Object Store in NATS: Storing Files and Blobs

Example in Go

Create an Object Store Bucket

js, _ := nc.JetStream()
obj, _ := js.CreateObjectStore(&nats.ObjectStoreConfig{
    Bucket: "ASSETS",
})

Put an Object

file, _ := os.Open("logo.png")
defer file.Close()

obj.PutFile("logo", "logo.png")

Get an Object

file, _ := obj.Get("logo")
defer file.Close()

data, _ := io.ReadAll(file)
fmt.Println("Object size:", len(data))

Watch for Updates

watch, _ := obj.Watch()
for info := range watch.Updates() {
    if info != nil {
        fmt.Printf("Object %s updated, size %d\n", info.Name, info.Size)
    }
}

Use Case Examples

1. Static Assets
   • Store images, icons, or JSON config files for distributed services.
2. Machine Learning Models
   • Keep the latest model file in the object store.
   • Workers can fetch and reload the model when it changes.
3. Backups and Snapshots
   • Periodically push database dumps or logs into the object store.

Object Store vs Key-Value Store

Feature	Key-Value Store	Object Store
Data size	Small values (configs, flags)	Larger files and binary blobs
Access	Get/Put by key	Get/Put by object name
Use case	Feature flags, discovery, coordination	Files, models, assets, backups

Final Thoughts

The NATS Object Store is a powerful extension of JetStream. It turns NATS into not just a messaging system, but also a distributed storage system. While it’s not meant to replace a full file system or S3, it’s perfect for storing and syncing critical assets inside a NATS-powered architecture.