Store AI-Generated Images in AWS S3: OpenAI Image Creation & Cloud Storage

Automating AWS S3 Operations with n8n: Buckets, Folders, and Files

This tutorial walks you through setting up an automated workflow that generates AI-powered images from prompts and securely stores them in AWS S3. It leverages the new AI Tool Node and OpenAI models for prompt-to-image generation.

Who’s it for

This workflow is ideal for:

  • Designers & marketers who need quick, on-demand AI-generated visuals.
  • Developers & automation builders exploring AI-driven workflows integrated with cloud storage.
  • Educators or trainers creating tutorials or exercises on AI image generation.
  • Businesses looking to automate image content pipelines with AWS S3 storage.

How it works / What it does

  1. Trigger: The workflow starts manually when you click “Execute Workflow”.
  2. Edit Fields: You can provide input fields such as image description, resolution, or naming convention.
  3. Create AWS S3 Bucket: Automatically creates a new S3 bucket if it doesn’t exist.
  4. Create a Folder: Inside the bucket, a folder is created to organize generated images.
  5. Prompt Generation Agent: An AI agent generates or refines the image prompt using the OpenAI Chat Model.
  6. Generate an Image: The refined prompt is used to generate an image using AI.
  7. Upload File to S3: The generated image is uploaded to the AWS S3 bucket for secure storage.

This workflow showcases how to combine AI + Cloud Storage seamlessly in an automated pipeline.

How to set up

  1. Import the workflow into n8n.
  2. Configure the following credentials:
    • AWS S3 (Access Key, Secret Key, Region).
    • OpenAI API Key (for Chat + Image models).
  3. Update the Edit Fields node with your preferred input fields (e.g., image size, description).
  4. Execute the workflow and test by entering a sample image prompt (e.g., “Futuristic city skyline in watercolor style”).
  5. Check your AWS S3 bucket to verify the uploaded image.

Requirements

  • n8n (latest version with AI Tool Node support).
  • AWS account with S3 permissions to create buckets and upload files.
  • OpenAI API key (for prompt refinement and image generation).
  • Basic familiarity with AWS S3 structure (buckets, folders, objects).

How to customize the workflow

  • Custom Buckets: Replace the auto-create step with an existing S3 bucket.
  • Image Variations: Generate multiple image variations per prompt by looping the image generation step.
  • File Naming: Adjust file naming conventions (e.g., timestamp, user input).
  • Metadata: Add metadata such as tags, categories, or owner info when uploading to S3.
  • Alternative Storage: Swap AWS S3 with Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob, or Dropbox.
  • Trigger Options: Replace manual trigger with Webhook, Form Submission, or Scheduler for automation.

✅ This workflow is a hands-on example of how to combine AI prompt engineering, image generation, and cloud storage automation into a single streamlined process.