Copy, rename, and move objects

This page shows you how to copy, rename, and move objects within and between buckets in Cloud Storage.

Note that while some tools in Cloud Storage make an object move or rename appear to be a unique operation, they are always a copy operation followed by a delete operation of the original object, because objects are immutable.

Copy an object

To copy an object in one of your Cloud Storage buckets:

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud Storage Buckets page.

    Go to Buckets

  2. In the list of buckets, click the name of the bucket that contains the object you want to copy.

    The Bucket details page opens, with the Objects tab selected.

  3. Navigate to the object, which may be located in a folder.

  4. Click the Object overflow menu () associated with the object.

  5. Click Copy.

    The Copy object pane appears.

  6. In the Destination field, type the name of the destination bucket and the name for the copied object.

    You can alternatively click Browse to select your destination, but browse options are limited to buckets in the current project.

  7. Click Copy.

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

Command line

Use the gcloud storage cp command:

gcloud storage cp gs://SOURCE_BUCKET_NAME/SOURCE_OBJECT_NAME gs://DESTINATION_BUCKET_NAME/NAME_OF_COPY

Where:

  • SOURCE_BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket containing the object you want to copy. For example, my-bucket.
  • SOURCE_OBJECT_NAME is the name of the object you want to copy. For example, pets/dog.png.
  • DESTINATION_BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket where you want to copy your object. For example, another-bucket.
  • NAME_OF_COPY is the name you want to give the copy of your object. For example, shiba.png.

If successful, the response is similar to the following example:

Copying gs://example-bucket/file.txt to gs://other-bucket/file-copy.txt
  Completed files 1/1 | 164.3kiB/164.3kiB

Client libraries

C++

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 

namespace gcs = ::google::cloud::storage;
using ::google::cloud::StatusOr;
[](gcs::Client client, std::string const& source_bucket_name,
   std::string const& source_object_name,
   std::string const& destination_bucket_name,
   std::string const& destination_object_name) {
  StatusOr<gcs::ObjectMetadata> new_copy_meta =
      client.CopyObject(source_bucket_name, source_object_name,
                        destination_bucket_name, destination_object_name);
  if (!new_copy_meta) throw std::move(new_copy_meta).status();

  std::cout << "Successfully copied " << source_object_name << " in bucket "
            << source_bucket_name << " to bucket " << new_copy_meta->bucket()
            << " with name " << new_copy_meta->name()
            << ".\nThe full metadata after the copy is: " << *new_copy_meta
            << "\n";
}

C#

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 


using Google.Cloud.Storage.V1;
using System;

public class CopyFileSample
{
    public void CopyFile(
        string sourceBucketName = "source-bucket-name",
        string sourceObjectName = "source-file",
        string destBucketName = "destination-bucket-name",
        string destObjectName = "destination-file-name")
    {
        var storage = StorageClient.Create();
        storage.CopyObject(sourceBucketName, sourceObjectName, destBucketName, destObjectName);

        Console.WriteLine($"Copied {sourceBucketName}/{sourceObjectName} to " + $"{destBucketName}/{destObjectName}.");
    }
}

Go

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 

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

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

// copyFile copies an object into specified bucket.
func copyFile(w io.Writer, dstBucket, srcBucket, srcObject string) error {
	// dstBucket := "bucket-1"
	// srcBucket := "bucket-2"
	// srcObject := "object"
	ctx := context.Background()
	client, err := storage.NewClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("storage.NewClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

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

	dstObject := srcObject + "-copy"
	src := client.Bucket(srcBucket).Object(srcObject)
	dst := client.Bucket(dstBucket).Object(dstObject)

	// Optional: set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race
	// conditions and data corruptions. The request to copy is aborted if the
	// object's generation number does not match your precondition.
	// For a dst object that does not yet exist, set the DoesNotExist precondition.
	dst = dst.If(storage.Conditions{DoesNotExist: true})
	// If the destination object already exists in your bucket, set instead a
	// generation-match precondition using its generation number.
	// attrs, err := dst.Attrs(ctx)
	// if err != nil {
	// 	return fmt.Errorf("object.Attrs: %w", err)
	// }
	// dst = dst.If(storage.Conditions{GenerationMatch: attrs.Generation})

	if _, err := dst.CopierFrom(src).Run(ctx); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("Object(%q).CopierFrom(%q).Run: %w", dstObject, srcObject, err)
	}
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Blob %v in bucket %v copied to blob %v in bucket %v.\n", srcObject, srcBucket, dstObject, dstBucket)
	return nil
}

Java

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 


import com.google.cloud.storage.BlobId;
import com.google.cloud.storage.BlobInfo;
import com.google.cloud.storage.CopyWriter;
import com.google.cloud.storage.Storage;
import com.google.cloud.storage.Storage.CopyRequest;
import com.google.cloud.storage.StorageOptions;

public class CopyObject {
  public static void copyObject(
      String projectId, String sourceBucketName, String objectName, String targetBucketName)
      throws Exception {
    // The ID of your GCP project
    // String projectId = "your-project-id";

    // The ID of the bucket the original object is in
    // String sourceBucketName = "your-source-bucket";

    // The ID of the GCS object to copy
    // String objectName = "your-object-name";

    // The ID of the bucket to copy the object to
    // String targetBucketName = "target-object-bucket";

    try (Storage storage =
        StorageOptions.newBuilder().setProjectId(projectId).build().getService()) {
      BlobId sourceId = BlobId.of(sourceBucketName, objectName);
      // you could change "objectName" to rename the object
      BlobId targetId = BlobId.of(targetBucketName, objectName);

      // Recommended: set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race
      // conditions and data corruptions. The request returns a 412 error if the
      // preconditions are not met.
      Storage.BlobTargetOption precondition;
      BlobInfo existingTarget = storage.get(targetBucketName, objectName);
      if (existingTarget == null) {
        // For a target object that does not yet exist, set the DoesNotExist precondition.
        // This will cause the request to fail if the object is created before the request runs.
        precondition = Storage.BlobTargetOption.doesNotExist();
      } else {
        // If the destination already exists in your bucket, instead set a generation-match
        // precondition. This will cause the request to fail if the existing object's generation
        // changes before the request runs.
        precondition = Storage.BlobTargetOption.generationMatch(existingTarget.getGeneration());
      }

      CopyRequest copyRequest =
          CopyRequest.newBuilder()
              .setSource(sourceId)
              .setTarget(targetId, precondition)
              // limit the number of bytes Cloud Storage will attempt to copy before responding to
              // an individual request.
              // If you see Read Timeout errors, try reducing this value.
              .setMegabytesCopiedPerChunk(2048L) // 2GiB
              .build();
      CopyWriter copyWriter = storage.copy(copyRequest);
      BlobInfo successfulCopyResult = copyWriter.getResult();

      System.out.printf(
          "Copied object gs://%s/%s to %s%n",
          sourceBucketName,
          objectName,
          successfulCopyResult.getBlobId().toGsUtilUriWithGeneration());
    }
  }
}

Node.js

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment the following lines before running the sample.
 */
// The ID of the bucket the original file is in
// const srcBucketName = 'your-source-bucket';

// The ID of the GCS file to copy
// const srcFilename = 'your-file-name';

// The ID of the bucket to copy the file to
// const destBucketName = 'target-file-bucket';

// The ID of the GCS file to create
// const destFileName = 'target-file-name';

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

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

async function copyFile() {
  const copyDestination = storage.bucket(destBucketName).file(destFileName);

  // Optional:
  // Set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race conditions
  // and data corruptions. The request to copy is aborted if the object's
  // generation number does not match your precondition. For a destination
  // object that does not yet exist, set the ifGenerationMatch precondition to 0
  // If the destination object already exists in your bucket, set instead a
  // generation-match precondition using its generation number.
  const copyOptions = {
    preconditionOpts: {
      ifGenerationMatch: destinationGenerationMatchPrecondition,
    },
  };

  // Copies the file to the other bucket
  await storage
    .bucket(srcBucketName)
    .file(srcFilename)
    .copy(copyDestination, copyOptions);

  console.log(
    `gs://${srcBucketName}/${srcFilename} copied to gs://${destBucketName}/${destFileName}`
  );
}

copyFile().catch(console.error);

PHP

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 

use Google\Cloud\Storage\StorageClient;

/**
 * Copy an object to a new name and/or bucket.
 *
 * @param string $bucketName The name of your Cloud Storage bucket.
 *        (e.g. 'my-bucket')
 * @param string $objectName The name of your Cloud Storage object.
 *        (e.g. 'my-object')
 * @param string $newBucketName The destination bucket name.
 *        (e.g. 'my-other-bucket')
 * @param string $newObjectName The destination object name.
 *        (e.g. 'my-other-object')
 */
function copy_object(string $bucketName, string $objectName, string $newBucketName, string $newObjectName): void
{
    $storage = new StorageClient();
    $bucket = $storage->bucket($bucketName);
    $object = $bucket->object($objectName);
    $object->copy($newBucketName, ['name' => $newObjectName]);
    printf('Copied gs://%s/%s to gs://%s/%s' . PHP_EOL,
        $bucketName, $objectName, $newBucketName, $newObjectName);
}

Python

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 

from google.cloud import storage


def copy_blob(
    bucket_name, blob_name, destination_bucket_name, destination_blob_name,
):
    """Copies a blob from one bucket to another with a new name."""
    # bucket_name = "your-bucket-name"
    # blob_name = "your-object-name"
    # destination_bucket_name = "destination-bucket-name"
    # destination_blob_name = "destination-object-name"

    storage_client = storage.Client()

    source_bucket = storage_client.bucket(bucket_name)
    source_blob = source_bucket.blob(blob_name)
    destination_bucket = storage_client.bucket(destination_bucket_name)

    # Optional: set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race conditions
    # and data corruptions. The request to copy is aborted if the object's
    # generation number does not match your precondition. For a destination
    # object that does not yet exist, set the if_generation_match precondition to 0.
    # If the destination object already exists in your bucket, set instead a
    # generation-match precondition using its generation number.
    # There is also an `if_source_generation_match` parameter, which is not used in this example.
    destination_generation_match_precondition = 0

    blob_copy = source_bucket.copy_blob(
        source_blob, destination_bucket, destination_blob_name, if_generation_match=destination_generation_match_precondition,
    )

    print(
        "Blob {} in bucket {} copied to blob {} in bucket {}.".format(
            source_blob.name,
            source_bucket.name,
            blob_copy.name,
            destination_bucket.name,
        )
    )

Ruby

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 

def copy_file source_bucket_name:, source_file_name:, destination_bucket_name:, destination_file_name:
  # The ID of the bucket the original object is in
  # source_bucket_name = "source-bucket-name"

  # The ID of the GCS object to copy
  # source_file_name = "source-file-name"

  # The ID of the bucket to copy the object to
  # destination_bucket_name = "destination-bucket-name"

  # The ID of the new GCS object
  # destination_file_name = "destination-file-name"

  require "google/cloud/storage"

  storage = Google::Cloud::Storage.new
  bucket  = storage.bucket source_bucket_name, skip_lookup: true
  file    = bucket.file source_file_name

  destination_bucket = storage.bucket destination_bucket_name
  destination_file   = file.copy destination_bucket.name, destination_file_name

  puts "#{file.name} in #{bucket.name} copied to " \
       "#{destination_file.name} in #{destination_bucket.name}"
end

REST APIs

JSON API

  1. Have gcloud CLI installed and initialized, which lets you generate an access token for the Authorization header.

  2. Use cURL to call the JSON API with a POST Object request:

    curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
  -H "Content-Length: 0" \
  "https://storage.googleapis.com/storage/v1/b/SOURCE_BUCKET_NAME/o/SOURCE_OBJECT_NAME/rewriteTo/b/DESTINATION_BUCKET_NAME/o/NAME_OF_COPY"

    Where:

    • SOURCE_BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket containing the object you want to copy. For example, my-bucket.
    • SOURCE_OBJECT_NAME is the URL-encoded name of the object you want to copy. For example, pets/dog.png, URL-encoded as pets%2Fdog.png.
    • DESTINATION_BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket where you want to copy your object. For example, another-bucket.
    • NAME_OF_COPY is the URL-encoded name you want to give the copy of your object. For example, shiba.png.

    Since the rewrite method copies data in limited-sized chunks, your copy might require multiple requests, especially for large objects.

    For example, the following response to a rewrite request indicates that you need to make additional rewrite requests:

    {
  "kind": "storage#rewriteResponse",
  "totalBytesRewritten": 1048576,
  "objectSize": 10000000000,
  "done": false,
  "rewriteToken": TOKEN_VALUE
}

  3. Use the rewriteToken in a subsequent request to continue copying data:

    curl -X POST \
 -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
 -H "Content-Length: 0" \
 -d '{"rewriteToken": "TOKEN_VALUE"}' \
 "https://storage.googleapis.com/storage/v1/b/SOURCE_BUCKET_NAME/o/SOURCE_OBJECT_NAME/rewriteTo/b/DESTINATION_BUCKET_NAME/o/NAME_OF_COPY"

    Where:

    • TOKEN_VALUE is the rewriteToken value returned in the previous request.
    • All other values match those used in the previous request.

    When the object is fully is copied, the last response has a done property set to true, there is no rewriteToken property, and the metadata of the copy is included in the resource property.

    {
 "kind": "storage#rewriteResponse",
 "totalBytesRewritten": 10000000000,
 "objectSize": 10000000000,
 "done": true,
 "resource": objects Resource
}

XML API

  1. Have gcloud CLI installed and initialized, which lets you generate an access token for the Authorization header.

  2. Use cURL to call the XML API with a PUT Object request:

    curl -X PUT \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
  -H "x-goog-copy-source: SOURCE_BUCKET_NAME/SOURCE_OBJECT_NAME" \
  "https://storage.googleapis.com/DESTINATION_BUCKET_NAME/NAME_OF_COPY"

    Where:

    • SOURCE_BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket containing the object you want to copy. For example, my-bucket.
    • SOURCE_OBJECT_NAME is the name of the object you want to copy. For example, pets/dog.png.
    • DESTINATION_BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket where you want to copy your object. For example, another-bucket.
    • NAME_OF_COPY is the URL-encoded name you want to give the copy of your object. For example, shiba.png.

Move or rename an object

To move an object in Cloud Storage between buckets, or rename an object within a bucket:

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud Storage Buckets page.

    Go to Buckets

  2. In the list of buckets, click the name of the bucket that contains the object you want to move or rename.

    The Bucket details page opens, with the Objects tab selected.

  3. Navigate to the object, which may be located in a folder.

  4. Click the Object overflow menu () associated with the object.

  5. If you want to give the object a new name in the same bucket, click Rename.

    1. In the overlay window that appears, enter a new name for the object.

    2. Click Rename.

  6. If you want to move the object to a different bucket, click Move.

    1. In the overlay window that appears, click Browse.

    2. Select the destination for the object you are moving.

    3. Click Select.

    4. Click Move.

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

Command line

Use the gcloud storage mv command:

gcloud storage mv gs://SOURCE_BUCKET_NAME/SOURCE_OBJECT_NAME gs://DESTINATION_BUCKET_NAME/DESTINATION_OBJECT_NAME

Where:

  • SOURCE_BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket containing the object you want to move or rename. For example, my-bucket.
  • SOURCE_OBJECT_NAME is the name of the object you want to move or rename. For example, pets/dog.png.
  • DESTINATION_BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket storing your moved or renamed object. For example, another-bucket.
  • DESTINATION_OBJECT_NAME is the name you want your object to have after the move or rename. For example, shiba.png.

If successful, the response is similar to the following example:

Copying gs://example-bucket/old-file.txt to gs://new-bucket/new-file.txt
Removing gs://example-bucket/old-file.txt...
  Completed files 1/1 | 164.3kiB/164.3kiB

Client libraries

C++

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 

namespace gcs = ::google::cloud::storage;
using ::google::cloud::StatusOr;
[](gcs::Client client, std::string const& bucket_name,
   std::string const& old_object_name, std::string const& new_object_name) {
  StatusOr<gcs::ObjectMetadata> metadata = client.RewriteObjectBlocking(
      bucket_name, old_object_name, bucket_name, new_object_name);
  if (!metadata) throw std::move(metadata).status();

  google::cloud::Status status =
      client.DeleteObject(bucket_name, old_object_name);
  if (!status.ok()) throw std::runtime_error(status.message());

  std::cout << "Renamed " << old_object_name << " to " << new_object_name
            << " in bucket " << bucket_name << "\n";
}

C#

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 


using Google.Cloud.Storage.V1;
using System;

public class MoveFileSample
{
    public void MoveFile(
        string sourceBucketName = "your-unique-bucket-name",
        string sourceObjectName = "your-object-name",
        string targetBucketName = "target-object-bucket",
        string targetObjectName = "target-object-name")
    {
        var storage = StorageClient.Create();
        storage.CopyObject(sourceBucketName, sourceObjectName, targetBucketName, targetObjectName);
        storage.DeleteObject(sourceBucketName, sourceObjectName);
        Console.WriteLine($"Moved {sourceObjectName} to {targetObjectName}.");
    }
}

Go

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 

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

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

// moveFile moves an object into another location.
func moveFile(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: %w", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

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

	dstName := object + "-rename"
	src := client.Bucket(bucket).Object(object)
	dst := client.Bucket(bucket).Object(dstName)

	// Optional: set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race
	// conditions and data corruptions. The request to copy the file is aborted
	// if the object's generation number does not match your precondition.
	// For a dst object that does not yet exist, set the DoesNotExist precondition.
	dst = dst.If(storage.Conditions{DoesNotExist: true})
	// If the destination object already exists in your bucket, set instead a
	// generation-match precondition using its generation number.
	// attrs, err := dst.Attrs(ctx)
	// if err != nil {
	// 	return fmt.Errorf("object.Attrs: %w", err)
	// }
	// dst = dst.If(storage.Conditions{GenerationMatch: attrs.Generation})

	if _, err := dst.CopierFrom(src).Run(ctx); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("Object(%q).CopierFrom(%q).Run: %w", dstName, object, err)
	}
	if err := src.Delete(ctx); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("Object(%q).Delete: %w", object, err)
	}
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Blob %v moved to %v.\n", object, dstName)
	return nil
}

Java

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 


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

public class MoveObject {
  public static void moveObject(
      String projectId,
      String sourceBucketName,
      String sourceObjectName,
      String targetBucketName,
      String targetObjectName) {
    // The ID of your GCP project
    // String projectId = "your-project-id";

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

    // The ID of your GCS object
    // String sourceObjectName = "your-object-name";

    // The ID of the bucket to move the object objectName to
    // String targetBucketName = "target-object-bucket"

    // The ID of your GCS object
    // String targetObjectName = "your-new-object-name";

    Storage storage = StorageOptions.newBuilder().setProjectId(projectId).build().getService();
    BlobId source = BlobId.of(sourceBucketName, sourceObjectName);
    BlobId target = BlobId.of(targetBucketName, targetObjectName);

    // Optional: set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race
    // conditions and data corruptions. The request returns a 412 error if the
    // preconditions are not met.
    Storage.BlobTargetOption precondition;
    if (storage.get(targetBucketName, targetObjectName) == null) {
      // For a target object that does not yet exist, set the DoesNotExist precondition.
      // This will cause the request to fail if the object is created before the request runs.
      precondition = Storage.BlobTargetOption.doesNotExist();
    } else {
      // If the destination already exists in your bucket, instead set a generation-match
      // precondition. This will cause the request to fail if the existing object's generation
      // changes before the request runs.
      precondition =
          Storage.BlobTargetOption.generationMatch(
              storage.get(targetBucketName, targetObjectName).getGeneration());
    }

    // Copy source object to target object
    storage.copy(
        Storage.CopyRequest.newBuilder().setSource(source).setTarget(target, precondition).build());
    Blob copiedObject = storage.get(target);
    // Delete the original blob now that we've copied to where we want it, finishing the "move"
    // operation
    storage.get(source).delete();

    System.out.println(
        "Moved object "
            + sourceObjectName
            + " from bucket "
            + sourceBucketName
            + " to "
            + targetObjectName
            + " in bucket "
            + copiedObject.getBucket());
  }
}

Node.js

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 

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

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

// The new ID for your GCS file
// const destFileName = 'your-new-file-name';

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

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

async function moveFile() {
  // Optional:
  // Set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race conditions
  // and data corruptions. The request to copy is aborted if the object's
  // generation number does not match your precondition. For a destination
  // object that does not yet exist, set the ifGenerationMatch precondition to 0
  // If the destination object already exists in your bucket, set instead a
  // generation-match precondition using its generation number.
  const moveOptions = {
    preconditionOpts: {
      ifGenerationMatch: destinationGenerationMatchPrecondition,
    },
  };

  // Moves the file within the bucket
  await storage
    .bucket(bucketName)
    .file(srcFileName)
    .move(destFileName, moveOptions);

  console.log(
    `gs://${bucketName}/${srcFileName} moved to gs://${bucketName}/${destFileName}`
  );
}

moveFile().catch(console.error);

PHP

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 

use Google\Cloud\Storage\StorageClient;

/**
 * Move an object to a new name and/or bucket.
 *
 * @param string $bucketName The name of your Cloud Storage bucket.
 *        (e.g. 'my-bucket')
 * @param string $objectName The name of your Cloud Storage object.
 *        (e.g. 'my-object')
 * @param string $newBucketName the destination bucket name.
 *        (e.g. 'my-other-bucket')
 * @param string $newObjectName the destination object name.
 *        (e.g. 'my-other-object')
 */
function move_object(string $bucketName, string $objectName, string $newBucketName, string $newObjectName): void
{
    $storage = new StorageClient();
    $bucket = $storage->bucket($bucketName);
    $object = $bucket->object($objectName);
    $object->copy($newBucketName, ['name' => $newObjectName]);
    $object->delete();
    printf('Moved gs://%s/%s to gs://%s/%s' . PHP_EOL,
        $bucketName,
        $objectName,
        $newBucketName,
        $newObjectName);
}

Python

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 

from google.cloud import storage


def move_blob(bucket_name, blob_name, destination_bucket_name, destination_blob_name,):
    """Moves a blob from one bucket to another with a new name."""
    # The ID of your GCS bucket
    # bucket_name = "your-bucket-name"
    # The ID of your GCS object
    # blob_name = "your-object-name"
    # The ID of the bucket to move the object to
    # destination_bucket_name = "destination-bucket-name"
    # The ID of your new GCS object (optional)
    # destination_blob_name = "destination-object-name"

    storage_client = storage.Client()

    source_bucket = storage_client.bucket(bucket_name)
    source_blob = source_bucket.blob(blob_name)
    destination_bucket = storage_client.bucket(destination_bucket_name)

    # Optional: set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race conditions
    # and data corruptions. The request is aborted if the object's
    # generation number does not match your precondition. For a destination
    # object that does not yet exist, set the if_generation_match precondition to 0.
    # If the destination object already exists in your bucket, set instead a
    # generation-match precondition using its generation number.
    # There is also an `if_source_generation_match` parameter, which is not used in this example.
    destination_generation_match_precondition = 0

    blob_copy = source_bucket.copy_blob(
        source_blob, destination_bucket, destination_blob_name, if_generation_match=destination_generation_match_precondition,
    )
    source_bucket.delete_blob(blob_name)

    print(
        "Blob {} in bucket {} moved to blob {} in bucket {}.".format(
            source_blob.name,
            source_bucket.name,
            blob_copy.name,
            destination_bucket.name,
        )
    )

Ruby

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

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries. 

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

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

  # The ID of your new GCS object
  # new_name = "your-new-file-name"

  require "google/cloud/storage"

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

  renamed_file = file.copy new_name

  file.delete

  puts "#{file_name} has been renamed to #{renamed_file.name}"
end

REST APIs

JSON API

To move or rename an object in a bucket without hierarchical namespace enabled, or to move it between buckets, first make a copy of the object that has the properties you want, and then delete the original object.

To move an object in a bucket with hierarchical namespace enabled, do the following:

  1. Have gcloud CLI installed and initialized, which lets you generate an access token for the Authorization header.

  2. Use cURL to call the JSON API with a Objects: move request:

    curl -X POST 
    
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" 
    
    -H "Content-Length: 0" 
    
    "https://storage.googleapis.com/storage/v1/b/BUCKET_NAME/o/SOURCE_OBJECT_NAME/moveTo/o/DESTINATION_OBJECT_NAME"

    Where:

    • BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket containing the object you want to move. For example, my-bucket.
    • SOURCE_OBJECT_NAME is the URL-encoded name of the object you want to move. For example, pets/dog.png, URL-encoded as pets%2Fdog.png.
    • DESTINATION_OBJECT_NAME is the URL-encoded name of the new object. For example, pets/cat.png, URL-encoded as pets%2cat.png.

XML API

To move or rename an object using the XML API directly, first make a copy of the object that has the properties you want and then delete the original object.

We recommend using Storage Transfer Service to move more than 1 TB of data between buckets.

What's next