diff --git a/.github/workflows/system.yml b/.github/workflows/system.yml
index dcb929bc..f4312965 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/system.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/system.yml
@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build and run
         run: |
           make testbin
-          echo $PATH
           export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST
           export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmn
           export AWS_REGION=us-east-1
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 9b68a4a8..49fa25a1 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ VERSION
 dist/
 
 # secrets file for local github-actions testing
-tests/.secrets
+tests/.secrets*
 
 # IAM users files often created in testing
 users.json
diff --git a/tests/.env.default b/tests/.env.default
index 2470913f..9cc59e5c 100644
--- a/tests/.env.default
+++ b/tests/.env.default
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 AWS_PROFILE=versity
 AWS_ENDPOINT_URL=https://127.0.0.1:7070
 VERSITY_EXE=./versitygw
+RUN_VERSITYGW=true
 BACKEND=posix
 LOCAL_FOLDER=/tmp/gw
 BUCKET_ONE_NAME=versity-gwtest-bucket-one
@@ -8,4 +9,6 @@ BUCKET_TWO_NAME=versity-gwtest-bucket-two
 #RECREATE_BUCKETS=true
 CERT=$PWD/cert.pem
 KEY=$PWD/versitygw.pem
-S3CMD_CONFIG=./tests/s3cfg.local.default
\ No newline at end of file
+S3CMD_CONFIG=./tests/s3cfg.local.default
+SECRETS_FILE=./tests/.secrets
+MC_ALIAS=versity
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/.env.static b/tests/.env.static
deleted file mode 100644
index 51c965bb..00000000
--- a/tests/.env.static
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-AWS_PROFILE=versity
-AWS_ENDPOINT_URL=http://127.0.0.1:7070
-VERSITY_EXE=./versitygw
-BACKEND=posix
-LOCAL_FOLDER=/tmp/gw
-BUCKET_ONE_NAME=versity-gwtest-bucket-one-static
-BUCKET_TWO_NAME=versity-gwtest-bucket-two-static
-RECREATE_BUCKETS=false
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/setup_mc.sh b/tests/setup_mc.sh
index 2e4d43d5..fee7438e 100644
--- a/tests/setup_mc.sh
+++ b/tests/setup_mc.sh
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ check_for_alias() {
     return 2
   fi
   while IFS= read -r line; do
-    if [[ $line =~ ^versity$ ]]; then
+    if [[ $line =~ ^"$MC_ALIAS"$ ]]; then
       return 0
     fi
   done <<< "$aliases"
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ check_add_mc_alias() {
     return 0
   fi
   local set_result
-  error=$(mc alias set --insecure versity "$AWS_ENDPOINT_URL" "$AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID" "$AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY") || set_result=$?
+  error=$(mc alias set --insecure "$MC_ALIAS" "$AWS_ENDPOINT_URL" "$AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID" "$AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY") || set_result=$?
   if [[ $set_result -ne 0 ]]; then
     echo "error setting alias: $error"
     return 1
diff --git a/tests/test_aws.sh b/tests/test_aws.sh
index a8fb37c8..6618a6b8 100755
--- a/tests/test_aws.sh
+++ b/tests/test_aws.sh
@@ -11,8 +11,12 @@ source ./tests/test_common.sh
 }
 
 # test adding and removing an object on versitygw
-@test "test_put_object" {
-  test_common_put_object "aws"
+@test "test_put_object-with-data" {
+  test_common_put_object_with_data "aws"
+}
+
+@test "test_put_object-no-data" {
+  test_common_put_object_no_data "aws"
 }
 
 # test listing buckets on versitygw
@@ -97,27 +101,7 @@ source ./tests/test_common.sh
 
 # test abilty to set and retrieve bucket tags
 @test "test-set-get-bucket-tags" {
-
-  local key="test_key"
-  local value="test_value"
-
-  setup_bucket "aws" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" || local result=$?
-  [[ $result -eq 0 ]] || fail "Failed to create bucket '$BUCKET_ONE_NAME'"
-
-  get_bucket_tags "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" || local get_result=$?
-  [[ $get_result -eq 0 ]] || fail "Error getting bucket tags"
-  tag_set=$(echo "$tags" | jq '.TagSet')
-  [[ $tag_set == "[]" ]] || fail "Error:  tags not empty"
-
-  put_bucket_tag "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" $key $value
-  get_bucket_tags "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" || local get_result_two=$?
-  [[ $get_result_two -eq 0 ]] || fail "Error getting bucket tags"
-  tag_set_key=$(echo "$tags" | jq '.TagSet[0].Key')
-  tag_set_value=$(echo "$tags" | jq '.TagSet[0].Value')
-  [[ $tag_set_key == '"'$key'"' ]] || fail "Key mismatch"
-  [[ $tag_set_value == '"'$value'"' ]] || fail "Value mismatch"
-
-  delete_bucket_or_contents "aws" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME"
+  test_common_set_get_bucket_tags "aws"
 }
 
 # test v1 s3api list objects command
@@ -184,34 +168,7 @@ source ./tests/test_common.sh
 
 # test abilty to set and retrieve object tags
 @test "test-set-get-object-tags" {
-
-  local bucket_file="bucket-file"
-  local key="test_key"
-  local value="test_value"
-
-  create_test_files "$bucket_file" || local created=$?
-  [[ $created -eq 0 ]] || fail "Error creating test files"
-  setup_bucket "aws" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" || local result=$?
-  [[ $result -eq 0 ]] || fail "Failed to create bucket '$BUCKET_ONE_NAME'"
-  local object_path="$BUCKET_ONE_NAME"/"$bucket_file"
-  put_object "aws" "$test_file_folder"/"$bucket_file" "$object_path" || local put_object=$?
-  [[ $put_object -eq 0 ]] || fail "Failed to add object to bucket '$BUCKET_ONE_NAME'"
-
-  get_object_tags "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" $bucket_file || local get_result=$?
-  [[ $get_result -eq 0 ]] || fail "Error getting object tags"
-  tag_set=$(echo "$tags" | jq '.TagSet')
-  [[ $tag_set == "[]" ]] || fail "Error:  tags not empty"
-
-  put_object_tag "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" $bucket_file $key $value
-  get_object_tags "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" $bucket_file || local get_result_two=$?
-  [[ $get_result_two -eq 0 ]] || fail "Error getting object tags"
-  tag_set_key=$(echo "$tags" | jq '.TagSet[0].Key')
-  tag_set_value=$(echo "$tags" | jq '.TagSet[0].Value')
-  [[ $tag_set_key == '"'$key'"' ]] || fail "Key mismatch"
-  [[ $tag_set_value == '"'$value'"' ]] || fail "Value mismatch"
-
-  delete_bucket_or_contents "aws" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME"
-  delete_test_files $bucket_file
+  test_common_set_get_object_tags "aws"
 }
 
 # test multi-part upload
diff --git a/tests/test_common.sh b/tests/test_common.sh
index 6fc1226b..9a1e5d22 100644
--- a/tests/test_common.sh
+++ b/tests/test_common.sh
@@ -25,24 +25,38 @@ test_common_create_delete_bucket() {
   [[ $delete_result_two -eq 0 ]] || fail "Failed to delete bucket"
 }
 
-test_common_put_object() {
-
+test_common_put_object_with_data() {
   if [[ $# -ne 1 ]]; then
     fail "put object test requires command type"
   fi
 
   local object_name="test-object"
+  create_test_files "$object_name" || local create_result=$?
+  [[ $create_result -eq 0 ]] || fail "Error creating test file"
+  echo "test data" > "$test_file_folder"/"$object_name"
+}
+
+test_common_put_object_no_data() {
+  if [[ $# -ne 1 ]]; then
+    fail "put object test requires command type"
+  fi
+
+  local object_name="test-object"
+  create_test_files "$object_name" || local create_result=$?
+  [[ $create_result -eq 0 ]] || fail "Error creating test file"
+  test_common_put_object "$1" "$object_name"
+}
+
+test_common_put_object() {
+  if [[ $# -ne 2 ]]; then
+    fail "put object test requires command type, file"
+  fi
 
   setup_bucket "$1" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" || local setup_result=$?
   [[ $setup_result -eq 0 ]] || fail "error setting up bucket"
 
-  create_test_files "$object_name" || local create_result=$?
-  [[ $create_result -eq 0 ]] || fail "Error creating test file"
-
-  echo "test data" > "$test_file_folder"/"$object_name"
-
-  object="$BUCKET_ONE_NAME"/$object_name
-  put_object "$1" "$test_file_folder"/"$object_name" "$object" || local put_object=$?
+  object="$BUCKET_ONE_NAME"/"$2"
+  put_object "$1" "$test_file_folder"/"$2" "$object" || local put_object=$?
   [[ $put_object -eq 0 ]] || fail "Failed to add object to bucket"
   object_exists "$1" "$object" || local exists_result_one=$?
   [[ $exists_result_one -eq 0 ]] || fail "Object not added to bucket"
@@ -53,7 +67,7 @@ test_common_put_object() {
   [[ $exists_result_two -eq 1 ]] || fail "Object not removed from bucket"
 
   delete_bucket_or_contents "$1" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME"
-  delete_test_files "$object_name"
+  delete_test_files "$2"
 }
 
 # common test for listing buckets
@@ -95,7 +109,6 @@ test_common_list_buckets() {
 }
 
 test_common_list_objects() {
-
   if [[ $# -ne 1 ]]; then
     echo "common test function for listing objects requires command type"
     return 1
@@ -133,3 +146,87 @@ test_common_list_objects() {
     fail "$object_one and/or $object_two not listed (all objects: ${object_array[*]})"
   fi
 }
+
+test_common_set_get_bucket_tags() {
+
+  if [[ $# -ne 1 ]]; then
+    fail "set/get bucket tags test requires command type"
+  fi
+
+  local key="test_key"
+  local value="test_value"
+
+  setup_bucket "$1" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" || local result=$?
+  [[ $result -eq 0 ]] || fail "Failed to create bucket '$BUCKET_ONE_NAME'"
+
+  get_bucket_tags "$1" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" || local get_result=$?
+  [[ $get_result -eq 0 ]] || fail "Error getting bucket tags"
+
+  if [[ $1 == 'aws' ]]; then
+    if [[ $tags != "" ]]; then
+      tag_set=$(echo "$tags" | sed '1d' | jq '.TagSet')
+      [[ $tag_set == "[]" ]] || fail "Error:  tags not empty: $tags"
+    fi
+  else
+    [[ $tags == "" ]] || [[ $tags =~ "No tags found" ]] || fail "Error:  tags not empty: $tags"
+  fi
+
+  put_bucket_tag "$1" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" $key $value
+  get_bucket_tags "$1" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" || local get_result_two=$?
+  [[ $get_result_two -eq 0 ]] || fail "Error getting bucket tags"
+
+  local tag_set_key
+  local tag_set_value
+  if [[ $1 == 'aws' ]]; then
+    tag_set_key=$(echo "$tags" | sed '1d' | jq '.TagSet[0].Key')
+    tag_set_value=$(echo "$tags" | sed '1d' | jq '.TagSet[0].Value')
+    [[ $tag_set_key == '"'$key'"' ]] || fail "Key mismatch"
+    [[ $tag_set_value == '"'$value'"' ]] || fail "Value mismatch"
+  else
+    read -r tag_set_key tag_set_value <<< "$(echo "$tags" | awk 'NR==2 {print $1, $3}')"
+    [[ $tag_set_key == "$key" ]] || fail "Key mismatch"
+    [[ $tag_set_value == "$value" ]] || fail "Value mismatch"
+  fi
+  delete_bucket_tags "$1" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME"
+  delete_bucket_or_contents "$1" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME"
+}
+
+test_common_set_get_object_tags() {
+  local bucket_file="bucket-file"
+  local key="test_key"
+  local value="test_value"
+
+  create_test_files "$bucket_file" || local created=$?
+  [[ $created -eq 0 ]] || fail "Error creating test files"
+  setup_bucket "$1" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" || local result=$?
+  [[ $result -eq 0 ]] || fail "Failed to create bucket '$BUCKET_ONE_NAME'"
+  local object_path="$BUCKET_ONE_NAME"/"$bucket_file"
+  put_object "$1" "$test_file_folder"/"$bucket_file" "$object_path" || local put_object=$?
+  [[ $put_object -eq 0 ]] || fail "Failed to add object to bucket '$BUCKET_ONE_NAME'"
+
+  get_object_tags "$1" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" $bucket_file || local get_result=$?
+  [[ $get_result -eq 0 ]] || fail "Error getting object tags"
+  if [[ $1 == 'aws' ]]; then
+    tag_set=$(echo "$tags" | sed '1d' | jq '.TagSet')
+    [[ $tag_set == "[]" ]] || fail "Error:  tags not empty"
+  elif [[ ! $tags == *"No tags found"* ]]; then
+    fail "no tags found (tags: $tags)"
+  fi
+
+  put_object_tag "$1" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" $bucket_file $key $value
+  get_object_tags "$1" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME" $bucket_file || local get_result_two=$?
+  [[ $get_result_two -eq 0 ]] || fail "Error getting object tags"
+  if [[ $1 == 'aws' ]]; then
+    tag_set_key=$(echo "$tags" | sed '1d' | jq '.TagSet[0].Key')
+    tag_set_value=$(echo "$tags" | sed '1d' | jq '.TagSet[0].Value')
+    [[ $tag_set_key == '"'$key'"' ]] || fail "Key mismatch"
+    [[ $tag_set_value == '"'$value'"' ]] || fail "Value mismatch"
+  else
+    read -r tag_set_key tag_set_value <<< "$(echo "$tags" | awk 'NR==2 {print $1, $3}')"
+    [[ $tag_set_key == "$key" ]] || fail "Key mismatch"
+    [[ $tag_set_value == "$value" ]] || fail "Value mismatch"
+  fi
+
+  delete_bucket_or_contents "$1" "$BUCKET_ONE_NAME"
+  delete_test_files $bucket_file
+}
diff --git a/tests/test_mc.sh b/tests/test_mc.sh
index b16a0ffa..2a3f216f 100755
--- a/tests/test_mc.sh
+++ b/tests/test_mc.sh
@@ -6,4 +6,28 @@ source ./tests/setup.sh
 # test mc bucket creation/deletion
 @test "test_create_delete_bucket_mc" {
   test_common_create_delete_bucket "mc"
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
+
+@test "test_put_object-with-data-mc" {
+  test_common_put_object_with_data "mc"
+}
+
+@test "test_put_object-no-data-mc" {
+  test_common_put_object_no_data "mc"
+}
+
+@test "test_list_buckets_mc" {
+  test_common_list_buckets "mc"
+}
+
+@test "test_list_objects_mc" {
+  test_common_list_objects "mc"
+}
+
+@test "test_set_get_bucket_tags_mc" {
+  test_common_set_get_bucket_tags "mc"
+}
+
+@test "test_set_get_object_tags_mc" {
+  test_common_set_get_object_tags "mc"
+}
diff --git a/tests/test_s3cmd.sh b/tests/test_s3cmd.sh
index e3dda466..d0f48b11 100755
--- a/tests/test_s3cmd.sh
+++ b/tests/test_s3cmd.sh
@@ -10,8 +10,12 @@ source ./tests/util.sh
 }
 
 # test s3cmd put object
-@test "test_put_object_s3cmd" {
-  test_common_put_object "s3cmd"
+@test "test_put_object_with_data_s3cmd" {
+  test_common_put_object_with_data "s3cmd"
+}
+
+@test "test_put_object_no_data_s3cmd" {
+  test_common_put_object_no_data "s3cmd"
 }
 
 # test listing buckets on versitygw
diff --git a/tests/util.sh b/tests/util.sh
index 8b9e8598..9ad7ed20 100644
--- a/tests/util.sh
+++ b/tests/util.sh
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ create_bucket() {
   elif [[ $1 == "s3cmd" ]]; then
     error=$(s3cmd "${S3CMD_OPTS[@]}" --no-check-certificate mb s3://"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   elif [[ $1 == "mc" ]]; then
-    error=$(mc --insecure mb versity/"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
+    error=$(mc --insecure mb "$MC_ALIAS"/"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   else
     echo "invalid command type $1"
     return 1
@@ -34,14 +34,21 @@ create_bucket() {
 # param:  bucket name
 # return 0 for success, 1 for failure
 delete_bucket() {
-  if [ $# -ne 1 ]; then
-    echo "delete bucket missing bucket name"
+  if [ $# -ne 2 ]; then
+    echo "delete bucket missing command type, bucket name"
     return 1
   fi
 
   local exit_code=0
   local error
-  error=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3 rb s3://"$1" 2>&1) || exit_code="$?"
+  if [[ $1 == 'aws' ]]; then
+    error=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3 rb s3://"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
+  elif [[ $1 == 'mc' ]]; then
+    error=$(mc --insecure rb "$MC_ALIAS/$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
+  else
+    echo "Invalid command type $1"
+    return 1
+  fi
   if [ $exit_code -ne 0 ]; then
     if [[ "$error" == *"The specified bucket does not exist"* ]]; then
       return 0
@@ -79,7 +86,7 @@ delete_bucket_recursive() {
     if [[ "$error" == *"The specified bucket does not exist"* ]]; then
       return 0
     else
-      echo "error deleting bucket: $error"
+      echo "error deleting bucket recursively: $error"
       return 1
     fi
   fi
@@ -91,7 +98,7 @@ delete_bucket_recursive() {
 # return 0 for success, 1 for failure
 delete_bucket_contents() {
   if [ $# -ne 2 ]; then
-    echo "delete bucket missing bucket name"
+    echo "delete bucket missing command id, bucket name"
     return 1
   fi
 
@@ -102,7 +109,7 @@ delete_bucket_contents() {
   elif [[ $1 == "s3cmd" ]]; then
     error=$(s3cmd "${S3CMD_OPTS[@]}" --no-check-certificate del s3://"$2" --recursive --force 2>&1) || exit_code="$?"
   elif [[ $1 == "mc" ]]; then
-    error=$(mc --insecure rm --force --recursive versity/"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code="$?"
+    error=$(mc --insecure rm --force --recursive "$MC_ALIAS"/"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code="$?"
   else
     echo "invalid command type $1"
     return 1
@@ -126,18 +133,20 @@ bucket_exists() {
   local exit_code=0
   local error
   if [[ $1 == 'aws' ]]; then
-    error=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3 ls s3://"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code="$?"
+    error=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3 ls s3://"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   elif [[ $1 == 's3cmd' ]]; then
-    error=$(s3cmd "${S3CMD_OPTS[@]}" --no-check-certificate ls s3://"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code="$?"
+    # NOTE:  s3cmd sometimes takes longer with direct connection
+    sleep 1
+    error=$(s3cmd "${S3CMD_OPTS[@]}" --no-check-certificate ls s3://"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   elif [[ $1 == 'mc' ]]; then
-    error=$(mc --insecure ls versity)
+    error=$(mc --insecure ls "$MC_ALIAS/$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   else
     echo "invalid command type: $1"
     return 2
   fi
 
   if [ $exit_code -ne 0 ]; then
-    if [[ "$error" == *"The specified bucket does not exist"* ]] || [[ "$error" == *"Access Denied"* ]]; then
+    if [[ "$error" == *"does not exist"* ]] || [[ "$error" == *"Access Denied"* ]]; then
       return 1
     else
       echo "error checking if bucket exists: $error"
@@ -193,6 +202,7 @@ setup_bucket() {
       return 1
     fi
     if [[ $RECREATE_BUCKETS == "false" ]]; then
+      echo "bucket data deletion success"
       return 0
     fi
   fi
@@ -219,11 +229,13 @@ object_exists() {
     return 2
   fi
   local exit_code=0
-  local error
+  local error=""
   if [[ $1 == 'aws' ]]; then
     error=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3 ls s3://"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code="$?"
   elif [[ $1 == 's3cmd' ]]; then
     error=$(s3cmd "${S3CMD_OPTS[@]}" --no-check-certificate ls s3://"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code="$?"
+  elif [[ $1 == 'mc' ]]; then
+    error=$(mc --insecure ls "$MC_ALIAS"/"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   else
     echo "invalid command type $1"
     return 2
@@ -235,8 +247,8 @@ object_exists() {
       echo "error checking if object exists: $error"
       return 2
     fi
-  # s3cmd returns empty when object doesn't exist, rather than error
-  elif [[ $1 == 's3cmd' ]] && [[ $error == "" ]]; then
+  # s3cmd, mc return empty when object doesn't exist, rather than error
+  elif [[ ( $1 == 's3cmd' ) || ( $1 == 'mc' ) ]] && [[ $error == "" ]]; then
     return 1
   fi
   return 0
@@ -255,8 +267,9 @@ put_object() {
   if [[ $1 == 'aws' ]]; then
     error=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3 cp "$2" s3://"$3" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   elif [[ $1 == 's3cmd' ]]; then
-    echo "2: $2 3: $(dirname $3)"
     error=$(s3cmd "${S3CMD_OPTS[@]}" --no-check-certificate put "$2" s3://"$(dirname "$3")" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
+  elif [[ $1 == 'mc' ]]; then
+    error=$(mc --insecure cp "$2" "$MC_ALIAS"/"$(dirname "$3")" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   else
     echo "invalid command type $1"
     return 1
@@ -305,7 +318,8 @@ delete_object() {
     error=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3 rm s3://"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   elif [[ $1 == 's3cmd' ]]; then
     error=$(s3cmd "${S3CMD_OPTS[@]}" --no-check-certificate rm s3://"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
-    echo "$error"
+  elif [[ $1 == 'mc' ]]; then
+    error=$(mc --insecure rm "$MC_ALIAS"/"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   else
     echo "invalid command type $1"
     return 1
@@ -322,7 +336,7 @@ delete_object() {
 # export bucket_array (bucket names) on success, return 1 for failure
 list_buckets() {
   if [[ $# -ne 1 ]]; then
-    echo "List buckets command mssing format"
+    echo "List buckets command missing format"
     return 1
   fi
 
@@ -331,7 +345,9 @@ list_buckets() {
   if [[ $1 == "aws" ]]; then
     output=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3 ls s3:// 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   elif [[ $1 == "s3cmd" ]]; then
-    output=$(s3cmd "${S3CMD_OPTS[@]}" --no-check-certificate ls s3://) || exit_code=$?
+    output=$(s3cmd "${S3CMD_OPTS[@]}" --no-check-certificate ls s3:// 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
+  elif [[ $1 == 'mc' ]]; then
+    output=$(mc --insecure ls "$MC_ALIAS" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   else
     echo "invalid format:  $1"
     return 1
@@ -345,7 +361,7 @@ list_buckets() {
   bucket_array=()
   while IFS= read -r line; do
     bucket_name=$(echo "$line" | awk '{print $NF}')
-    bucket_array+=("$bucket_name")
+    bucket_array+=("${bucket_name%/}")
   done <<< "$output"
 
   export bucket_array
@@ -365,6 +381,8 @@ list_objects() {
     output=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3 ls s3://"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   elif [[ $1 == 's3cmd' ]]; then
     output=$(s3cmd "${S3CMD_OPTS[@]}" --no-check-certificate ls s3://"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
+  elif [[ $1 == 'mc' ]]; then
+    output=$(mc --insecure ls "$MC_ALIAS"/"$2" 2>&1) || exit_code=$?
   else
     echo "invalid command type $1"
     return 1
@@ -463,13 +481,20 @@ get_object_acl() {
 # params:  bucket, key, value
 # return:  0 for success, 1 for error
 put_bucket_tag() {
-  if [ $# -ne 3 ]; then
-    echo "bucket tag command missing bucket name, key, value"
+  if [ $# -ne 4 ]; then
+    echo "bucket tag command missing command type, bucket name, key, value"
     return 1
   fi
   local error
   local result
-  error=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3api put-bucket-tagging --bucket "$1" --tagging "TagSet=[{Key=$2,Value=$3}]") || result=$?
+  if [[ $1 == 'aws' ]]; then
+    error=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3api put-bucket-tagging --bucket "$2" --tagging "TagSet=[{Key=$3,Value=$4}]") || result=$?
+  elif [[ $1 == 'mc' ]]; then
+    error=$(mc --insecure tag set "$MC_ALIAS"/"$2" "$3=$4" 2>&1) || result=$?
+  else
+    echo "invalid command type $1"
+    return 1
+  fi
   if [[ $result -ne 0 ]]; then
     echo "Error adding bucket tag: $error"
     return 1
@@ -481,30 +506,65 @@ put_bucket_tag() {
 # params:  bucket
 # export 'tags' on success, return 1 for error
 get_bucket_tags() {
-  if [ $# -ne 1 ]; then
-    echo "get bucket tag command missing bucket name"
+  if [ $# -ne 2 ]; then
+    echo "get bucket tag command missing command type, bucket name"
     return 1
   fi
   local result
-  tags=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3api get-bucket-tagging --bucket "$1") || result=$?
+  if [[ $1 == 'aws' ]]; then
+    tags=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3api get-bucket-tagging --bucket "$2" 2>&1) || result=$?
+  elif [[ $1 == 'mc' ]]; then
+    tags=$(mc --insecure tag list "$MC_ALIAS"/"$2" 2>&1) || result=$?
+  else
+    echo "invalid command type $1"
+    return 1
+  fi
   if [[ $result -ne 0 ]]; then
+    if [[ $tags =~ "No tags found" ]] || [[ $tags =~ "The TagSet does not exist" ]]; then
+      export tags=
+      return 0
+    fi
     echo "error getting bucket tags: $tags"
     return 1
   fi
   export tags
 }
 
+delete_bucket_tags() {
+  if [ $# -ne 2 ]; then
+    echo "delete bucket tag command missing command type, bucket name"
+    return 1
+  fi
+  local result
+  if [[ $1 == 'aws' ]]; then
+    tags=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3api delete-bucket-tagging --bucket "$2" 2>&1) || result=$?
+  elif [[ $1 == 'mc' ]]; then
+    tags=$(mc --insecure tag remove "$MC_ALIAS"/"$2" 2>&1) || result=$?
+  else
+    echo "invalid command type $1"
+    return 1
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
 # add tags to object
 # params:  object, key, value
 # return:  0 for success, 1 for error
 put_object_tag() {
-  if [ $# -ne 4 ]; then
-    echo "object tag command missing object name, file, key, and/or value"
+  if [ $# -ne 5 ]; then
+    echo "object tag command missing command type, object name, file, key, and/or value"
     return 1
   fi
   local error
   local result
-  error=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3api put-object-tagging --bucket "$1" --key "$2" --tagging "TagSet=[{Key=$3,Value=$4}]") || result=$?
+  if [[ $1 == 'aws' ]]; then
+    error=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3api put-object-tagging --bucket "$2" --key "$3" --tagging "TagSet=[{Key=$4,Value=$5}]" 2>&1) || result=$?
+  elif [[ $1 == 'mc' ]]; then
+    error=$(mc --insecure tag set "$MC_ALIAS"/"$2"/"$3" "$4=$5" 2>&1) || result=$?
+  else
+    echo "invalid command type $1"
+    return 1
+  fi
   if [[ $result -ne 0 ]]; then
     echo "Error adding object tag: $error"
     return 1
@@ -516,12 +576,19 @@ put_object_tag() {
 # params:  bucket
 # export 'tags' on success, return 1 for error
 get_object_tags() {
-  if [ $# -ne 2 ]; then
-    echo "get object tag command missing bucket and/or key"
+  if [ $# -ne 3 ]; then
+    echo "get object tag command missing command type, bucket, and/or key"
     return 1
   fi
   local result
-  tags=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3api get-object-tagging --bucket "$1" --key "$2") || result=$?
+  if [[ $1 == 'aws' ]]; then
+    tags=$(aws --no-verify-ssl s3api get-object-tagging --bucket "$2" --key "$3" 2>&1) || result=$?
+  elif [[ $1 == 'mc' ]]; then
+    tags=$(mc --insecure tag list "$MC_ALIAS"/"$2"/"$3" 2>&1) || result=$?
+  else
+    echo "invalid command type $1"
+    return 1
+  fi
   if [[ $result -ne 0 ]]; then
     echo "error getting object tags: $tags"
     return 1
diff --git a/tests/util_mc.sh b/tests/util_mc.sh
index ef734b3f..b8044818 100644
--- a/tests/util_mc.sh
+++ b/tests/util_mc.sh
@@ -10,12 +10,12 @@ delete_bucket_recursive_mc() {
   fi
   local exit_code=0
   local error
-  error=$(mc --insecure rm --recursive --force versity/"$1" 2>&1) || exit_code="$?"
+  error=$(mc --insecure rm --recursive --force "$MC_ALIAS"/"$1" 2>&1) || exit_code="$?"
   if [[ $exit_code -ne 0 ]]; then
     echo "error deleting bucket contents: $error"
     return 1
   fi
-  error=$(mc --insecure rb versity/"$1" 2>&1) || exit_code="$?"
+  error=$(mc --insecure rb "$MC_ALIAS"/"$1" 2>&1) || exit_code="$?"
   if [[ $exit_code -ne 0 ]]; then
     echo "error deleting bucket: $error"
     return 1
diff --git a/tests/versity.sh b/tests/versity.sh
index 07e02fc0..dbae3593 100644
--- a/tests/versity.sh
+++ b/tests/versity.sh
@@ -7,30 +7,34 @@ check_exe_params() {
   elif [ -z "$AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY" ]; then
     echo "No AWS secret access key set"
     return 1
-  elif [ -z "$VERSITY_EXE" ]; then
-    echo "No versity executable location set"
-    return 1
-  elif [ -z "$BACKEND" ]; then
-    echo "No backend parameter set (options: 'posix')"
-    return 1
   elif [ -z "$AWS_PROFILE" ]; then
     echo "No AWS profile set"
     return 1
-  elif [ -z "$LOCAL_FOLDER" ]; then
-    echo "No local storage folder set"
-    return 1
   elif [ -z "$AWS_ENDPOINT_URL" ]; then
     echo "No AWS endpoint URL set"
     return 1
+  elif [ -z "$MC_ALIAS" ]; then
+    echo "No mc alias set"
+    return 1
+  elif [[ $RUN_VERSITYGW != "true" ]] && [[ $RUN_VERSITYGW != "false" ]]; then
+    echo "RUN_VERSITYGW must be 'true' or 'false'"
+    return 1
+  fi
+  if [[ $RUN_VERSITYGW == "true" ]]; then
+    if [ -z "$LOCAL_FOLDER" ]; then
+      echo "No local storage folder set"
+      return 1
+    elif [ -z "$VERSITY_EXE" ]; then
+      echo "No versity executable location set"
+      return 1
+    elif [ -z "$BACKEND" ]; then
+      echo "No backend parameter set (options: 'posix')"
+      return 1
+    fi
   fi
 }
 
 start_versity() {
-  if [ "$GITHUB_ACTIONS" != "true" ] && [ -r tests/.secrets ]; then
-    source tests/.secrets
-  else
-    echo "Warning: no secrets file found"
-  fi
   if [ -z "$VERSITYGW_TEST_ENV" ]; then
     if [ -r tests/.env ]; then
       source tests/.env
@@ -41,6 +45,12 @@ start_versity() {
     # shellcheck source=./.env.default
     source "$VERSITYGW_TEST_ENV"
   fi
+  if [ "$GITHUB_ACTIONS" != "true" ] && [ -r "$SECRETS_FILE" ]; then
+    # shellcheck source=/.secrets
+    source "$SECRETS_FILE"
+  else
+    echo "Warning: no secrets file found"
+  fi
 
   check_exe_params || check_result=$?
   if [[ $check_result -ne 0 ]]; then
@@ -48,25 +58,25 @@ start_versity() {
     return 1
   fi
 
-  base_command="ROOT_ACCESS_KEY=$AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID ROOT_SECRET_KEY=$AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY $VERSITY_EXE"
-  if [ -n "$CERT" ] && [ -n "$KEY" ]; then
-    base_command+=" --cert $CERT --key $KEY"
-  fi
-  base_command+=" $BACKEND $LOCAL_FOLDER &"
-  eval "$base_command"
+  if [ "$RUN_VERSITYGW" == "true" ]; then
+    base_command="ROOT_ACCESS_KEY=$AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID ROOT_SECRET_KEY=$AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY VGW_REGION=$AWS_REGION $VERSITY_EXE"
+    if [ -n "$CERT" ] && [ -n "$KEY" ]; then
+      base_command+=" --cert $CERT --key $KEY"
+    fi
+    base_command+=" $BACKEND $LOCAL_FOLDER &"
+    eval "$base_command"
+    versitygw_pid=$!
 
-  versitygw_pid=$!
-  export versitygw_pid \
-    AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID \
-    AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY \
-    VERSITY_EXE \
-    BACKEND \
-    AWS_PROFILE \
-    LOCAL_FOLDER \
-    AWS_ENDPOINT_URL
+    export versitygw_pid VERSITY_EXE BACKEND LOCAL_FOLDER
+  fi
+
+  export versitygw_pid AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY AWS_REGION AWS_PROFILE AWS_ENDPOINT_URL
 }
 
 stop_versity() {
+  if [ "$RUN_VERSITYGW" == "false" ]; then
+    return
+  fi
   if [ -n "$versitygw_pid" ]; then
     if ps -p "$versitygw_pid" > /dev/null; then
       kill "$versitygw_pid"