This page shows you how to download objects from your buckets in Cloud Storage to persistent storage. You can also download objects into memory.
Required permissions
Console
In order to complete this guide using the Google Cloud console, you must have the proper IAM permissions. If the bucket you want to download from exists in a project that you did not create, you might need the project owner to give you a role that contains the necessary permissions.
For a list of permissions required for specific actions, see IAM permissions for the Google Cloud console.
For a list of relevant roles, see Cloud Storage roles. Alternatively, you can create a custom role that has specific, limited permissions.
Command line
In order to complete this guide using a command-line utility, you must have the proper IAM permissions. If the bucket you want to download from exists in a project that you did not create, you might need the project owner to give you a role that contains the necessary permissions.
For a list of permissions required for specific actions, see IAM permissions for gsutil commands.
For a list of relevant roles, see Cloud Storage roles. Alternatively, you can create a custom role that has specific, limited permissions.
Client libraries
In order to complete this guide using the Cloud Storage client libraries, you must have the proper IAM permissions. If the bucket you want to download from exists in a project that you did not create, you might need the project owner to give you a role that contains the necessary permissions.
Unless otherwise noted, client library requests are made through the JSON API and require permissions as listed in IAM permissions for JSON methods. To see which JSON API methods are invoked when you make requests using a client library, log the raw requests.
For a list of relevant IAM roles, see Cloud Storage roles. Alternatively, you can create a custom role that has specific, limited permissions.
REST APIs
JSON API
In order to complete this guide using the JSON API, you must have the proper IAM permissions. If the bucket you want to download from exists in a project that you did not create, you might need the project owner to give you a role that contains the necessary permissions.
For a list of permissions required for specific actions, see IAM permissions for JSON methods.
For a list of relevant roles, see Cloud Storage roles. Alternatively, you can create a custom role that has specific, limited permissions.
Download an object from a bucket
Complete the following instructions to download an object from a bucket:
Console
- In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud Storage Buckets page.
In the list of buckets, click on the name of the bucket that contains the object you want to download.
The Bucket details page opens, with the Objects tab selected.
Navigate to the object, which may be located in a folder.
Click the Download icon associated with the object.
Your browser settings control the download location for the object.
To learn how to get detailed error information about failed Cloud Storage operations in the Google Cloud console, see Troubleshooting.
Command line
gcloud
Use the gcloud storage cp
command:
gcloud storage cp gs://BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_NAME SAVE_TO_LOCATION
Where:
BUCKET_NAME
is the name of the bucket containing the object you are downloading. For example,my-bucket
.OBJECT_NAME
is the name of object you are downloading. For example,pets/dog.png
.SAVE_TO_LOCATION
is the local path where you are saving your object. For example,Desktop/Images
.
If successful, the response looks like the following example:
Completed files 1/1 | 164.3kiB/164.3kiB
If your download is interrupted prior to completion, run the same cp
command to resume the download from where it left off.
gsutil
Use the gsutil cp
command:
gsutil cp gs://BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_NAME SAVE_TO_LOCATION
Where:
BUCKET_NAME
is the name of the bucket containing the object you are downloading. For example,my-bucket
.OBJECT_NAME
is the name of object you are downloading. For example,pets/dog.png
.SAVE_TO_LOCATION
is the local path where you are saving your object. For example,Desktop/Images
.
If successful, the response looks like the following example:
Operation completed over 1 objects/58.8 KiB.
If your download is interrupted prior to completion, run the same cp
command to resume the download from where it left off.
Client libraries
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 a local development environment.
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 a local development environment.
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 a local development environment.
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 a local development environment.
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 a local development environment.
The following sample downloads an individual object: The following sample downloads multiple objects using multiple processes: The following sample downloads all objects with a common prefix using multiple processes:
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 a local development environment.
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 a local development environment.
The following sample downloads an individual object: The following sample downloads multiple objects using multiple processes: The following sample downloads all objects in a bucket using multiple processes:
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 a local development environment.
C++
C#
Go
Java
Node.js
PHP
Python
Ruby
REST APIs
JSON API
- 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.
Use
cURL
to call the JSON API with aGET
Object request:curl -X GET \ -H "Authorization: Bearer OAUTH2_TOKEN" \ -o "SAVE_TO_LOCATION" \ "https://storage.googleapis.com/storage/v1/b/BUCKET_NAME/o/OBJECT_NAME?alt=media"
Where:
OAUTH2_TOKEN
is the access token you generated in Step 1.SAVE_TO_LOCATION
is the path to the location where you want to save your object. For example,Desktop/dog.png
.BUCKET_NAME
is the name of the bucket containing the object you are downloading. For example,my-bucket
.OBJECT_NAME
is the URL-encoded name of the object you are downloading. For example,pets/dog.png
, URL-encoded aspets%2Fdog.png
.
XML API
- 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.
Use
cURL
to call the XML API with aGET
Object request:curl -X GET \ -H "Authorization: Bearer OAUTH2_TOKEN" \ -o "SAVE_TO_LOCATION" \ "https://storage.googleapis.com/BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_NAME"
Where:
OAUTH2_TOKEN
is the access token you generated in Step 1.SAVE_TO_LOCATION
is the path to the location where you want to save your object. For example,Desktop/dog.png
.BUCKET_NAME
is the name of the bucket containing the object you are downloading. For example,my-bucket
.OBJECT_NAME
is the URL-encoded name of the object you are downloading. For example,pets/dog.png
, URL-encoded aspets%2Fdog.png
.
To easily download all objects in a bucket or subdirectory, use the
gcloud storage cp
command or a client library.
Download a portion of an object
If your download gets interrupted, you can resume where you left off by requesting only the portion of the object that's left. Complete the following instructions to download a portion of an object.
Console
The Google Cloud console does not support downloading portions of an object. Use the gcloud CLI instead.
Command line
gcloud
gcloud automatically attempts to resume interrupted downloads, except
when performing streaming downloads. If your download gets
interrupted, a partially downloaded temporary file becomes visible in
the destination hierarchy. Run the same cp
command to resume the
download where it left off.
When the download is complete, the temporary file is deleted and
replaced with the downloaded contents. Temporary files are stored in a
configurable location, which by default is in the user's home directory
under .config/gcloud/surface_data/storage/tracker_files
. You can
change or view the location that temporary files are stored by running
gcloud config get storage/tracker_files_directory
.
gsutil
gsutil automatically attempts to resume interrupted downloads, except
when performing streaming downloads. If your download gets
interrupted, a partially downloaded temporary file becomes visible in
the destination directory. Run the same cp
command to resume the
download where it left off.
When the download is complete, the temporary file is deleted and
replaced with the downloaded contents. Resumable transfers store state
information in files under ~/.gsutil
, named by the destination object
or file.
Client libraries
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 a local development environment.
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 a local development environment.
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 a local development environment.
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 a local development environment.
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 a local development environment.
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 a local development environment.
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 a local development environment.
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 a local development environment.
C++
C#
Go
Java
Node.js
PHP
Python
Ruby
REST APIs
JSON API
Use the Range
header in your request to download a portion of
an object.
- 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.
Use
cURL
to call the JSON API with aGET
Object request:curl -X GET \ -H "Authorization: Bearer OAUTH2_TOKEN" \ -H "Range: bytes=FIRST_BYTE-LAST_BYTE" \ -o "SAVE_TO_LOCATION" \ "https://storage.googleapis.com/storage/v1/b/BUCKET_NAME/o/OBJECT_NAME?alt=media"
Where:
OAUTH2_TOKEN
is the access token you generated in Step 1.FIRST_BYTE
is the first byte in the range of bytes you want to download. For example,1000
.LAST_BYTE
is the last byte in the range of bytes you want to download. For example,1999
.SAVE_TO_LOCATION
is the path to the location where you want to save your object. For example,Desktop/dog.png
.BUCKET_NAME
is the name of the bucket containing the object you are downloading. For example,my-bucket
.OBJECT_NAME
is the URL-encoded name of the object you are downloading. For example,pets/dog.png
, URL-encoded aspets%2Fdog.png
.
XML API
Use the Range
header in your request to download a portion of
an object.
- 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.
Use
cURL
to call the XML API with aGET
Object request:curl -X GET \ -H "Authorization: Bearer OAUTH2_TOKEN" \ -H "Range: bytes=FIRST_BYTE-LAST_BYTE" \ -o "SAVE_TO_LOCATION" \ "https://storage.googleapis.com/BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_NAME"
Where:
OAUTH2_TOKEN
is the access token you generated in Step 1.FIRST_BYTE
is the first byte in the range of bytes you want to download. For example,1000
.LAST_BYTE
is the last byte in the range of bytes you want to download. For example,1999
.SAVE_TO_LOCATION
is the path to the location where you want to save your object. For example,$HOME/Desktop/dog.png
.BUCKET_NAME
is the name of the bucket containing the object you are downloading. For example,my-bucket
.OBJECT_NAME
is the URL-encoded name of the object you are downloading. For example,pets/dog.png
, URL-encoded aspets%2Fdog.png
.
What's next
- Read the conceptual overview for uploading and downloading, including advanced download strategies.
- Transfer data from cloud providers or other online sources, such as URL lists.
- Transfer objects to your Compute Engine instance.
- Learn how you can bill Cloud Storage access charges to requesters.
- Learn how Cloud Storage can serve gzipped files in an uncompressed state.
Try it for yourself
If you're new to Google Cloud, create an account to evaluate how Cloud Storage performs in real-world scenarios. New customers also get $300 in free credits to run, test, and deploy workloads.
Try Cloud Storage free