[Yandex Cloud documentation](../../index.md) > [Yandex Object Storage](../index.md) > Getting started > Overview

# Getting started with Yandex Object Storage

Yandex Cloud provides a universal scalable data storage solution known as Yandex Object Storage. You can use it for high-load services requiring reliable and fast access to data as well as for projects that do not need any complex storage infrastructure.

In Object Storage terms, files and folders are [objects](../concepts/object.md). All objects are stored in [buckets](../concepts/bucket.md). The service has a flat storage structure for bucket objects, but [GUI-based tools](../tools/index.md#file-browser) enable you to use Object Storage as a hierarchical file system.

The Object Storage API is partially compatible with the AWS S3 API, so you can use [tools](../tools/index.md) built for S3. 

Get started with the service using the following interfaces:
* [Management console](../quickstart.md)
* [AWS CLI](quickstart-aws-cli.md)

For more information on Object Storage features, see the [concepts](../concepts/index.md).