diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 605bf5e1..386f0458 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -18,28 +18,54 @@ Set the following environment variable in
 * `public.env`:
 
 ```bash
-VCF_FILE=...
+...
+HG_ASSEMBLY=GRCh37 # or GRCh38
+
+# Set if local path or remote "s3://_bucket_/_folder_/_file_.vcf.gz"
+VCF_FILE=schema/small_demo.vcf.gz
 ```
 
-Where `VCF_FILE` can be either a local file (e.g. `path/file.vcf.gz`) or a remote `S3` file (e.g. `s3://any_remote/file.vcf.gz` )
+Where `VCF_FILE` can be either a local file (e.g. `path/file.vcf.gz`) or a remote `S3` file (e.g. `s3://any_remote/file.vcf.gz`)
 
 It's critical that the `VCF_FILE` has along its `tbi` file as well.
 
 * Create `private.env` and add:
 
 ```bash
-AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=....
-AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=....
+APP_ENV=prod # or debug
+
+# Set bucket name and region
+BUCKET=_your_bucket_
+REGION=_region_
+
+# Set below if using remote S3 (AWS, Wasabi etc.) or local (MinIO)
+S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=...
+S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=...
+
+# Wasabi example
+# S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=...
+# S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=...
+# ENDPOINT=https://s3.eu-central-1.wasabisys.com
+# REGION=eu-central-1
+
+# MinIO example
+# S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=minio # change it for your own safety
+# S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=minio123 # change it for your own safety
+# ENDPOINT=http://minio-server:9000
+
+# Set accordingly
+MAIL_SUPPRESS_SEND=false # or true
+MAIL_PASSWORD=...
 ```
 
 Note: do not add single or double quotes around the value as they are preserved.
 
 ### Build and launch the services
 
-This will set up the database and load the demo database.
+This will set up the database and load the demo database running local S3 file service (by [MinIO](https://min.io/)).
 
 ```bash
-docker compose up
+docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.minio1.yml up
 ```
 
 If one wants to rebuild fresh images, one can do:
diff --git a/config/nginx1.conf b/config/nginx1.conf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..88c43202
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/nginx1.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+user  nginx;
+worker_processes  auto;
+
+error_log  /var/log/nginx/error.log warn;
+pid        /var/run/nginx.pid;
+
+events {
+    worker_connections  4096;
+}
+
+http {
+    include       /etc/nginx/mime.types;
+    default_type  application/octet-stream;
+
+    log_format  main  '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] "$request" '
+                      '$status $body_bytes_sent "$http_referer" '
+                      '"$http_user_agent" "$http_x_forwarded_for"';
+
+    access_log  /var/log/nginx/access.log  main;
+    sendfile        on;
+    keepalive_timeout  65;
+
+    # include /etc/nginx/conf.d/*.conf;
+
+    upstream minio {
+        server minio1:9000;
+    }
+
+    upstream console {
+        ip_hash;
+        server minio1:9001;
+    }
+
+    server {
+        listen       9000;
+        listen  [::]:9000;
+        server_name  localhost;
+
+        # To allow special characters in headers
+        ignore_invalid_headers off;
+        # Allow any size file to be uploaded.
+        # Set to a value such as 1000m; to restrict file size to a specific value
+        client_max_body_size 0;
+        # To disable buffering
+        proxy_buffering off;
+
+        location / {
+            proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
+            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+
+            proxy_connect_timeout 300;
+            # Default is HTTP/1, keepalive is only enabled in HTTP/1.1
+            proxy_http_version 1.1;
+            proxy_set_header Connection "";
+            chunked_transfer_encoding off;
+
+            proxy_pass http://minio;
+            # proxy_pass http://minio-server:9000;
+            # proxy_set_header Origin http://minio-server:9000;
+            # proxy_hide_header Access-Control-Allow-Origin;
+            # add_header Access-Control-Allow-Origin "$http_origin" always;
+        }
+    }
+
+    server {
+        listen       9001;
+        listen  [::]:9001;
+        server_name  localhost;
+
+        # To allow special characters in headers
+        ignore_invalid_headers off;
+        # Allow any size file to be uploaded.
+        # Set to a value such as 1000m; to restrict file size to a specific value
+        client_max_body_size 0;
+        # To disable buffering
+        proxy_buffering off;
+
+        location / {
+            proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
+            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+            proxy_set_header X-NginX-Proxy true;
+
+            # This is necessary to pass the correct IP to be hashed
+            real_ip_header X-Real-IP;
+
+            proxy_connect_timeout 300;
+
+            # To support websocket
+            proxy_http_version 1.1;
+            proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
+            proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
+
+            chunked_transfer_encoding off;
+
+            proxy_pass http://console;
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/config/nginx4.conf b/config/nginx4.conf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..faa4681f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/nginx4.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+user  nginx;
+worker_processes  auto;
+
+error_log  /var/log/nginx/error.log warn;
+pid        /var/run/nginx.pid;
+
+events {
+    worker_connections  4096;
+}
+
+http {
+    include       /etc/nginx/mime.types;
+    default_type  application/octet-stream;
+
+    log_format  main  '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] "$request" '
+                      '$status $body_bytes_sent "$http_referer" '
+                      '"$http_user_agent" "$http_x_forwarded_for"';
+
+    access_log  /var/log/nginx/access.log  main;
+    sendfile        on;
+    keepalive_timeout  65;
+
+    # include /etc/nginx/conf.d/*.conf;
+
+    upstream minio {
+        server minio1:9000;
+        server minio2:9000;
+        server minio3:9000;
+        server minio4:9000;
+    }
+
+    upstream console {
+        ip_hash;
+        server minio1:9001;
+        server minio2:9001;
+        server minio3:9001;
+        server minio4:9001;
+    }
+
+    server {
+        listen       9000;
+        listen  [::]:9000;
+        server_name  localhost;
+
+        # To allow special characters in headers
+        ignore_invalid_headers off;
+        # Allow any size file to be uploaded.
+        # Set to a value such as 1000m; to restrict file size to a specific value
+        client_max_body_size 0;
+        # To disable buffering
+        proxy_buffering off;
+
+        location / {
+            proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
+            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+
+            proxy_connect_timeout 300;
+            # Default is HTTP/1, keepalive is only enabled in HTTP/1.1
+            proxy_http_version 1.1;
+            proxy_set_header Connection "";
+            chunked_transfer_encoding off;
+
+            proxy_pass http://minio;
+        }
+    }
+
+    server {
+        listen       9001;
+        listen  [::]:9001;
+        server_name  localhost;
+
+        # To allow special characters in headers
+        ignore_invalid_headers off;
+        # Allow any size file to be uploaded.
+        # Set to a value such as 1000m; to restrict file size to a specific value
+        client_max_body_size 0;
+        # To disable buffering
+        proxy_buffering off;
+
+        location / {
+            proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
+            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+            proxy_set_header X-NginX-Proxy true;
+
+            # This is necessary to pass the correct IP to be hashed
+            real_ip_header X-Real-IP;
+
+            proxy_connect_timeout 300;
+
+            # To support websocket
+            proxy_http_version 1.1;
+            proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
+            proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
+
+            chunked_transfer_encoding off;
+
+            proxy_pass http://console;
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/docker-compose.minio.debug.yml b/docker-compose.minio1.yml
similarity index 53%
rename from docker-compose.minio.debug.yml
rename to docker-compose.minio1.yml
index bec67898..6f845a61 100644
--- a/docker-compose.minio.debug.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.minio1.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.minio1.yml up
+# source private.env; export S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID; export S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY; docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.minio1.yml up
 version: '3.8'
 
 x-minio-common:
@@ -6,11 +6,11 @@ x-minio-common:
    env_file:
       - private.env
       - public.env
+   environment:
+      MINIO_ROOT_USER: ${S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID}
+      MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY}
    image: quay.io/minio/minio:latest
    command: server --console-address ":9001" /data
-   expose:
-      - "9000"
-      - "9001"
    healthcheck:
       test:
          [
@@ -25,21 +25,9 @@ x-minio-common:
 
 services:
    app:
-      command:
-         [
-            "sh",
-            "-c",
-            "pip3 install -U debugpy -t /tmp && python3 /tmp/debugpy --wait-for-client --listen 0.0.0.0:5678 -m flask run --no-debugger --no-reload --host 0.0.0.0 --port 5000"
-         ]
-      ports:
-         - 5000:5000
-         - 5678:5678
-      environment:
-         - FLASK_APP=application
-
-   db:
-      ports:
-         - 5432:5432
+      depends_on:
+         - db
+         - minio-server
 
    minio1:
       <<: *minio-common
@@ -47,12 +35,13 @@ services:
       volumes:
          - data:/data
 
-   nginx:
+   minio-server:
       image: nginx:1.19.2-alpine
-      hostname: nginx
+      hostname: minio-server
       volumes:
-         - ./nginx1.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
+         - ./config/nginx1.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
       ports:
+         # needed to access console http://127.0.0.1:9001/login
          - "9000:9000"
          - "9001:9001"
       depends_on:
diff --git a/docker-compose.minio4.yml b/docker-compose.minio4.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9c420a48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.minio4.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+# source private.env; export S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID; export S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY; docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.minio4.yml up
+version: '3.8'
+
+x-minio-common:
+   &minio-common
+   env_file:
+      - private.env
+      - public.env
+   environment:
+      MINIO_ROOT_USER: ${S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID}
+      MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY}
+   image: quay.io/minio/minio:latest
+   command: server --console-address ":9001" http://minio{1...4}/data{1...2}
+   healthcheck:
+      test:
+         [
+            "CMD",
+            "curl",
+            "-f",
+            "http://localhost:9000/minio/health/live"
+         ]
+      interval: 30s
+      timeout: 20s
+      retries: 3
+
+services:
+   app:
+      depends_on:
+         - db
+         - minio-server
+
+   # starts 4 docker containers running minio server instances.
+   # using nginx reverse proxy, load balancing, you can access
+   # it through port 9000.
+   minio1:
+      <<: *minio-common
+      hostname: minio1
+      volumes:
+         - data1-1:/data1 # data1-1 can a physical HD e.g. /mnt/data1
+         - data1-2:/data2
+
+   minio2:
+      <<: *minio-common
+      hostname: minio2
+      volumes:
+         - data2-1:/data1
+         - data2-2:/data2
+
+   minio3:
+      <<: *minio-common
+      hostname: minio3
+      volumes:
+         - data3-1:/data1
+         - data3-2:/data2
+
+   minio4:
+      <<: *minio-common
+      hostname: minio4
+      volumes:
+         - data4-1:/data1
+         - data4-2:/data2
+
+   minio-server:
+      image: nginx:1.19.2-alpine
+      hostname: minio-server
+      volumes:
+         - ./config/nginx4.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
+      ports:
+         # needed to access console http://127.0.0.1:9001/login
+         - "9000:9000"
+         - "9001:9001"
+      depends_on:
+         - minio1
+         - minio2
+         - minio3
+         - minio4
+
+volumes:
+   data1-1:
+   data1-2:
+   data2-1:
+   data2-2:
+   data3-1:
+   data3-2:
+   data4-1:
+   data4-2:
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 9d0ab580..0094ec4d 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,42 +1,47 @@
 version: '3.8'
-x-common: &common
+
+x-env-common:
+   &env-common
    env_file:
-   - public.env
-   - private.env
+      - private.env
+      - public.env
+
 services:
    app:
-      <<: *common
+      <<: *env-common
       build:
          context: .
       image: phenopolis_api
       command: |
          sh -c "gunicorn -b 0.0.0.0:5000 --reload --workers=1 --threads=15 application:application"
       ports:
-      - 5000:5000
+         - 5000:5000
       volumes:
-      - ./:/app
+         - ./:/app
       depends_on:
-      - db
+         - db
    db:
-      <<: *common
+      <<: *env-common
       image: postgres:12-alpine
       volumes:
-      - db:/var/lib/postgresql/data
-      - ./:/app
-      - ./schema/initdb.d/:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d
+         - db:/var/lib/postgresql/data
+         - ./:/app
+         - ./schema/initdb.d/:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d
+
    frontend:
-      <<: *common
+      <<: *env-common
       tty: true # give extra colours in term log
       build:
          context: frontend
       image: phenopolis_frontend
       command: ./entrypoint.sh _redirects_docker
       ports:
-      - 8888:8888
+         - 8888:8888 # export 8889 to avoid jupyter on 8888
       depends_on:
-      - app
+         - app
       volumes:
-      - ./frontend/:/app
+         - ./frontend/:/app
       stdin_open: true
+
 volumes:
-   db: null
+   db:
diff --git a/frontend/.pnp.cjs b/frontend/.pnp.cjs
index 606436db..2dc2989d 100755
--- a/frontend/.pnp.cjs
+++ b/frontend/.pnp.cjs
@@ -7652,7 +7652,7 @@ function $$SETUP_STATE(hydrateRuntimeState, basePath) {
           "packageDependencies": [
             ["autoprefixer", "npm:9.8.6"],
             ["browserslist", "npm:4.16.6"],
-            ["caniuse-lite", "npm:1.0.30001235"],
+            ["caniuse-lite", "npm:1.0.30001311"],
             ["colorette", "npm:1.2.2"],
             ["normalize-range", "npm:0.1.2"],
             ["num2fraction", "npm:1.2.2"],
@@ -8482,7 +8482,7 @@ function $$SETUP_STATE(hydrateRuntimeState, basePath) {
           "packageLocation": "./.yarn/cache/browserslist-npm-4.14.2-7fd5fe4d30-44b5d7a444.zip/node_modules/browserslist/",
           "packageDependencies": [
             ["browserslist", "npm:4.14.2"],
-            ["caniuse-lite", "npm:1.0.30001235"],
+            ["caniuse-lite", "npm:1.0.30001311"],
             ["electron-to-chromium", "npm:1.3.749"],
             ["escalade", "npm:3.1.1"],
             ["node-releases", "npm:1.1.72"]
@@ -8493,7 +8493,7 @@ function $$SETUP_STATE(hydrateRuntimeState, basePath) {
           "packageLocation": "./.yarn/cache/browserslist-npm-4.16.6-a20cef1ca7-3dffc86892.zip/node_modules/browserslist/",
           "packageDependencies": [
             ["browserslist", "npm:4.16.6"],
-            ["caniuse-lite", "npm:1.0.30001235"],
+            ["caniuse-lite", "npm:1.0.30001311"],
             ["colorette", "npm:1.2.2"],
             ["electron-to-chromium", "npm:1.3.749"],
             ["escalade", "npm:3.1.1"],
@@ -8772,7 +8772,7 @@ function $$SETUP_STATE(hydrateRuntimeState, basePath) {
           "packageDependencies": [
             ["caniuse-api", "npm:3.0.0"],
             ["browserslist", "npm:4.16.6"],
-            ["caniuse-lite", "npm:1.0.30001235"],
+            ["caniuse-lite", "npm:1.0.30001311"],
             ["lodash.memoize", "npm:4.1.2"],
             ["lodash.uniq", "npm:4.5.0"]
           ],
@@ -8780,10 +8780,10 @@ function $$SETUP_STATE(hydrateRuntimeState, basePath) {
         }]
       ]],
       ["caniuse-lite", [
-        ["npm:1.0.30001235", {
-          "packageLocation": "./.yarn/cache/caniuse-lite-npm-1.0.30001235-56c9d2c91e-4703293ada.zip/node_modules/caniuse-lite/",
+        ["npm:1.0.30001311", {
+          "packageLocation": "./.yarn/cache/caniuse-lite-npm-1.0.30001311-84162d801c-a96a2724db.zip/node_modules/caniuse-lite/",
           "packageDependencies": [
-            ["caniuse-lite", "npm:1.0.30001235"]
+            ["caniuse-lite", "npm:1.0.30001311"]
           ],
           "linkType": "HARD",
         }]
@@ -18347,7 +18347,7 @@ function $$SETUP_STATE(hydrateRuntimeState, basePath) {
             ["postcss-preset-env", "npm:6.7.0"],
             ["autoprefixer", "npm:9.8.6"],
             ["browserslist", "npm:4.16.6"],
-            ["caniuse-lite", "npm:1.0.30001235"],
+            ["caniuse-lite", "npm:1.0.30001311"],
             ["css-blank-pseudo", "npm:0.1.4"],
             ["css-has-pseudo", "npm:0.10.0"],
             ["css-prefers-color-scheme", "npm:3.1.1"],
diff --git a/frontend/.yarn/cache/caniuse-lite-npm-1.0.30001235-56c9d2c91e-4703293ada.zip b/frontend/.yarn/cache/caniuse-lite-npm-1.0.30001235-56c9d2c91e-4703293ada.zip
deleted file mode 100644
index 712077ca..00000000
Binary files a/frontend/.yarn/cache/caniuse-lite-npm-1.0.30001235-56c9d2c91e-4703293ada.zip and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/frontend/.yarn/cache/caniuse-lite-npm-1.0.30001311-84162d801c-a96a2724db.zip b/frontend/.yarn/cache/caniuse-lite-npm-1.0.30001311-84162d801c-a96a2724db.zip
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..134ac80d
Binary files /dev/null and b/frontend/.yarn/cache/caniuse-lite-npm-1.0.30001311-84162d801c-a96a2724db.zip differ
diff --git a/frontend/yarn.lock b/frontend/yarn.lock
index 768ff31b..8a788132 100644
--- a/frontend/yarn.lock
+++ b/frontend/yarn.lock
@@ -5134,9 +5134,9 @@ __metadata:
   linkType: hard
 
 "caniuse-lite@npm:^1.0.0, caniuse-lite@npm:^1.0.30000981, caniuse-lite@npm:^1.0.30001109, caniuse-lite@npm:^1.0.30001125, caniuse-lite@npm:^1.0.30001219":
-  version: 1.0.30001235
-  resolution: "caniuse-lite@npm:1.0.30001235"
-  checksum: 4703293ada758a8e73e5dae0a988a3247b7a9d80e6d4cad38ca9347f54767fcee4e9e627f05926dde50e9de0fec305c603959ee78a4f8f92bfe0dce309df2b01
+  version: 1.0.30001311
+  resolution: "caniuse-lite@npm:1.0.30001311"
+  checksum: a96a2724db91f7d820d7c83d98d6d80f71f4ef5542fd9af49478e6f5057a92d61fbb6c2a2c151e13323c760c7d9f046f422a9b1ac77ab08dc2cacc62bd22f941
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
diff --git a/public.env b/public.env
index a1f97ae0..dfb12c32 100644
--- a/public.env
+++ b/public.env
@@ -6,8 +6,9 @@ PH_DB_USER=phenopolis_api
 PH_DB_PASSWORD=phenopolis_api
 PH_DB_PORT=5432
 
-VCF_FILE=schema/small_demo.vcf.gz
-
 MAIL_USERNAME=no-reply@phenopolis.com
 
 HG_ASSEMBLY=GRCh37
+
+# Set if local path or remote "s3://_bucket_/_folder_/_file_.vcf.gz"
+VCF_FILE=schema/small_demo.vcf.gz
diff --git a/tests/test_variants.py b/tests/test_variants.py
index 52a824f3..d1b110ec 100644
--- a/tests/test_variants.py
+++ b/tests/test_variants.py
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ def test_variant_genotype_vcf(_admin_client):
 def test_cyvcf2_S3(_admin_client):
     from cyvcf2 import VCF
 
+    # a valid AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID / AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY is needed here
     vcf_S3 = VCF("s3://3kricegenome/test/test.vcf.gz")  # public VCF file
     assert len(vcf_S3.raw_header) == 559362, "Critical, S3 access not working"
 
diff --git a/views/__init__.py b/views/__init__.py
index ffd01805..8b28bbb3 100644
--- a/views/__init__.py
+++ b/views/__init__.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 """
-Package to init views
+Package views
 """
 import datetime
 import logging
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
 if APP_ENV in ["prod"]:
     ENV_LOG_FLAG = False
 
-variant_file = VCF(os.getenv("VCF_FILE"))
+variant_file = VCF(os.getenv("VCF_FILE", "schema/small_demo.vcf.gz"))
 
 
 def _configure_logs():
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ def _configure_logs():
             "root": {"level": log_level, "handlers": ["wsgi"]},
         }
     )
-    # add SQLalchemy logs
+    # add SQLAlchemy logs
     logging.getLogger("sqlalchemy").addHandler(default_handler)
 
 
@@ -133,7 +133,6 @@ def _init_sqlalchemy():
 
 # NOTE: These imports must be placed at the end of this file
 # flake8: noqa E402
-
 import views.auth
 import views.autocomplete
 import views.gene
diff --git a/views/auth.py b/views/auth.py
index 246e3a0b..36f2d486 100644
--- a/views/auth.py
+++ b/views/auth.py
@@ -82,6 +82,15 @@ def decorated(*args, **kwargs):
     return decorated
 
 
+def requires_user(f):
+    @wraps(f)
+    def decorated(*args, **kwargs):
+        if session.get(USER) != DEMO_USER:
+            return f(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    return decorated
+
+
 @application.route("/<language>/login", methods=["POST"])
 @application.route("/login", methods=["POST"])
 def login():
diff --git a/views/general.py b/views/general.py
index a5e0c5fc..55e18834 100644
--- a/views/general.py
+++ b/views/general.py
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ def wrapped_f(*args, **kwargs):
 def _get_pagination_parameters():
     try:
         offset = int(request.args.get("offset", 0))
-        limit = int(request.args.get("limit", 10))
+        limit = int(request.args.get("limit", 1500))
     except ValueError as e:
         raise PhenopolisException(str(e), 500)
     return limit, offset
diff --git a/views/individual.py b/views/individual.py
index eeac9a19..ffd2f8c1 100644
--- a/views/individual.py
+++ b/views/individual.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def get_all_individuals():
             for ind in individuals:
                 a1, a2 = zip(*[x.split("@") for x in sorted(ind["ancestor_observed_features"])])
                 o1, o2 = zip(*[x.split("@") for x in sorted(ind["observed_features"])])
-                # NOTE: casting list in strings just for frotend, but list is better, I guess (Alan)
+                # NOTE: casting list in strings just for frontend, but list is better, I guess (Alan)
                 ind["ancestor_observed_features"] = ",".join(a1)
                 ind["ancestor_observed_features_names"] = ",".join(a2)
                 ind["observed_features"] = ",".join(o1)
@@ -147,12 +147,12 @@ def create_individual():
         message = "Individuals were created"
         ids_new_individuals = []
         try:
-            # generate a new unique id for the individual
+            # generate a new unique ID for the individual
             for trio in new_individuals:
                 i, g, f = trio
                 # insert individual
                 db_session.add(i)
-                # to refresh i and with new id and phenopolis_id, both lines below needed (black magic)
+                # to refresh i and with new ID and phenopolis_id, both lines below needed (black magic)
                 db_session.query(Individual).count()
                 db_session.refresh(i)
                 # add entry to user_individual
@@ -249,7 +249,7 @@ def _individual_complete_view(db_session: Session, config, individual: Individua
     variants = _get_variants(individual.phenopolis_id)
     hom_vars = [x for x in variants if "HOM" in x["zigosity"]]
     het_vars = [x for x in variants if "HET" in x["zigosity"]]
-    # hom variants
+    # HOM variants
     config[0]["rare_homs"]["data"] = hom_vars
     # rare variants
     config[0]["rare_variants"]["data"] = het_vars
diff --git a/views/upload.py b/views/upload.py
index 07c2d661..36bb3a6c 100644
--- a/views/upload.py
+++ b/views/upload.py
@@ -8,34 +8,54 @@
 from flask import jsonify, request
 
 from views import application
-from views.auth import requires_admin
+from views.auth import requires_user
 from views.exceptions import PhenopolisException
 
-UPLOAD_FOLDER = "upload"
+BUCKET = os.getenv("BUCKET", "phenopolis-website-uploads")
+REGION = os.getenv("REGION", "eu-west-2")
 
-S3_KEY = os.getenv("VCF_S3_KEY")
-SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = os.environ.get("VCF_S3_SECRET")
-DOWNLOAD_SIGNED_URL_TIME = 300
+S3_USER = os.getenv("S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID")
+S3_PASS = os.getenv("S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY")
+ENDPOINT = os.getenv("ENDPOINT")
 
-s3_client = boto3.client(
+s3_client1 = boto3.client(  # for listing and delete
     "s3",
-    aws_access_key_id=S3_KEY,
-    aws_secret_access_key=SECRET_ACCESS_KEY,
-    config=Config(signature_version="s3v4", region_name="eu-west-2"),
+    endpoint_url=ENDPOINT,  # http://minio-server:9000 works
+    # endpoint_url="http://localhost:9000", # did not work
+    # endpoint_url="http://host.docker.internal:9000", # does work
+    aws_access_key_id=S3_USER,
+    aws_secret_access_key=S3_PASS,
+    config=Config(signature_version="s3v4", region_name=REGION),
 )
 
+s3_client2 = s3_client1
+if ENDPOINT:
+    if "minio-server" in ENDPOINT:
+        s3_client2 = boto3.client(  # needs localhost, because of uppy? to presign (upload) and download
+            "s3",
+            endpoint_url="http://localhost:9000",  # worked
+            # see https://docs.min.io/docs/how-to-use-aws-sdk-for-python-with-minio-server.html
+            # endpoint_url="http://minio-server:9000", # does not work
+            aws_access_key_id=S3_USER,
+            aws_secret_access_key=S3_PASS,
+            config=Config(signature_version="s3v4", region_name=REGION),
+        )
+
+try:
+    s3_client1.create_bucket(Bucket=BUCKET, CreateBucketConfiguration={"LocationConstraint": REGION})
+except Exception:
+    pass
+
 
 @application.route("/preSignS3URL", methods=["GET", "POST"])
-@requires_admin
+@requires_user
 def presign_S3():
     data = request.get_json()
     filename = data.get("filename")
     prefix = data.get("prefix")
 
     try:
-        response = s3_client.generate_presigned_post(
-            Bucket="phenopolis-website-uploads", Key=prefix + "/" + filename, ExpiresIn=3600
-        )
+        response = s3_client2.generate_presigned_post(Bucket=BUCKET, Key=prefix + "/" + filename, ExpiresIn=3600)
     except PhenopolisException as e:
         application.logger.error(str(e))
         return None
@@ -44,11 +64,10 @@ def presign_S3():
 
 
 @application.route("/files/<individual_id>", methods=["GET", "POST"])
-@requires_admin
+@requires_user
 def getUploadedFile(individual_id):
     try:
-        response = s3_client.list_objects_v2(Bucket="phenopolis-website-uploads", Prefix=individual_id, MaxKeys=100)
-
+        response = s3_client1.list_objects_v2(Bucket=BUCKET, Prefix=individual_id, MaxKeys=100)
         if response["KeyCount"] == 0:
             return jsonify(response), 404
     except PhenopolisException as e:
@@ -59,23 +78,21 @@ def getUploadedFile(individual_id):
 
 
 @application.route("/files", methods=["DELETE"])
-@requires_admin
+@requires_user
 def delete_file():
     data = request.get_json()
     fileKey = data.get("fileKey")
-    response = s3_client.delete_object(Bucket="phenopolis-website-uploads", Key=fileKey)
+    response = s3_client1.delete_object(Bucket=BUCKET, Key=fileKey)
 
     return jsonify(message="Delete File Success", response=response), 200
 
 
 @application.route("/file_download", methods=["POST"])
-@requires_admin
+@requires_user
 def download_file():
     data = request.get_json()
     fileKey = data.get("fileKey")
-    response = s3_client.generate_presigned_url(
-        "get_object",
-        Params={"Bucket": "phenopolis-website-uploads", "Key": fileKey},
-        ExpiresIn=DOWNLOAD_SIGNED_URL_TIME,
+    response = s3_client2.generate_presigned_url(
+        "get_object", Params={"Bucket": BUCKET, "Key": fileKey}, ExpiresIn=300,
     )
     return jsonify(filename=fileKey, response=response), 200
diff --git a/views/variant.py b/views/variant.py
index 767ce2fc..feb2f1d9 100644
--- a/views/variant.py
+++ b/views/variant.py
@@ -81,6 +81,14 @@ def _get_variants(target: str):
     Returns:
         List[dict variant]: empty ([]), one or more variants depending on input target
     """
+    limit, offset = _get_pagination_parameters()
+    if limit > MAX_PAGE_SIZE:
+        return (
+            jsonify(message=f"The maximum page size for variants is {MAX_PAGE_SIZE}"),
+            400,
+        )
+    sql_page = sql.SQL(f"limit {limit} offset {offset}")
+
     if CHROMOSOME_POS_REF_ALT_REGEX.match(target):
         c, p, r, a = target.split("-")
         filter = sql.SQL(f"""where v.chrom = '{c}' and v.pos = {p} and v."ref" = '{r}' and v.alt = '{a}'""")
@@ -148,7 +156,7 @@ def _get_variants(target: str):
         """
     )
 
-    sqlq = sqlq_main + filter + sqlq_end
+    sqlq = sqlq_main + filter + sqlq_end + sql_page
     with get_db() as conn:
         with conn.cursor() as cur:
             cur.execute(sqlq, {"hga": HG_ASSEMBLY})