Making data public

This page shows you how to make objects you own readable to everyone on the public internet. To learn how to access data that has been made public, see Accessing Public Data.

When an object is shared publicly, any user with knowledge of the object URI can access the object for as long as the object is public.

Important: You cannot publicly share an object if the bucket it's stored in is subject to public access prevention.

Making individual objects publicly readable

Important: If your bucket uses uniform bucket-level access, you cannot use these steps. Instead, grant public readability to all objects in the bucket, or use signed URLs.

To make individual objects readable to everyone on the public internet:

Console

1. In the Google Cloud Console, go to the Cloud Storage Browser page.
   

   Go to Browser

2. Click on the name of the bucket that contains the object you want to make public, and navigate to the object if it's in a subdirectory.

3. Click the more actions menu () associated with the object that you want to make public.

4. Select Edit access from the drop-down menu.

5. In the overlay that appears, click the + Add entry button.

6. Add a permission for allUsers.

   • Select Public for the Entity.
   • Select allUsers for the Name.
   • Select Reader for the Access.

7. Click Save.

Once shared publicly, a link icon appears in the public access column. You can click on this icon to get the URL for the object.

To learn how to get detailed error information about failed operations in the Cloud Storage browser, see Troubleshooting.

gsutil

Use the gsutil acl ch command:

gsutil acl ch -u AllUsers:R gs://BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_NAME

Where:

• BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket containing the object you want to make public. For example, my-bucket.
• OBJECT_NAME is the name of the object you want to make public. For example, pets/dog.png.

If successful, the response looks like the following example:

Updated ACL on gs://my-bucket/pets/dog.png

Code samples

C++

For more information, see the Cloud Storage C++ API reference documentation.

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namespace gcs = ::google::cloud::storage;
using ::google::cloud::StatusOr;
[](gcs::Client client, std::string const& bucket_name,
   std::string const& object_name) {
  StatusOr<gcs::ObjectMetadata> updated = client.PatchObject(
      bucket_name, object_name, gcs::ObjectMetadataPatchBuilder(),
      gcs::PredefinedAcl::PublicRead());

  if (!updated) throw std::runtime_error(updated.status().message());
  std::cout << "Object updated. The full metadata after the update is: "
            << *updated << "\n";
}

C#

For more information, see the Cloud Storage C# API reference documentation.

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using Google.Apis.Storage.v1.Data;
using Google.Cloud.Storage.V1;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class MakePublicSample
{
    public string MakePublic(
        string bucketName = "your-unique-bucket-name",
        string objectName = "your-object-name")
    {
        var storage = StorageClient.Create();
        var storageObject = storage.GetObject(bucketName, objectName);
        storageObject.Acl ??= new List<ObjectAccessControl>();
        storage.UpdateObject(storageObject, new UpdateObjectOptions { PredefinedAcl = PredefinedObjectAcl.PublicRead });
        Console.WriteLine(objectName + " is now public and can be fetched from " + storageObject.MediaLink);

        return storageObject.MediaLink;
    }
}

Go

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Go API reference documentation.

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import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"time"

	"cloud.google.com/go/storage"
)

// makePublic gives all users read access to an object.
func makePublic(w io.Writer, bucket, object string) error {
	// bucket := "bucket-name"
	// object := "object-name"
	ctx := context.Background()
	client, err := storage.NewClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("storage.NewClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, time.Second*10)
	defer cancel()

	acl := client.Bucket(bucket).Object(object).ACL()
	if err := acl.Set(ctx, storage.AllUsers, storage.RoleReader); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("ACLHandle.Set: %v", err)
	}
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Blob %v is now publicly accessible.\n", object)
	return nil
}

Java

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Java API reference documentation.

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import com.google.cloud.storage.Acl;
import com.google.cloud.storage.BlobId;
import com.google.cloud.storage.Storage;
import com.google.cloud.storage.StorageOptions;

public class MakeObjectPublic {
  public static void makeObjectPublic(String projectId, String bucketName, String objectName) {
    // String projectId = "your-project-id";
    // String bucketName = "your-bucket-name";
    // String objectName = "your-object-name";
    Storage storage = StorageOptions.newBuilder().setProjectId(projectId).build().getService();
    BlobId blobId = BlobId.of(bucketName, objectName);
    storage.createAcl(blobId, Acl.of(Acl.User.ofAllUsers(), Acl.Role.READER));

    System.out.println(
        "Object " + objectName + " in bucket " + bucketName + " was made publicly readable");
  }
}

Node.js

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Node.js API reference documentation.

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/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment the following lines before running the sample.
 */
// The ID of your GCS bucket
// const bucketName = 'your-unique-bucket-name';

// The ID of your GCS file
// const fileName = 'your-file-name';

// Imports the Google Cloud client library
const {Storage} = require('@google-cloud/storage');

// Creates a client
const storage = new Storage();

async function makePublic() {
  await storage.bucket(bucketName).file(fileName).makePublic();

  console.log(`gs://${bucketName}/${fileName} is now public.`);
}

makePublic().catch(console.error);

PHP

For more information, see the Cloud Storage PHP API reference documentation.

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use Google\Cloud\Storage\StorageClient;

/**
 * Make an object publically accessible.
 *
 * @param string $bucketName The name of your Cloud Storage bucket.
 * @param string $objectName The name of your Cloud Storage object.
 */
function make_public($bucketName, $objectName)
{
    // $bucketName = 'my-bucket';
    // $objectName = 'my-object';

    $storage = new StorageClient();
    $bucket = $storage->bucket($bucketName);
    $object = $bucket->object($objectName);
    $object->update(['acl' => []], ['predefinedAcl' => 'PUBLICREAD']);
    printf('gs://%s/%s is now public' . PHP_EOL, $bucketName, $objectName);
}

Python

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Python API reference documentation.

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from google.cloud import storage


def make_blob_public(bucket_name, blob_name):
    """Makes a blob publicly accessible."""
    # bucket_name = "your-bucket-name"
    # blob_name = "your-object-name"

    storage_client = storage.Client()
    bucket = storage_client.bucket(bucket_name)
    blob = bucket.blob(blob_name)

    blob.make_public()

    print(
        "Blob {} is publicly accessible at {}".format(
            blob.name, blob.public_url
        )
    )

Ruby

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Ruby API reference documentation.

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def make_public bucket_name:, file_name:
  # The ID of your GCS bucket
  # bucket_name = "your-unique-bucket-name"

  # The ID of your GCS object to make public
  # file_name = "your-file-name"

  require "google/cloud/storage"

  storage = Google::Cloud::Storage.new
  bucket  = storage.bucket bucket_name
  file    = bucket.file file_name

  file.acl.public!

  puts "#{file.name} is publicly accessible at #{file.public_url}"
end

REST APIs

JSON API

1. Get an authorization access token from the OAuth 2.0 Playground. Configure the playground to use your own OAuth credentials. For instructions, see API authentication.

2. Create a .json file that contains the following information:

   {
     "entity": "allUsers",
     "role": "READER"
   }

3. Use cURL to call the JSON API with an Insert ACL request:

   curl -X POST --data-binary @JSON_FILE_NAME.json \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer OAUTH2_TOKEN" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     "https://storage.googleapis.com/storage/v1/b/BUCKET_NAME/o/OBJECT_NAME/acl"

   Where:

   • JSON_FILE_NAME is the name of the file you created in Step 2.
   • OAUTH2_TOKEN is the access token you created in Step 1.
   • BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket containing the object you want to make public. For example, my-bucket.
   • OBJECT_NAME is the name of the object you want to make public. For example, pets/dog.png.

XML API

1. Get an authorization access token from the OAuth 2.0 Playground. Configure the playground to use your own OAuth credentials. For instructions, see API authentication.

2. Create a .xml file that contains the following information:

   <AccessControlList>
     <Entries>
       <Entry>
         <Scope type="AllUsers"/>
         <Permission>READ</Permission>
       </Entry>
     </Entries>
   </AccessControlList>

3. Use cURL to call the XML API with a Set Object ACL request:

   curl -X PUT --data-binary @XML_FILE_NAME.xml \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer OAUTH2_TOKEN" \
     "https://storage.googleapis.com/BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_NAME?acl"

   Where:

   • XML_FILE_NAME is the name of the file you created in Step 2.
   • OAUTH2_TOKEN is the access token you created in Step 1.
   • BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket containing the object you want to make public. For example, my-bucket.
   • OBJECT_NAME is the name of the object you want to make public. For example, pets/dog.png.

Making all objects in a bucket publicly readable

To make all objects in a bucket readable to everyone on the public internet:

Console

1. In the Google Cloud Console, go to the Cloud Storage Browser page.
   

   Go to Browser

2. In the list of buckets, click on the name of the bucket that you want to make public.

3. Select the Permissions tab near the top of the page.

4. Click the + Add button.

   The Add principals dialog box appears.

5. In the New principals field, enter allUsers.

6. In the Select a role drop down, select the Cloud Storage sub-menu, and click the Storage Object Viewer option.

7. Click Save.

Once shared publicly, a link icon appears for each object in the public access column. You can click on this icon to get the URL for the object.

To learn how to get detailed error information about failed operations in the Cloud Storage browser, see Troubleshooting.

gsutil

Use the gsutil iam ch command:

gsutil iam ch allUsers:objectViewer gs://BUCKET_NAME

Where BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket whose objects you want to make public. For example, my-bucket.

Code samples

C++

For more information, see the Cloud Storage C++ API reference documentation.

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namespace gcs = ::google::cloud::storage;
using ::google::cloud::StatusOr;
[](gcs::Client client, std::string const& bucket_name) {
  auto current_policy = client.GetNativeBucketIamPolicy(
      bucket_name, gcs::RequestedPolicyVersion(3));

  if (!current_policy) {
    throw std::runtime_error(current_policy.status().message());
  }

  current_policy->set_version(3);
  current_policy->bindings().emplace_back(
      gcs::NativeIamBinding("roles/storage.objectViewer", {"allUsers"}));

  auto updated =
      client.SetNativeBucketIamPolicy(bucket_name, *current_policy);
  if (!updated) throw std::runtime_error(updated.status().message());

  std::cout << "Policy successfully updated: " << *updated << "\n";
}

Go

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Go API reference documentation.

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import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	"cloud.google.com/go/iam"
	"cloud.google.com/go/storage"
	iampb "google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/iam/v1"
)

// setBucketPublicIAM makes all objects in a bucket publicly readable.
func setBucketPublicIAM(w io.Writer, bucketName string) error {
	// bucketName := "bucket-name"
	ctx := context.Background()
	client, err := storage.NewClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("storage.NewClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

	policy, err := client.Bucket(bucketName).IAM().V3().Policy(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("Bucket(%q).IAM().V3().Policy: %v", bucketName, err)
	}
	role := "roles/storage.objectViewer"
	policy.Bindings = append(policy.Bindings, &iampb.Binding{
		Role:    role,
		Members: []string{iam.AllUsers},
	})
	if err := client.Bucket(bucketName).IAM().V3().SetPolicy(ctx, policy); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("Bucket(%q).IAM().SetPolicy: %v", bucketName, err)
	}
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Bucket %v is now publicly readable\n", bucketName)
	return nil
}

Java

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Java API reference documentation.

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import com.google.cloud.Identity;
import com.google.cloud.Policy;
import com.google.cloud.storage.Storage;
import com.google.cloud.storage.StorageOptions;
import com.google.cloud.storage.StorageRoles;

public class MakeBucketPublic {
  public static void makeBucketPublic(String projectId, String bucketName) {
    // The ID of your GCP project
    // String projectId = "your-project-id";

    // The ID of your GCS bucket
    // String bucketName = "your-unique-bucket-name";

    Storage storage = StorageOptions.newBuilder().setProjectId(projectId).build().getService();
    Policy originalPolicy = storage.getIamPolicy(bucketName);
    storage.setIamPolicy(
        bucketName,
        originalPolicy.toBuilder()
            .addIdentity(StorageRoles.objectViewer(), Identity.allUsers()) // All users can view
            .build());

    System.out.println("Bucket " + bucketName + " is now publicly readable");
  }
}

Node.js

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Node.js API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment the following lines before running the sample.
 */
// The ID of your GCS bucket
// const bucketName = 'your-unique-bucket-name';

// Imports the Google Cloud client library
const {Storage} = require('@google-cloud/storage');

// Creates a client
const storage = new Storage();

async function makeBucketPublic() {
  await storage.bucket(bucketName).makePublic();

  console.log(`Bucket ${bucketName} is now publicly readable`);
}

makeBucketPublic().catch(console.error);

Python

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Python API reference documentation.

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from typing import List

from google.cloud import storage


def set_bucket_public_iam(
    bucket_name: str = "your-bucket-name",
    members: List[str] = ["allUsers"],
):
    """Set a public IAM Policy to bucket"""
    # bucket_name = "your-bucket-name"

    storage_client = storage.Client()
    bucket = storage_client.bucket(bucket_name)

    policy = bucket.get_iam_policy(requested_policy_version=3)
    policy.bindings.append(
        {"role": "roles/storage.objectViewer", "members": members}
    )

    bucket.set_iam_policy(policy)

    print("Bucket {} is now publicly readable".format(bucket.name))

Ruby

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Ruby API reference documentation.

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def set_bucket_public_iam bucket_name:
  # The ID of your GCS bucket
  # bucket_name = "your-unique-bucket-name"

  require "google/cloud/storage"

  storage = Google::Cloud::Storage.new
  bucket = storage.bucket bucket_name

  bucket.policy do |p|
    p.add "roles/storage.objectViewer", "allUsers"
  end

  puts "Bucket #{bucket_name} is now publicly readable"
end

REST APIs

JSON API

1. Get an authorization access token from the OAuth 2.0 Playground. Configure the playground to use your own OAuth credentials. For instructions, see API authentication.

2. Create a .json file that contains the following information:

   {
     "bindings":[
       {
         "role": "roles/storage.objectViewer",
         "members":["allUsers"]
       }
     ]
   }

3. Use cURL to call the JSON API with a PUT Bucket request:

   curl -X PUT --data-binary @JSON_FILE_NAME.json \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer OAUTH2_TOKEN" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     "https://storage.googleapis.com/storage/v1/b/BUCKET_NAME/iam"

   Where:

   • JSON_FILE_NAME is the name of the file you created in Step 2.
   • OAUTH2_TOKEN is the access token you created in Step 1.
   • BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket whose objects you want to make public. For example, my-bucket.

XML API

Making all objects in a bucket publicly readable is not supported by the XML API. Use gsutil or the JSON API instead.

Note: roles/storage.objectViewer includes permission to list the objects in the bucket. If you don't want to grant listing publicly, use roles/storage.legacyObjectReader.

What's next

• Access data that has been made public.
• Learn about more access control options for your buckets and objects.