# CREATE STORAGE

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [cloud-data-platform-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/cloud-data-platform-full.txt)

---
title: CREATE STORAGE
latest-operator-version: v26.1.4
latest-console-tag: v3.7.3
latest-connect-version: 4.93.0
latest-redpanda-tag: v26.1.9
docname: sql/sql-statements/create-storage
page-component-name: cloud-data-platform
page-version: master
page-component-version: master
page-component-title: Cloud
page-relative-src-path: sql/sql-statements/create-storage.adoc
page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/cloud-docs/edit/main/modules/reference/pages/sql/sql-statements/create-storage.adoc
description: The CREATE STORAGE statement creates a connection to external object storage for use with Redpanda catalogs.
page-topic-type: reference
page-git-created-date: "2026-05-26"
page-git-modified-date: "2026-05-26"
---

<!-- Source: https://docs.redpanda.com/cloud-data-platform/reference/sql/sql-statements/create-storage.md -->

The `CREATE STORAGE` statement creates a named connection to external object storage such as Amazon S3.

## [](#syntax)Syntax

```sql
CREATE STORAGE [IF NOT EXISTS] storage_name
TYPE = S3
WITH (option = 'value' [, ...]);
```

-   `storage_name`: Name for the new storage connection.

-   `TYPE`: Storage type. Redpanda SQL currently supports only `S3`.

-   `IF NOT EXISTS`: Optional. Prevents an error if a storage connection with the same name already exists.


## [](#options)Options

| Option | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| region | STRING | Yes | Cloud region for the storage bucket (for example, us-west-2). |
| access_key_id | STRING | Yes | AWS access key ID. |
| secret_access_key | STRING | Yes | AWS secret access key. |

## [](#examples)Examples

```sql
CREATE STORAGE archive_storage
TYPE = S3
WITH (
  region = 'us-west-2',
  access_key_id = 'AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE',
  secret_access_key = 'wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY'
);
```