generate an Access key for this user and store its values in a safe place:

    AWS IAM Access keys panel showing active key with status and details

Export configuration​

  1. Sign in to your Short.io account.

  2. In the Dashboard select a domain for which you want to export links in S3 bucket and navigate to Domain Settings -> S3 export:

    Domain Settings with S3 Export section, Enable S3 Export checkbox, and Configure button

  3. Enable S3 export and click on Configure. You will be redirected to Profile -> Click stream S3 export menu:

    Profile settings with Click stream S3 export menu and Add ARN button

  4. Click on Add ARN.

  5. From AWS, copy the unique ARN of the created user and paste it in the AWS User/Role ARN field:

    S3 Export Configuration with AWS User/Role ARN field filled and Save ARN button

  6. Click on Save ARN. The newly created bucket ARNs appear in the following format: ​

    arn:aws:s3:::short-stats-global-<UNIQUE-NUMBER>

    arn:aws:s3:::short-stats-eu-<UNIQUE-NUMBER>

    S3 Export Configuration showing generated bucket ARNs for global and EU

  7. In AWS, create an S3 Policy as follows:

    List actions allowed - ListBucket

    Read actions allowed - GetObject

    Resources

    Specified resource ARNs for these actions

    arn:aws:s3:::short-stats-global-<UNIQUE-NUMBER>/*

    arn:aws:s3:::short-stats-global-<UNIQUE-NUMBER>

    arn:aws:s3:::short-stats-eu-<UNIQUE-NUMBER>/*

    arn:aws:s3:::short-stats-eu-<UNIQUE-NUMBER>

    AWS Policy editor JSON with S3 GetObject and ListBucket actions and resource ARNs

  8. Assign the policy to your user:

    AWS IAM user Permissions tab with S3 access policy attached

  9. In Short.io, make sure that you have saved the configuration:

    S3 Export domain settings with Enable S3 Export checked and Save button highlighted

To review and download exported data​

You can use the AWS CLI tool to review the generated click stream data and download the archived files on your device.

  1. In your command line editor or Terminal type aws configure:

    Terminal showing aws configure command with access key prompts

  2. Enter the Access key and the Secret access key of your AWS user.

  3. To review the archived links listed by date and time, type the following command:

    aws s3 ls s3://short-stats-<GLOBAL OR EU>-<UNIQUE-NUMBER>/<_DOMAIN-NAME_\>/

    For example, aws s3 ls s3://short-stats-global-123456/mydomain.com/

    Terminal showing aws s3 ls command listing daily click stream CSV archives

  4. To download a specific link click stream archive, type the following command:

    aws s3 cp s3://short-stats-<GLOBAL-OR-EU>-<UNIQUE-NUMBER>/<_DOMAIN-NAME_\>/<ARCHIVE-NAME>

    For example, aws s3 cp s3://short-stats-global-123456/mydomain.com/2025-10-29.csv.gz

    Terminal showing aws s3 cp command downloading a click stream archive

    Spreadsheet view of exported click stream data with columns for timestamps and URLs