hugo deploy fails with 'Failed to create deployment target' on S3 despite valid credentials

Deployment Target Configuration Failure

The hugo deploy command returns 'Failed to create deployment target' when attempting to deploy to an S3 bucket, even though AWS credentials are properly configured and the bucket exists with correct permissions. This error occurs consistently across multiple Hugo versions (0.80+) when using the standard S3 deployment target configuration in config.toml.

The deployment configuration includes the required [deployment] section with S3 target parameters, environment variables for credentials are properly expanded, and the same credentials work for manual AWS CLI deployments to the same bucket. Running hugo config shows the deployment settings are being parsed correctly, and hugo deploy --verbose confirms the target creation step fails without additional diagnostic information.

This suggests the issue may be related to how Hugo validates or initializes deployment targets, potentially involving credential resolution timing, region configuration, or a mismatch between Hugo's deployment target expectations and the actual S3 bucket configuration.

• Is there a specific validation step in Hugo's deployment target creation that requires additional configuration beyond standard S3 parameters?
• Does Hugo's deployment feature require specific IAM permissions or bucket policies that differ from standard AWS S3 access patterns?
• Are there known compatibility issues between Hugo's deployment targets and certain AWS regions or S3 bucket naming conventions?