diff --git a/crates/storaged/src/registry.rs b/crates/storaged/src/registry.rs
index 36f3b32..a77d6e5 100644
--- a/crates/storaged/src/registry.rs
+++ b/crates/storaged/src/registry.rs
@@ -361,6 +361,12 @@ async fn build_store(
                 .with_secret_access_key(&creds.secret_key);
             if let Some(endpoint) = &bc.endpoint {
                 builder = builder.with_endpoint(endpoint);
+                // MinIO and other S3-compatible services often run on plain
+                // HTTP. object_store refuses HTTP by default — opt in when
+                // a custom endpoint is configured (TLS endpoints work either way).
+                if endpoint.starts_with("http://") {
+                    builder = builder.with_allow_http(true);
+                }
             }
             let s3 = builder.build()
                 .map_err(|e| format!("init s3 bucket '{}': {e}", bc.name))?;
diff --git a/crates/vectord-lance/Cargo.toml b/crates/vectord-lance/Cargo.toml
index bdeed1f..f48a198 100644
--- a/crates/vectord-lance/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/vectord-lance/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,7 +13,13 @@ edition = "2024"
 # vectord-lance crate." This is that firewall.
 
 [dependencies]
-lance = { version = "4.0", default-features = false }
+# S3 support: Lance delegates to its internal object_store crate when
+# given s3:// URIs. The "dynamodb" feature enables DynamoDB-based
+# commit locking for multi-writer S3; we don't need that (single-writer)
+# so just the base AWS/S3 feature is enough.
+# Lance 4.0 feature "aws" enables S3-compatible storage via its internal
+# object_store + opendal crates. Reads AWS_* env vars for credentials.
+lance = { version = "4.0", default-features = false, features = ["aws"] }
 lance-index = { version = "4.0", default-features = false }
 lance-linalg = { version = "4.0", default-features = false }
 
diff --git a/crates/vectord/src/lance_backend.rs b/crates/vectord/src/lance_backend.rs
index 9f019c4..8002c3c 100644
--- a/crates/vectord/src/lance_backend.rs
+++ b/crates/vectord/src/lance_backend.rs
@@ -22,16 +22,19 @@ use vectord_lance::LanceVectorStore;
 use crate::index_registry::IndexRegistry;
 
 /// Convert a bucket+index pair into the URI Lance should use as the
-/// dataset path. Local-only for MVP; S3 when we wire that backend.
+/// dataset path. Supports both local (filesystem) and S3 buckets.
 ///
-/// Path resolution mirrors lakehouse.toml's convention for local
-/// buckets: ./data for primary, ./data/_rescue for rescue, ./data/_testing
-/// for testing, ./data/_profiles/{sanitized} for profile:* buckets, and
-/// ./data/_buckets/{sanitized} for everything else. Sanitization replaces
-/// `:` with `_` so paths are filesystem-safe.
+/// **Local buckets:** path resolution mirrors lakehouse.toml's convention.
+/// Returns an absolute filesystem path.
+///
+/// **S3 buckets:** returns `s3://{s3_bucket}/lance/{index_name}`. Lance's
+/// internal object_store crate reads `AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID` / `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`
+/// / `AWS_ENDPOINT` from environment (or the S3 feature's default chain).
+/// For MinIO: set `AWS_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:9000` and
+/// `AWS_ALLOW_HTTP=true` before starting the gateway.
 ///
 /// Refuses unknown buckets so a typo doesn't silently land Lance data
-/// in a directory the rest of the system can't see.
+/// in a directory / prefix the rest of the system can't see.
 pub fn lance_uri_for(
     buckets: &BucketRegistry,
     bucket: &str,
@@ -40,6 +43,28 @@ pub fn lance_uri_for(
     if !buckets.contains(bucket) {
         return Err(format!("bucket '{bucket}' not registered"));
     }
+    // Check if this bucket is S3-backed by looking for a bucket config
+    // with backend="s3". BucketRegistry exposes backend type through
+    // the list() info, but that's async. The simpler signal: if the
+    // bucket name matches one we know is S3 (configured via lakehouse.toml
+    // with backend="s3"), use the s3:// URI scheme.
+    //
+    // For the synchronous path, we check a naming convention: buckets
+    // whose name starts with "s3:" are treated as S3 targets. The rest
+    // of the name is the S3 bucket name. Convention-based, explicit,
+    // no async needed.
+    //
+    // Additionally, any bucket registered with backend="s3" in the
+    // config will have its BucketConfig.bucket field set — that's the
+    // actual S3 bucket name. We can't access BucketConfig synchronously
+    // from the current registry API, so for now the naming convention
+    // is the primary signal.
+    if bucket.starts_with("s3:") {
+        let s3_bucket = &bucket["s3:".len()..];
+        return Ok(format!("s3://{s3_bucket}/lance/{index_name}"));
+    }
+
+    // Local path resolution.
     let root: PathBuf = match bucket {
         "primary" => PathBuf::from("./data"),
         "rescue"  => PathBuf::from("./data/_rescue"),
@@ -50,16 +75,10 @@ pub fn lance_uri_for(
         }
         b => PathBuf::from(format!("./data/_buckets/{}", b.replace(':', "_"))),
     };
-    let dataset_dir = root.join("lance").join(index_name);
-    // Pre-create the parent so Lance's first write doesn't trip on a
-    // missing ancestor. Lance handles the dataset directory itself.
     let _ = std::fs::create_dir_all(root.join("lance"));
-    // Canonicalize after the parent is guaranteed to exist; if the
-    // dataset dir hasn't been created yet, canonicalize the parent and
-    // tack on the leaf name.
     let abs = match std::fs::canonicalize(&root) {
         Ok(p) => p.join("lance").join(index_name),
-        Err(_) => dataset_dir.clone(),
+        Err(_) => root.join("lance").join(index_name),
     };
     Ok(abs.to_string_lossy().to_string())
 }
diff --git a/lakehouse.toml b/lakehouse.toml
index a569b27..97688ce 100644
--- a/lakehouse.toml
+++ b/lakehouse.toml
@@ -24,6 +24,18 @@ name = "testing"
 backend = "local"
 root = "./data/_testing"
 
+# S3 bucket via MinIO. The name "s3:lakehouse" is the convention
+# lance_backend.rs uses to emit s3:// URIs for Lance datasets.
+# Credentials resolved via environment (AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID etc) or
+# the secrets provider.
+[[storage.buckets]]
+name = "s3:lakehouse"
+backend = "s3"
+bucket = "lakehouse"
+endpoint = "http://localhost:9000"
+region = "us-east-1"
+secret_ref = "minio-lakehouse"
+
 [catalog]
 # Manifests persisted to object storage under this prefix
 manifest_prefix = "_catalog/manifests"