Host GitHub Memory Game on AWS S3 Easily

1. Introduction

Ever built a memory game on GitHub and wondered how to share it with the world? With AWS S3, you can host it online effortlessly—no complicated servers or hefty costs required! In this guide, we’ll take your GitHub-hosted memory game—a fun project with cards, matches, and maybe a timer—and turn it into a live, playable website using Amazon’s S3 service. Whether you’re a coding newbie or just looking to showcase your work, this process is simpler than you might think. By the end, you’ll have a public URL where anyone can flip cards and test their memory, all powered by the cloud. Let’s dive in and get your game online in a few easy steps!

2. Prerequisites

Before we start, let’s gather what you’ll need. Don’t worry—these are straightforward and mostly free to set up:

A GitHub Account: If you don’t have one, head to GitHub.com and sign up—it’s free and quick. You’ll use it to store your memory game files.
An AWS Account: Sign up at aws.amazon.com. The free tier covers S3 for small projects like this, so you won’t need to pay anything to follow along (just keep an eye on usage later!).
A Memory Game Project: You’ll need a working game with files like index.html, style.css, and script.js. If you don’t have one, no stress—you can fork my sample repo at github.com/Prayag-09/aws-memory-game or build one with basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Basic Tools: Know how to use a web browser and maybe a text editor (like VS Code). If you’ve ever cloned a repo or opened a file, you’re good to go!

That’s it! No advanced skills needed—just a willingness to mess around with GitHub and AWS and get your hands dirty. Ready? Let’s set up your repository next.

3. Setting Up the GitHub Repository

First, we need to get your memory game onto GitHub. This is where your project lives before it heads to S3. Here’s how to set it up:

Create a New Repository: Log into GitHub, click the “+” icon in the top-right corner, and select “New repository.” Give it a fun name like memory-game-s3—keep it public so it’s easy to access later. Hit “Create repository” (skip the extra options for now).
Upload Your Game Files: If your memory game is ready, click “Add file” > “Upload files” in your new repo. Drag in your index.html, style.css, script.js, and any images or assets (e.g., card pictures). Or else, fork my repository—head to github.com/Prayag-09/aws-memory-game, click “Fork,” and it’ll copy my sample memory game to your account. Clone it locally with git clone [your-forked-repo-url], tweak it if you like, then push it back.
Organize It: Keep things tidy—put images in an assets folder if you have them. Your index.html should be at the root (not buried in a subfolder) since it’ll be the entry point for S3.
Commit and Check: Hit the green “Commit changes” button after uploading, or push your changes if you forked and edited locally. Then, open your repo’s main page to confirm everything’s there—click around to see your files listed.

Pro Tip: Add a quick README.md file with a line like “A memory game hosted on AWS S3” to make your repo look polished. Now your game’s safely on GitHub, ready to leap to the cloud. Next, we’ll configure S3!

4. Configuring AWS S3

Time to set up AWS S3 to host your game as a static website. Don’t panic—it’s just a few clicks! Here’s how:

Log In: Sign into your AWS account using your root credentials (the email and password you signed up with).
Create an S3 Bucket: In the AWS Console, search for “S3” and click it. Hit “Create bucket.” Give it a unique name (e.g., memory-game-prayag-09-aws)—no spaces or uppercase letters—and pick a region close to you (like ap-south-1 for India). Leave other settings as default and click “Create.”
Enable Static Web Hosting: Once created, click on your bucket’s name and then properties. Scroll to the bottom, find the “Static website hosting” section, and click “Edit.” Enable it, set index.html as the “Index document,” and save changes.
Set Permissions: Go to the “Permissions” tab. Scroll to “Bucket policy,” click “Edit,” and paste this policy (replace memory-game-prayag-09-aws with your bucket name):

 {
     "Version": "2012-10-17",
     "Statement": [
         {
             "Sid": "PublicReadGetObject",
             "Effect": "Allow",
             "Principal": "*",
             "Action": [
                 "s3:GetObject"
             ],
             "Resource": [
                 "arn:aws:s3:::<your-bucket-name-here>/*"
             ]
         }
     ]
 }

Save it—this makes your game publicly accessible.

Your bucket’s ready to host! Next, let’s set up a pipeline—or skip to uploading manually if you prefer.

5. Creating an AWS Pipeline for CI/CD (Optional Automation)

Want changes to your GitHub repo to update your S3 site automatically? Let’s set up a simple CI/CD pipeline with AWS CodePipeline. It’s optional but cool!

Create a Pipeline: In the AWS Console, search for “CodePipeline” and click “Create pipeline.” Name it (e.g., memory-game-pipeline) and click “Next.”
Source Stage: Choose “GitHub (Version 2)” as the source provider. Click “Connect to GitHub,” sign in, and install the AWS app if prompted. Select your repo (e.g., Prayag-09/aws-memory-game), set the branch to main, and enable “Start pipeline on source code change.” Click “Next.”
Build Stage: We’re skipping this since your game doesn’t need building—it’s just HTML, CSS, and JS. Select “Skip build stage” and click “Next.”
Deploy Stage: Choose “Amazon S3” as the deploy provider. Pick your bucket (e.g., memory-game-prayag-09-aws), check “Extract file before deploy,” and click “Next.” Review and hit “Create pipeline.”

Once it runs, your game files will sync to S3 automatically whenever you push to main. If this feels advanced, skip to manual uploading below!

6. Uploading Files to S3 (Manual Option)

If you skipped the pipeline, here’s how to upload your game files manually:

Download Your Repo: On GitHub, go to your repo, click “Code,” and download it as a ZIP—or clone it locally with git clone [repo-url]. Unzip if needed.
Upload to S3: In the AWS S3 console, open your bucket, click “Upload,” and drag in all your files (index.html, style.css, script.js, etc.). Hit “Upload” to finish.
Verify: Check the bucket’s “Objects” tab—your files should be listed, with index.html at the root.

Now your game’s on S3! Let’s test it next.

7. Testing and Accessing the Game

Your game’s live—let’s see it in action!

Find the URL: In your S3 bucket, go to the “Properties” tab, scroll to “Static website hosting,” and copy the URL
(e.g., memory-game-prayag-09-aws.s3-website.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com).
Test It: Paste the URL in your browser. Your memory game should load—flip some cards and play! If you used a pipeline, push a change to main on GitHub, wait a minute, and refresh to see updates.
Troubleshooting: Game not loading? Check: Did you set the bucket policy? Is index.html at the root? Are file paths correct?

Here’s an example URL from my setup: memory-game-prayag-09-aws.s3-website.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/. Yours will look similar—just swap the bucket name and region.

8. Optional Enhancements (Paid Features)

Want to take it further? Try these (note: some cost money):

Custom Domain: Use AWS Route 53 to give your game a fancy URL like memorygame.yourname.com.
Versioning: Enable S3 versioning to keep backups of old files.
GitHub Actions: Skip CodePipeline and automate deployment with GitHub Actions for free.

And when you’re done experimenting:

Delete Resources: In CodePipeline, select your pipeline and click “Delete.” For S3, open your bucket, click “Empty” to clear files, then “Delete” the bucket. Check your AWS dashboard to ensure nothing’s running.

9. Conclusion

Congrats! You’ve hosted a memory game online with AWS S3—a live, playable project straight from GitHub. Whether you uploaded manually or set up a slick CI/CD pipeline, you’ve got a URL to share with friends or add to your portfolio. Try tweaking your game, pushing updates, or exploring other projects to host this way. What’s next—another game? Share your live link in the comments—I’d love to play it!

Effortlessly Host Your First GitHub Memory Game on AWS S3

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