Changing the default storage class of a bucket

This page shows you how to change the default storage class for your buckets. When you upload an object to the bucket, if you don't specify a storage class for the object, the object is assigned the bucket's default storage class. For an overview of buckets, read the Key Terms. To learn more about storage classes, see Storage Classes.

To change the default storage class of an existing bucket:

Console

  1. Open the Cloud Storage browser in the Google Cloud Console.
    Open the Cloud Storage browser

  2. In the bucket list, find the bucket you want to modify, and click its Bucket overflow menu ().

  3. Click Edit default storage class.

  4. In the overlay window, select the new default storage class you would like for your bucket.

  5. Click Save.

See Troubleshooting for how to get detailed error information about failed operations in the Cloud Storage browser.

gsutil

Use the gsutil defstorageclass set command:

gsutil defstorageclass set [STORAGE_CLASS] gs://[BUCKET_NAME]

Where:

  • [STORAGE_CLASS] is the new storage class you want for your bucket. For example, nearline.
  • [BUCKET_NAME] is the name of the relevant bucket. For example, my-bucket.

The response looks like the following example:

Setting default storage class to "[STORAGE_CLASS]" for bucket gs://[BUCKET_NAME]

Code samples

C++

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

namespace gcs = google::cloud::storage;
using ::google::cloud::StatusOr;
[](gcs::Client client, std::string const& bucket_name,
   std::string const& storage_class) {
  StatusOr<gcs::BucketMetadata> original =
      client.GetBucketMetadata(bucket_name);

  if (!original) throw std::runtime_error(original.status().message());
  gcs::BucketMetadata desired = *original;
  desired.set_storage_class(storage_class);

  StatusOr<gcs::BucketMetadata> patched =
      client.PatchBucket(bucket_name, *original, desired);

  if (!patched) throw std::runtime_error(patched.status().message());
  std::cout << "Storage class for bucket " << patched->name()
            << " has been patched to " << patched->storage_class() << "."
            << "\nFull metadata: " << *patched << "\n";
}

Java

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

import com.google.cloud.storage.Bucket;
import com.google.cloud.storage.Storage;
import com.google.cloud.storage.StorageClass;
import com.google.cloud.storage.StorageOptions;

public class ChangeDefaultStorageClass {
  public static void changeDefaultStorageClass(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";

    // See the StorageClass documentation for other valid storage classes:
    // https://googleapis.dev/java/google-cloud-clients/latest/com/google/cloud/storage/StorageClass.html
    StorageClass storageClass = StorageClass.COLDLINE;

    Storage storage = StorageOptions.newBuilder().setProjectId(projectId).build().getService();
    Bucket bucket = storage.get(bucketName);
    bucket = bucket.toBuilder().setStorageClass(storageClass).build().update();

    System.out.println(
        "Default storage class for bucket "
            + bucketName
            + " has been set to "
            + bucket.getStorageClass());
  }
}

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.

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

    {
  "storageClass": "[STORAGE_CLASS]"
}

    Where [STORAGE_CLASS] is the new storage class you want for your bucket. For example, nearline.

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

    curl -X PATCH --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]?fields=storageClass"

    Where:

    • [JSON_FILE_NAME] is the name of the JSON file you created in Step 2.
    • [OAUTH2_TOKEN] is the access token you generated in Step 1.
    • [BUCKET_NAME] is the name of the relevant bucket. For example, my-bucket.

XML API

  1. Get an authorization access token from the OAuth 2.0 Playground. Configure the playground to use your own OAuth credentials.

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

    <StorageClass>[STORAGE_CLASS]</StorageClass>

    Where [STORAGE_CLASS] is the name of the new storage class you want for your bucket. For example, nearline.

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

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

    Where:

    • [XML_FILE_NAME] is the name of the XML file you created in Step 2.
    • [OAUTH2_TOKEN] is the access token you generated in Step 1.
    • [BUCKET_NAME] is the name of the relevant bucket. For example, my-bucket.

What's next