diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index f2649c9..cc5c653 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -91,35 +91,36 @@ jobs:
           targets: wasm32-unknown-unknown
       - uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@e18b497796c12c097a38f9edb9d0641fb99eee32 # v2
 
-      - name: Start MinIO
+      - name: Start RustFS
         run: |
-          docker run -d --name minio \
+          docker run -d --name rustfs \
             -p 9000:9000 \
-            -e MINIO_ROOT_USER=minioadmin \
-            -e MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD=minioadmin \
-            minio/minio:latest server /data
+            -e RUSTFS_ACCESS_KEY=minioadmin \
+            -e RUSTFS_SECRET_KEY=minioadmin \
+            rustfs/rustfs:1.0.0
 
-          # Wait for MinIO to be ready
+          # Wait for RustFS to be ready
           for i in $(seq 1 30); do
-            if curl -sf http://localhost:9000/minio/health/live > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-              echo "MinIO is ready"
+            if curl -sf http://localhost:9000/health > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+              echo "RustFS is ready"
               break
             fi
             sleep 1
           done
 
-      - name: Seed MinIO buckets
+      - name: Seed buckets
+        env:
+          AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: minioadmin
+          AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: minioadmin
+          AWS_DEFAULT_REGION: us-east-1
         run: |
-          curl -sSL https://dl.min.io/client/mc/release/linux-amd64/mc -o /usr/local/bin/mc
-          chmod +x /usr/local/bin/mc
-
-          mc alias set local http://localhost:9000 minioadmin minioadmin
-          mc mb --ignore-existing local/public-data
-          mc mb --ignore-existing local/private-uploads
-          mc anonymous set download local/public-data
-          echo "Hello from s3-proxy!" | mc pipe local/public-data/hello.txt
-          echo '{"status":"ok"}' | mc pipe local/public-data/health.json
-          echo "Secret payload" | mc pipe local/private-uploads/docs/secret.txt
+          s3() { aws --endpoint-url http://localhost:9000 s3 "$@"; }
+
+          s3 mb s3://public-data
+          s3 mb s3://private-uploads
+          echo "Hello from s3-proxy!" | s3 cp - s3://public-data/hello.txt
+          echo '{"status":"ok"}' | s3 cp - s3://public-data/health.json
+          echo "Secret payload" | s3 cp - s3://private-uploads/docs/secret.txt
 
       - name: Build worker
         working-directory: examples/cf-workers
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index fe971b9..8ab17e3 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ cargo check -p multistore-cf-workers --target wasm32-unknown-unknown
 # Unit + doc tests
 cargo test
 
-# Integration tests (MinIO via docker compose behind wrangler dev; mirrors CI)
+# Integration tests (RustFS via docker compose behind wrangler dev; mirrors CI)
 make test-integration
 ```
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9c39ed4..3e110f0 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ clippy-fix:
 test:
 	cargo test
 
-# Run the integration suite locally: MinIO (docker compose) + the Workers
+# Run the integration suite locally: RustFS (docker compose) + the Workers
 # runtime (wrangler dev), mirroring CI. Pass extra pytest args via ARGS.
 test-integration:
 	./scripts/integration-test.sh $(ARGS)
diff --git a/docker-compose.yaml b/docker-compose.yaml
index ab70ce8..9800898 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -1,39 +1,42 @@
 services:
-  # ── MinIO (backing object store) ──────────────────────────────────────
-  minio:
-    image: minio/minio:latest
-    command: server /data --console-address ":9001"
+  # ── RustFS (backing object store) ─────────────────────────────────────
+  rustfs:
+    image: rustfs/rustfs:1.0.0
     ports:
       - "9000:9000"   # S3 API
       - "9001:9001"   # Web console
     environment:
-      MINIO_ROOT_USER: minioadmin
-      MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD: minioadmin
+      RUSTFS_ACCESS_KEY: minioadmin
+      RUSTFS_SECRET_KEY: minioadmin
     volumes:
-      - minio-data:/data
+      - rustfs-data:/data
     healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "mc", "ready", "local"]
+      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-sf", "http://localhost:9000/health"]
       interval: 5s
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 5
 
-  # ── Seed MinIO with example buckets and data ──────────────────────────
-  minio-init:
-    image: minio/mc:latest
+  # ── Seed RustFS with example buckets and data ─────────────────────────
+  rustfs-init:
+    image: amazon/aws-cli:2.37.2
     depends_on:
-      minio:
+      rustfs:
         condition: service_healthy
+    environment:
+      AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: minioadmin
+      AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: minioadmin
+      AWS_DEFAULT_REGION: us-east-1
     entrypoint: /bin/sh
     command:
       - -c
       - |
-        mc alias set local http://minio:9000 minioadmin minioadmin
-        mc mb --ignore-existing local/public-data
-        mc mb --ignore-existing local/private-uploads
-        mc anonymous set download local/public-data
-        echo "Hello from s3-proxy!" | mc pipe local/public-data/hello.txt
-        echo '{"status":"ok"}' | mc pipe local/public-data/health.json
-        echo "Secret payload" | mc pipe local/private-uploads/docs/secret.txt
+        s3() { aws --endpoint-url http://rustfs:9000 s3 "$$@"; }
+        for b in public-data private-uploads; do
+          s3 ls "s3://$$b" >/dev/null 2>&1 || s3 mb "s3://$$b"
+        done
+        echo "Hello from s3-proxy!" | s3 cp - s3://public-data/hello.txt
+        echo '{"status":"ok"}' | s3 cp - s3://public-data/health.json
+        echo "Secret payload" | s3 cp - s3://private-uploads/docs/secret.txt
 
 volumes:
-  minio-data:
\ No newline at end of file
+  rustfs-data:
diff --git a/docs/getting-started/index.md b/docs/getting-started/index.md
index 2c5a27f..0055fc6 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started/index.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started/index.md
@@ -5,24 +5,24 @@ The Multistore proxy is a multi-runtime S3 gateway that proxies requests to back
 ## Prerequisites
 
 - [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install) (latest stable)
-- [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) (for local development with MinIO)
+- [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) (for local development with RustFS)
 
 ## Start the Backend
 
-Use Docker Compose to start MinIO as a local object store:
+Use Docker Compose to start RustFS as a local object store:
 
 ```bash
 docker compose up
 ```
 
 This starts:
-- MinIO API on port `9000`
-- MinIO Console on port `9001` (user: `minioadmin`, password: `minioadmin`)
+- RustFS API on port `9000`
+- RustFS Console on port `9001` (user: `minioadmin`, password: `minioadmin`)
 - A seed job that creates example buckets with test data
 
 ## Run the Proxy
 
-The shipped Cloudflare Workers config (`examples/cf-workers/wrangler.toml`) wires the `public-data` and `private-uploads` buckets to the local MinIO instance started above, so it works out of the box:
+The shipped Cloudflare Workers config (`examples/cf-workers/wrangler.toml`) wires the `public-data` and `private-uploads` buckets to the local RustFS instance started above, so it works out of the box:
 
 ```bash
 cd examples/cf-workers && npx wrangler dev
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ cd examples/cf-workers && npx wrangler dev
 
 The Workers dev server listens on port `8787`.
 
-> The native server example (`examples/server/config.toml`) ships a different set of buckets pointed at real AWS S3, not the local MinIO buckets. See [Local Development](./local-development) for details on each runtime's config.
+> The native server example (`examples/server/config.toml`) ships a different set of buckets pointed at real AWS S3, not the local RustFS buckets. See [Local Development](./local-development) for details on each runtime's config.
 
 ## Make Your First Request
 
diff --git a/docs/getting-started/local-development.md b/docs/getting-started/local-development.md
index 5ac8308..a7644d7 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started/local-development.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started/local-development.md
@@ -1,18 +1,18 @@
 # Local Development
 
-This guide walks through setting up a full local development environment with MinIO as the backing object store.
+This guide walks through setting up a full local development environment with [RustFS](https://github.com/rustfs/rustfs), an S3-compatible server, as the backing object store.
 
 ## Docker Compose
 
-The project includes a `docker-compose.yaml` that starts MinIO and seeds it with example data:
+The project includes a `docker-compose.yaml` that starts RustFS and seeds it with example data:
 
 ```bash
 docker compose up
 ```
 
 This starts:
-- **MinIO API** at `http://localhost:9000`
-- **MinIO Console** at `http://localhost:9001` (credentials: `minioadmin` / `minioadmin`)
+- **RustFS S3 API** at `http://localhost:9000`
+- **RustFS Console** at `http://localhost:9001` (credentials: `minioadmin` / `minioadmin`)
 - A seed job that creates `public-data` and `private-uploads` buckets with sample files
 
 ## Configuration Files
@@ -21,17 +21,17 @@ The two runtimes use different config formats:
 
 ### Workers Runtime — `examples/cf-workers/wrangler.toml`
 
-The CF Workers runtime reads `PROXY_CONFIG` from the Wrangler configuration. The shipped `wrangler.toml` points the `public-data` and `private-uploads` buckets at `http://localhost:9000` (the MinIO instance seeded by Docker Compose), so it works against the local backend out of the box:
+The CF Workers runtime reads `PROXY_CONFIG` from the Wrangler configuration. The shipped `wrangler.toml` points the `public-data` and `private-uploads` buckets at `http://localhost:9000` (the RustFS instance seeded by Docker Compose), so it works against the local backend out of the box:
 
 ```bash
 cd examples/cf-workers && npx wrangler dev
 ```
 
-The Workers dev server runs on port `8787` by default. This is the recommended runtime for the local MinIO quickstart.
+The Workers dev server runs on port `8787` by default. This is the recommended runtime for the local RustFS quickstart.
 
 ### Server Runtime — `examples/server/config.toml`
 
-The server runtime reads a TOML config file, defaulting to `config.toml` in the working directory. The shipped `examples/server/config.toml` serves the `harvard-lil` and `cholmes` buckets from real AWS S3 (not the local MinIO buckets), so point `--config` at your own config to use a local backend:
+The server runtime reads a TOML config file, defaulting to `config.toml` in the working directory. The shipped `examples/server/config.toml` serves the `harvard-lil` and `cholmes` buckets from real AWS S3 (not the local RustFS buckets), so point `--config` at your own config to use a local backend:
 
 ```bash
 cargo run -p multistore-server -- \
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ For local development, these are optional but useful:
 
 ## Verifying the Setup
 
-Once the Workers dev server is running, test both anonymous and authenticated access against the local MinIO buckets:
+Once the Workers dev server is running, test both anonymous and authenticated access against the local RustFS buckets:
 
 ```bash
 # Anonymous read (should return file contents)
@@ -84,6 +84,6 @@ AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="localdev/secret/key/00000000000000000000" \
 aws s3 ls s3://private-uploads/ \
     --endpoint-url http://localhost:8787
 
-# Browse MinIO directly
+# Browse RustFS directly
 open http://localhost:9001
 ```
diff --git a/scripts/integration-test.sh b/scripts/integration-test.sh
index f68edf1..6c0a180 100755
--- a/scripts/integration-test.sh
+++ b/scripts/integration-test.sh
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 #
 # Run the integration test suite locally — the same setup CI uses:
-# MinIO (via docker compose) behind the Cloudflare Workers runtime (wrangler dev).
+# RustFS (via docker compose) behind the Cloudflare Workers runtime (wrangler dev).
 #
 # Usage:
 #   ./scripts/integration-test.sh [extra pytest args]
 #   make test-integration
 #
-# MinIO lifecycle: if MinIO isn't running, this starts it and stops it again on
+# RustFS lifecycle: if RustFS isn't running, this starts it and stops it again on
 # exit (clean one-off run). If it's already up — e.g. you ran `docker compose
 # up -d` to iterate — it's left running so repeated runs stay fast. wrangler dev
 # is always stopped on exit.
@@ -23,38 +23,38 @@ PORT="${PROXY_PORT:-8787}"
 PROXY_URL="http://localhost:${PORT}"
 WORKER_DIR="examples/cf-workers"
 
-# Tear down MinIO on exit only if we started it. If it was already running
+# Tear down RustFS on exit only if we started it. If it was already running
 # (e.g. a dev who ran `docker compose up -d` to iterate), leave it warm so
 # repeated runs stay fast and we don't stop a stack we didn't start.
-STARTED_MINIO=false
+STARTED_BACKEND=false
 cleanup() {
   # Kill wrangler (and the workerd children it spawns).
   pkill -f "wrangler dev --config wrangler.integration.toml" 2>/dev/null || true
-  if [ "$STARTED_MINIO" = true ]; then
-    echo "==> Stopping MinIO (started by this run)"
+  if [ "$STARTED_BACKEND" = true ]; then
+    echo "==> Stopping RustFS (started by this run)"
     docker compose down >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
   fi
 }
 trap cleanup EXIT
 
-if curl -sf -o /dev/null http://localhost:9000/minio/health/live 2>/dev/null; then
-  echo "==> MinIO already running — leaving it up after the run"
+if curl -sf -o /dev/null http://localhost:9000/health 2>/dev/null; then
+  echo "==> RustFS already running — leaving it up after the run"
 else
-  STARTED_MINIO=true
+  STARTED_BACKEND=true
 fi
 
-echo "==> Starting MinIO + seeding buckets (docker compose)"
-# Not `--wait`: the one-shot seeder (minio-init) exits, which `--wait` treats as
-# a failure. Instead poll for a seeded public object — that confirms MinIO is up
+echo "==> Starting RustFS + seeding buckets (docker compose)"
+# Not `--wait`: the one-shot seeder (rustfs-init) exits, which `--wait` treats as
+# a failure. Instead poll for a seeded public object — that confirms RustFS is up
 # *and* the buckets are seeded.
 docker compose up -d
 for i in $(seq 1 30); do
   if curl -so /dev/null "http://localhost:9000/public-data/hello.txt"; then
-    echo "    MinIO ready and seeded"
+    echo "    RustFS ready and seeded"
     break
   fi
   if [ "$i" -eq 30 ]; then
-    echo "ERROR: MinIO did not become ready within 30s" >&2
+    echo "ERROR: RustFS did not become ready within 30s" >&2
     exit 1
   fi
   sleep 1