diff --git a/docs/features/techdocs/configuration.md b/docs/features/techdocs/configuration.md
index 869febdf5c..1190c219a8 100644
--- a/docs/features/techdocs/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/features/techdocs/configuration.md
@@ -76,7 +76,12 @@ techdocs:
     awsS3:
       # An API key is required to write to a storage bucket.
       credentials:
-        $file: '/path/to/aws_application_credentials.json',
+        accessKeyId:
+          $env: TECHDOCS_AWSS3_ACCESS_KEY_ID_CREDENTIAL
+        secretAccessKey:
+          $env: TECHDOCS_AWSS3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY_CREDENTIAL
+      region:
+        $env: AWSS3_REGION
 
       # AWS S3 Bucket Name
       bucketName: 'techdocs-storage',
diff --git a/docs/features/techdocs/using-cloud-storage.md b/docs/features/techdocs/using-cloud-storage.md
index c1cea9c91b..a1bbcc6bbb 100644
--- a/docs/features/techdocs/using-cloud-storage.md
+++ b/docs/features/techdocs/using-cloud-storage.md
@@ -236,18 +236,18 @@ Create an inline policy for the TechDocs user by using the following policy:
 See more details in the section
 [Working with Inline Policies](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies_manage.html).
 
-Now you need to create your credentials file (`.json`) with the `TechDocs` User
-credentials:
+Now you need to fill in the environment variables with the `TechDocs` User
+credentials. You can also specify a region if you want to accesses the resources
+in a specific region. Otherwise no region will be selected by default.
 
-```json
-{
-  "accessKeyId": "TECHDOCS_USER_ACCESS_KEY_ID",
-  "secretAccessKey": "TECHDOCS_USER_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY"
-}
+```properties
+TECHDOCS_AWSS3_ACCESS_KEY_ID_CREDENTIAL="TECHDOCS_ACCESS_KEY_ID"
+TECHDOCS_AWSS3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY_CREDENTIAL="TECHDOCS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY"
+AWSS3_REGION="" // Optional
 ```
 
 Make it available in your Backstage server and/or your local development server
-and set it in the app config techdocs.publisher.awsS3.credentials.
+and set it in the app config techdocs.publisher.awsS3.
 
 ```yaml
 techdocs:
@@ -255,7 +255,12 @@ techdocs:
     type: 'awsS3'
     awsS3:
       credentials:
-        $file: '/path/to/aws_application_credentials.json'
+        accessKeyId:
+          $env: TECHDOCS_AWSS3_ACCESS_KEY_ID_CREDENTIAL
+        secretAccessKey:
+          $env: TECHDOCS_AWSS3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY_CREDENTIAL
+      region:
+        $env: AWSS3_REGION
 ```
 
 **3. That's it!**
diff --git a/packages/techdocs-common/src/stages/publish/awsS3.test.ts b/packages/techdocs-common/src/stages/publish/awsS3.test.ts
index 883674b332..06a19625f8 100644
--- a/packages/techdocs-common/src/stages/publish/awsS3.test.ts
+++ b/packages/techdocs-common/src/stages/publish/awsS3.test.ts
@@ -45,7 +45,10 @@ beforeEach(() => {
       publisher: {
         type: 'awsS3',
         awsS3: {
-          credentials: '{}',
+          credentials: {
+            accessKeyId: 'accessKeyId',
+            secretAccessKey: 'secretAccessKey',
+          },
           bucketName: 'bucketName',
         },
       },
diff --git a/packages/techdocs-common/src/stages/publish/awsS3.ts b/packages/techdocs-common/src/stages/publish/awsS3.ts
index 959ffb87b3..d0877159dd 100644
--- a/packages/techdocs-common/src/stages/publish/awsS3.ts
+++ b/packages/techdocs-common/src/stages/publish/awsS3.ts
@@ -21,16 +21,23 @@ import { Entity, EntityName } from '@backstage/catalog-model';
 import { Config } from '@backstage/config';
 import { getHeadersForFileExtension, getFileTreeRecursively } from './helpers';
 import { PublisherBase, PublishRequest } from './types';
-import { CredentialsOptions } from 'aws-sdk/lib/credentials';
 import { ManagedUpload } from 'aws-sdk/clients/s3';
 import fs from 'fs';
 
 export class AwsS3Publish implements PublisherBase {
   static fromConfig(config: Config, logger: Logger): PublisherBase {
-    let credentials = '';
+    let region = null;
+    let accessKeyId = null;
+    let secretAccessKey = null;
     let bucketName = '';
     try {
-      credentials = config.getString('techdocs.publisher.awsS3.credentials');
+      accessKeyId = config.getString(
+        'techdocs.publisher.awsS3.credentials.accessKeyId',
+      );
+      secretAccessKey = config.getString(
+        'techdocs.publisher.awsS3.credentials.secretAccessKey',
+      );
+      region = config.getOptionalString('techdocs.publisher.awsS3.region');
       bucketName = config.getString('techdocs.publisher.awsS3.bucketName');
     } catch (error) {
       throw new Error(
@@ -40,17 +47,9 @@ export class AwsS3Publish implements PublisherBase {
       );
     }
 
-    let credentialsJson = {};
-    try {
-      credentialsJson = JSON.parse(credentials);
-    } catch (err) {
-      throw new Error(
-        'Error in parsing techdocs.publisher.awsS3.credentials config to JSON.',
-      );
-    }
-
     const storageClient = new aws.S3({
-      credentials: credentialsJson as CredentialsOptions,
+      credentials: { accessKeyId, secretAccessKey },
+      ...(region && { region }),
     });
 
     // Check if the defined bucket exists. Being able to connect means the configuration is good
diff --git a/packages/techdocs-common/src/stages/publish/publish.test.ts b/packages/techdocs-common/src/stages/publish/publish.test.ts
index b3fe98cce6..43c8101651 100644
--- a/packages/techdocs-common/src/stages/publish/publish.test.ts
+++ b/packages/techdocs-common/src/stages/publish/publish.test.ts
@@ -90,7 +90,10 @@ describe('Publisher', () => {
         publisher: {
           type: 'awsS3',
           awsS3: {
-            credentials: '{}',
+            credentials: {
+              accessKeyId: 'accessKeyId',
+              secretAccessKey: 'secretAccessKey',
+            },
             bucketName: 'bucketName',
           },
         },