GoMount + Backblaze B2 & Cloudflare R2 Setup Guide

Why B2 or R2?

Backblaze B2 and Cloudflare R2 are two of the most cost-effective S3-compatible object-storage options for macOS users who want off-site storage without a monthly membership. Unlike Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or iCloud+, neither service forces you into a fixed plan or user-seat subscription. You simply pay for the storage you use and, in the case of B2, the downloads you make.

For a backup-style archive, that difference is significant. A 2TB consumer cloud drive typically costs around $10 per month whether you fill it or not. With B2 or R2 you start with a few gigabytes and grow organically. Storage is billed by the gigabyte, there is no upfront commitment, and you can cancel or scale down at any time.

Backblaze B2 is usually the cheapest raw storage of the two and works well for large archives you rarely touch. Pair it with Cloudflare's free CDN and you can also eliminate download fees. Cloudflare R2 charges a little more for storage but has zero egress fees by default, which makes it ideal if your download patterns are unpredictable or if you already use Cloudflare services.

In the S3 vs paid cloud drives comparison, B2 and R2 stood out as the best options for users who want cloud storage without the recurring membership overhead. This guide walks through configuring both services in GoMount.

Prerequisites

• A Mac running macOS 13 or later.
• GoMount installed. If you have not set it up yet, start with the Getting Started guide.
• A Backblaze account or a Cloudflare account, depending on which provider you choose.

Backblaze B2 setup

Create a bucket

1. Sign in to the Backblaze B2 Console.
2. Click Create a Bucket.
3. Enter a globally unique bucket name, for example gomount-mac-archive-2026.
4. Choose Private for the bucket type.
5. Select a region, such as us-west-002, us-west-001, or eu-central-003.
6. Leave Object Lock disabled unless you have a specific compliance requirement.
7. Click Create a Bucket.

Create an application key

GoMount needs an S3-compatible access key to connect to B2.

1. In the B2 Console, open App Keys from the left sidebar.
2. Click Create Application Key.
3. Give the key a name, such as gomount-macbook.
4. Choose Allow access to Bucket(s) and select the bucket you just created.
5. Set the access type to Read and Write.
6. Click Create Application Key.
7. Copy the keyID and applicationKey. The application key is shown only once.

B2 endpoint and region

B2 S3-compatible endpoints follow the pattern s3.<region>.backblazeb2.com. For a bucket in us-west-002, the endpoint is:

s3.us-west-002.backblazeb2.com

Use the same region value in GoMount, for example us-west-002.

Cloudflare R2 setup

Create a bucket

1. Sign in to the Cloudflare Dashboard.
2. Open R2 from the left sidebar.
3. Click Create bucket.
4. Enter a bucket name, for example gomount-mac-archive-2026.
5. Choose a location hint close to you, such as APAC, EEUR, or WNAM.
6. Click Create bucket.

Create an API token

GoMount connects to R2 with S3-compatible credentials.

1. In R2, open Manage R2 API Tokens.
2. Click Create API token.
3. Give the token a name, such as gomount-macbook.
4. Set permissions to Object Read & Write.
5. Scope the token to the bucket you created.
6. Click Create API Token.
7. Copy the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key. The secret is shown only once.

R2 endpoint and region

R2 endpoints use your Cloudflare account ID:

<account-id>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com

You can find your account ID on the right side of the R2 overview page. For Region, enter auto in GoMount. R2 does not use traditional AWS-style regions.

Configure GoMount

Open GoMount and add a new S3-compatible cloud-storage connection.

1. Go to Settings > Cloud Storage or click the + button to add a connection.
2. Choose S3-Compatible as the provider type.
3. Fill in the fields using the table below for your chosen provider.

Verify the mount

1. Click Test Connection in GoMount to verify credentials, endpoint, and bucket access.
2. Once the test passes, click Mount. The bucket appears as a volume in Finder and in the GoMount file browser.
3. Create a test folder and upload a small file to confirm write access.

If the test fails, double-check that Path Style is enabled, the endpoint matches your provider's expected format, and the access key has read and write permissions for the bucket.

Add an auto-mount rule

Cloud storage is available from any network. Most users want it mounted at login rather than tied to a specific location. In GoMount:

1. Open Rules for the B2 or R2 connection.
2. Add a rule that triggers on Any Network, or limit it to a specific network if you only want it at home or in the office.
3. Enable Mount at Login if you want the bucket available immediately after startup.

For more about network rules, see the auto-mount rules deep dive.

Tips and pitfalls

• No membership required. Both B2 and R2 are pay-as-you-go. You do not need to buy a monthly plan, upgrade tiers, or pay per user seat. Start with a single bucket and only pay for what you store.
• Minimize egress with Cloudflare. Backblaze B2 charges for downloads, but you can route traffic through Cloudflare's free CDN to eliminate those fees. R2 has no egress fees at all, so it is simpler if you expect irregular downloads.
• Do not use object storage as a scratch disk. Latency is higher than a local SSD or NAS. Keep active projects on fast storage and move finished assets to B2 or R2. Treat object storage as archive and backup space, not working space.
• Avoid millions of tiny files. Object overhead adds cost and slows transfers. Bundle small files into archives when possible. A few large archives are usually cheaper and faster than millions of individual objects.
• Watch B2 download allowances. B2 includes a daily free egress allowance. Beyond that, downloads are charged per gigabyte unless you use Cloudflare. R2 has no egress charges.
• Lock down permissions. Restrict each key to a single bucket and the minimum permissions GoMount needs. Read-write is required for full file-browser use. This also limits the cost exposure if a key is leaked.
• Enable lifecycle rules carefully. B2 and R2 support object lifecycle policies. Make sure you do not accidentally delete versions you intended to keep.
• Compare before you commit. Because there is no subscription lock-in, you can test B2 or R2 with a small bucket, compare the actual monthly bill, and switch providers if another fits your workload better.

Next in this series

The next guide covers Alibaba Cloud OSS and Tencent Cloud COS, the two largest S3-compatible options for users in mainland China. It includes endpoint selection, path-style, and cost warnings for domestic traffic.

If you are new to GoMount, review the Getting Started guide, or return to the guides index for the full list.