Google Cloud Storage Basics

Quick Start

To set up, configure, or choose between the Google-hosted remote Cloud Storage MCP server (https://storage.googleapis.com/storage/mcp) and the local MCP Toolbox (cloud-storage), read MCP Usage. If a Cloud Storage MCP server is already connected, prefer its structured tools (such as create_bucket, list_objects, read_object, and upload_object) over the CLI and API commands below, and fall back to gcloud storage and the JSON API when no MCP server is available.

1. Enable the Cloud Storage API:

   CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT="${CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT:+$CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT }gcs-skills gcs-skills/1.0 (skill:google-cloud-storage-basics)" \
   gcloud services enable storage.googleapis.com --quiet

2. Create a Bucket:

   Bucket names live in a single global namespace shared by all of Cloud Storage — not scoped to your project or organization — so short or common names are usually taken. If the location is omitted, the bucket defaults to the US multi-region.

   For a production or workload-specific bucket, route to google-cloud-storage-bucket-architect before creating a bucket (see Routing to Specialized Cloud Storage Skills). The commands below create a basic default bucket.

   Using the gcloud CLI:

   CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT="${CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT:+$CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT }gcs-skills gcs-skills/1.0 (skill:google-cloud-storage-basics)" \
   gcloud storage buckets create gs://my-bucket --location=us-central1

   Using the JSON API:

   curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     -H "User-Agent: gcs-skills/1.0 (skill:google-cloud-storage-basics)" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"name": "my-bucket", "location": "US-CENTRAL1"}' \
     "https://storage.googleapis.com/storage/v1/b?project=$(gcloud config get-value project)"

3. Upload an Object:

   Using the gcloud CLI:

   CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT="${CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT:+$CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT }gcs-skills gcs-skills/1.0 (skill:google-cloud-storage-basics)" \
   gcloud storage cp ./my-file.txt gs://my-bucket

   Using the JSON API:

   curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     -H "User-Agent: gcs-skills/1.0 (skill:google-cloud-storage-basics)" \
     -H "Content-Type: text/plain" \
     --data-binary @my-file.txt \
     "https://storage.googleapis.com/upload/storage/v1/b/my-bucket/o?uploadType=media&name=my-file.txt"

4. Download an Object:

   Using the gcloud CLI:

   CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT="${CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT:+$CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT }gcs-skills gcs-skills/1.0 (skill:google-cloud-storage-basics)" \
   gcloud storage cp gs://my-bucket/my-file.txt .

   Using the JSON API:

   curl -X GET -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     -H "User-Agent: gcs-skills/1.0 (skill:google-cloud-storage-basics)" \
     "https://storage.googleapis.com/storage/v1/b/my-bucket/o/my-file.txt?alt=media"

Reference Directory

• Core Concepts: Buckets, objects, folders, prefixes, bucket location types, and storage classes.

• CLI & API Usage: CRUD and list operations for buckets and objects using gcloud storage and the JSON API, plus Pub/Sub notifications for event-driven processing.

• Client Libraries: Using Google Cloud client libraries for Python, Java, Node.js, and Go, with pointers to all other supported languages.

• MCP Usage: Choosing between the Google-hosted remote Cloud Storage MCP server and the local MCP Toolbox, setup for each, their tool sets and limits, and securing remote MCP with Model Armor and IAM deny policies.

• Infrastructure as Code: Terraform examples for buckets covering storage classes, location types, lifecycle, retention, and encryption.

• Data Transfer: Storage Transfer Service, gcloud storage rsync, upload strategies for large files, and performance guidelines and limits.

• Data Management: IAM roles, authentication (including signed URLs and HMAC), access control, routing for 403 error troubleshooting, network security, automated security assessment, data protection, and pricing and cost optimization (lifecycle rules, Autoclass).

• Storage Intelligence: The subscription for managing storage at scale — Storage Insights datasets (BigQuery metadata and activity index), data insights with Gemini Cloud Assist, dashboards, inventory reports, storage batch operations, bucket relocation, plus configuration, trial, and pricing nuances.

• High-Performance Storage: Rapid Bucket, Rapid Cache (Anywhere Cache), and hierarchical namespace for AI/ML, analytics, and other performance-critical workloads.

• Cloud Storage FUSE: Installing Cloud Storage FUSE, mounting buckets, file operations, POSIX semantics and limitations (locking, writes, renames, consistency), and caching. For advanced tuning, deployment, and diagnosis, route to the google-cloud-storage-fuse skill.