View and edit object metadata

Go to concepts

This page describes how to view and edit the metadata associated with objects stored in Cloud Storage.

This page does not cover viewing or editing Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies or object Access Control Lists (ACLs), both of which control who is allowed to access your data. See Using IAM Permissions and Creating and Managing ACLs for guides to accomplishing these tasks.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites can vary based on the tool used:

Console

In order to complete this guide using the Google Cloud console, you must have the proper IAM permissions. If the object you want to access 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 object you want to access 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.

Code samples

In order to complete this guide using the Cloud Storage client libraries, you must have the proper IAM permissions. If the object you want to access 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.

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.

REST APIs

JSON API

In order to complete this guide using the JSON API, you must have the proper IAM permissions. If the object you want to access 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.

View object metadata

Complete the following instructions to view the metadata associated with an object:

Console

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

   Go to Buckets

2. In the list of buckets, click on the name of the bucket that contains the desired object.

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

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

   Certain object metadata values, such as the object's size and storage class, are displayed along with the object's name.

4. Click the more actions menu () associated with the object.

5. Click Edit metadata.

   The overlay window that appears shows the current values for the object's editable metadata.

Note: The Google Cloud console does not provide an exhaustive list of metadata associated with objects. To view all of an object's metadata, follow the gsutil instructions.

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

Command line

Use the gsutil stat command:

gsutil stat gs://BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_NAME

Where:

• BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket containing the object whose metadata you want to view. For example, my-awesome-bucket.
• OBJECT_NAME is the name of the object whose metadata you want to view. For example, cat.jpeg.

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

gs://my-awesome-bucket/cat.jpeg:
Creation time:          Fri, 03 Feb 2017 22:43:31 GMT
Update time:            Wed, 10 May 2017 18:33:07 GMT
Storage class:          STANDARD
Content-Length:         11012
Content-Type:           image/jpeg
Metadata:
    Breed:              Tabby
Hash (crc32c):          HQbzrB==
Hash (md5):             OBydg25+pPG1Cwawjsl7DA==
ETag:                   CJCh9apA9dECAEs=
Generation:             1486161811706000
Metageneration:         11

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> object_metadata =
      client.GetObjectMetadata(bucket_name, object_name);

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

  std::cout << "The metadata for object " << object_metadata->name()
            << " in bucket " << object_metadata->bucket() << " is "
            << *object_metadata << "\n";
}

C#

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

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

public class GetMetadataSample
{
    public Google.Apis.Storage.v1.Data.Object GetMetadata(
        string bucketName = "your-unique-bucket-name",
        string objectName = "your-object-name")
    {
        var storage = StorageClient.Create();
        var storageObject = storage.GetObject(bucketName, objectName, new GetObjectOptions { Projection = Projection.Full });
        Console.WriteLine($"Bucket:\t{storageObject.Bucket}");
        Console.WriteLine($"CacheControl:\t{storageObject.CacheControl}");
        Console.WriteLine($"ComponentCount:\t{storageObject.ComponentCount}");
        Console.WriteLine($"ContentDisposition:\t{storageObject.ContentDisposition}");
        Console.WriteLine($"ContentEncoding:\t{storageObject.ContentEncoding}");
        Console.WriteLine($"ContentLanguage:\t{storageObject.ContentLanguage}");
        Console.WriteLine($"ContentType:\t{storageObject.ContentType}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Crc32c:\t{storageObject.Crc32c}");
        Console.WriteLine($"ETag:\t{storageObject.ETag}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Generation:\t{storageObject.Generation}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Id:\t{storageObject.Id}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Kind:\t{storageObject.Kind}");
        Console.WriteLine($"KmsKeyName:\t{storageObject.KmsKeyName}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Md5Hash:\t{storageObject.Md5Hash}");
        Console.WriteLine($"MediaLink:\t{storageObject.MediaLink}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Metageneration:\t{storageObject.Metageneration}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Name:\t{storageObject.Name}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Size:\t{storageObject.Size}");
        Console.WriteLine($"StorageClass:\t{storageObject.StorageClass}");
        Console.WriteLine($"TimeCreated:\t{storageObject.TimeCreated}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Updated:\t{storageObject.Updated}");
        bool eventBasedHold = storageObject.EventBasedHold ?? false;
        Console.WriteLine("Event-based hold enabled? {0}", eventBasedHold);
        bool temporaryHold = storageObject.TemporaryHold ?? false;
        Console.WriteLine("Temporary hold enabled? {0}", temporaryHold);
        Console.WriteLine($"RetentionExpirationTime\t{storageObject.RetentionExpirationTime}");
        if (storageObject.Metadata != null)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Metadata: ");
            foreach (var metadata in storageObject.Metadata)
            {
                Console.WriteLine($"{metadata.Key}:\t{metadata.Value}");
            }
        }
        Console.WriteLine($"CustomTime:\t{storageObject.CustomTime}");
        return storageObject;
    }
}

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"
)

// getMetadata prints all of the object attributes.
func getMetadata(w io.Writer, bucket, object string) (*storage.ObjectAttrs, error) {
	// bucket := "bucket-name"
	// object := "object-name"
	ctx := context.Background()
	client, err := storage.NewClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("storage.NewClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

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

	o := client.Bucket(bucket).Object(object)
	attrs, err := o.Attrs(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Object(%q).Attrs: %v", object, err)
	}
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Bucket: %v\n", attrs.Bucket)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "CacheControl: %v\n", attrs.CacheControl)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "ContentDisposition: %v\n", attrs.ContentDisposition)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "ContentEncoding: %v\n", attrs.ContentEncoding)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "ContentLanguage: %v\n", attrs.ContentLanguage)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "ContentType: %v\n", attrs.ContentType)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Crc32c: %v\n", attrs.CRC32C)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Generation: %v\n", attrs.Generation)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "KmsKeyName: %v\n", attrs.KMSKeyName)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Md5Hash: %v\n", attrs.MD5)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "MediaLink: %v\n", attrs.MediaLink)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Metageneration: %v\n", attrs.Metageneration)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Name: %v\n", attrs.Name)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Size: %v\n", attrs.Size)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "StorageClass: %v\n", attrs.StorageClass)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "TimeCreated: %v\n", attrs.Created)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Updated: %v\n", attrs.Updated)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Event-based hold enabled? %t\n", attrs.EventBasedHold)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Temporary hold enabled? %t\n", attrs.TemporaryHold)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Retention expiration time %v\n", attrs.RetentionExpirationTime)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Custom time %v\n", attrs.CustomTime)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "\n\nMetadata\n")
	for key, value := range attrs.Metadata {
		fmt.Fprintf(w, "\t%v = %v\n", key, value)
	}
	return attrs, nil
}

Java

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

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import com.google.cloud.storage.Blob;
import com.google.cloud.storage.Storage;
import com.google.cloud.storage.StorageException;
import com.google.cloud.storage.StorageOptions;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.Map;

public class GetObjectMetadata {
  public static void getObjectMetadata(String projectId, String bucketName, String blobName)
      throws StorageException {
    // 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 objectName = "your-object-name";

    Storage storage = StorageOptions.newBuilder().setProjectId(projectId).build().getService();

    // Select all fields
    // Fields can be selected individually e.g. Storage.BlobField.CACHE_CONTROL
    Blob blob =
        storage.get(bucketName, blobName, Storage.BlobGetOption.fields(Storage.BlobField.values()));

    // Print blob metadata
    System.out.println("Bucket: " + blob.getBucket());
    System.out.println("CacheControl: " + blob.getCacheControl());
    System.out.println("ComponentCount: " + blob.getComponentCount());
    System.out.println("ContentDisposition: " + blob.getContentDisposition());
    System.out.println("ContentEncoding: " + blob.getContentEncoding());
    System.out.println("ContentLanguage: " + blob.getContentLanguage());
    System.out.println("ContentType: " + blob.getContentType());
    System.out.println("CustomTime: " + blob.getCustomTime());
    System.out.println("Crc32c: " + blob.getCrc32c());
    System.out.println("Crc32cHexString: " + blob.getCrc32cToHexString());
    System.out.println("ETag: " + blob.getEtag());
    System.out.println("Generation: " + blob.getGeneration());
    System.out.println("Id: " + blob.getBlobId());
    System.out.println("KmsKeyName: " + blob.getKmsKeyName());
    System.out.println("Md5Hash: " + blob.getMd5());
    System.out.println("Md5HexString: " + blob.getMd5ToHexString());
    System.out.println("MediaLink: " + blob.getMediaLink());
    System.out.println("Metageneration: " + blob.getMetageneration());
    System.out.println("Name: " + blob.getName());
    System.out.println("Size: " + blob.getSize());
    System.out.println("StorageClass: " + blob.getStorageClass());
    System.out.println("TimeCreated: " + new Date(blob.getCreateTime()));
    System.out.println("Last Metadata Update: " + new Date(blob.getUpdateTime()));
    Boolean temporaryHoldIsEnabled = (blob.getTemporaryHold() != null && blob.getTemporaryHold());
    System.out.println("temporaryHold: " + (temporaryHoldIsEnabled ? "enabled" : "disabled"));
    Boolean eventBasedHoldIsEnabled =
        (blob.getEventBasedHold() != null && blob.getEventBasedHold());
    System.out.println("eventBasedHold: " + (eventBasedHoldIsEnabled ? "enabled" : "disabled"));
    if (blob.getRetentionExpirationTime() != null) {
      System.out.println("retentionExpirationTime: " + new Date(blob.getRetentionExpirationTime()));
    }
    if (blob.getMetadata() != null) {
      System.out.println("\n\n\nUser metadata:");
      for (Map.Entry<String, String> userMetadata : blob.getMetadata().entrySet()) {
        System.out.println(userMetadata.getKey() + "=" + userMetadata.getValue());
      }
    }
  }
}

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 getMetadata() {
  // Gets the metadata for the file
  const [metadata] = await storage
    .bucket(bucketName)
    .file(fileName)
    .getMetadata();

  console.log(`Bucket: ${metadata.bucket}`);
  console.log(`CacheControl: ${metadata.cacheControl}`);
  console.log(`ComponentCount: ${metadata.componentCount}`);
  console.log(`ContentDisposition: ${metadata.contentDisposition}`);
  console.log(`ContentEncoding: ${metadata.contentEncoding}`);
  console.log(`ContentLanguage: ${metadata.contentLanguage}`);
  console.log(`ContentType: ${metadata.contentType}`);
  console.log(`CustomTime: ${metadata.customTime}`);
  console.log(`Crc32c: ${metadata.crc32c}`);
  console.log(`ETag: ${metadata.etag}`);
  console.log(`Generation: ${metadata.generation}`);
  console.log(`Id: ${metadata.id}`);
  console.log(`KmsKeyName: ${metadata.kmsKeyName}`);
  console.log(`Md5Hash: ${metadata.md5Hash}`);
  console.log(`MediaLink: ${metadata.mediaLink}`);
  console.log(`Metageneration: ${metadata.metageneration}`);
  console.log(`Name: ${metadata.name}`);
  console.log(`Size: ${metadata.size}`);
  console.log(`StorageClass: ${metadata.storageClass}`);
  console.log(`TimeCreated: ${new Date(metadata.timeCreated)}`);
  console.log(`Last Metadata Update: ${new Date(metadata.updated)}`);
  console.log(`TurboReplication: ${metadata.rpo}`);
  console.log(
    `temporaryHold: ${metadata.temporaryHold ? 'enabled' : 'disabled'}`
  );
  console.log(
    `eventBasedHold: ${metadata.eventBasedHold ? 'enabled' : 'disabled'}`
  );
  if (metadata.retentionExpirationTime) {
    console.log(
      `retentionExpirationTime: ${new Date(metadata.retentionExpirationTime)}`
    );
  }
  if (metadata.metadata) {
    console.log('\n\n\nUser metadata:');
    for (const key in metadata.metadata) {
      console.log(`${key}=${metadata.metadata[key]}`);
    }
  }
}

getMetadata().catch(console.error);

PHP

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

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use Google\Cloud\Storage\StorageClient;

/**
 * List object metadata.
 *
 * @param string $bucketName The name of your Cloud Storage bucket.
 * @param string $objectName The name of your Cloud Storage object.
 */
function object_metadata(string $bucketName, string $objectName): void
{
    // $bucketName = 'my-bucket';
    // $objectName = 'my-object';

    $storage = new StorageClient();
    $bucket = $storage->bucket($bucketName);
    $object = $bucket->object($objectName);
    $info = $object->info();
    if (isset($info['name'])) {
        printf('Blob: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['name']);
    }
    if (isset($info['bucket'])) {
        printf('Bucket: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['bucket']);
    }
    if (isset($info['storageClass'])) {
        printf('Storage class: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['storageClass']);
    }
    if (isset($info['id'])) {
        printf('ID: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['id']);
    }
    if (isset($info['size'])) {
        printf('Size: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['size']);
    }
    if (isset($info['updated'])) {
        printf('Updated: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['updated']);
    }
    if (isset($info['generation'])) {
        printf('Generation: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['generation']);
    }
    if (isset($info['metageneration'])) {
        printf('Metageneration: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['metageneration']);
    }
    if (isset($info['etag'])) {
        printf('Etag: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['etag']);
    }
    if (isset($info['crc32c'])) {
        printf('Crc32c: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['crc32c']);
    }
    if (isset($info['md5Hash'])) {
        printf('MD5 Hash: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['md5Hash']);
    }
    if (isset($info['contentType'])) {
        printf('Content-type: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['contentType']);
    }
    if (isset($info['temporaryHold'])) {
        printf('Temporary hold: %s' . PHP_EOL, ($info['temporaryHold'] ? 'enabled' : 'disabled'));
    }
    if (isset($info['eventBasedHold'])) {
        printf('Event-based hold: %s' . PHP_EOL, ($info['eventBasedHold'] ? 'enabled' : 'disabled'));
    }
    if (isset($info['retentionExpirationTime'])) {
        printf('Retention Expiration Time: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['retentionExpirationTime']);
    }
    if (isset($info['customTime'])) {
        printf('Custom Time: %s' . PHP_EOL, $info['customTime']);
    }
    if (isset($info['metadata'])) {
        printf('Metadata: %s' . PHP_EOL, print_r($info['metadata'], true));
    }
}

Python

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

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from google.cloud import storage


def blob_metadata(bucket_name, blob_name):
    """Prints out a blob's metadata."""
    # bucket_name = 'your-bucket-name'
    # blob_name = 'your-object-name'

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

    # Retrieve a blob, and its metadata, from Google Cloud Storage.
    # Note that `get_blob` differs from `Bucket.blob`, which does not
    # make an HTTP request.
    blob = bucket.get_blob(blob_name)

    print(f"Blob: {blob.name}")
    print(f"Bucket: {blob.bucket.name}")
    print(f"Storage class: {blob.storage_class}")
    print(f"ID: {blob.id}")
    print(f"Size: {blob.size} bytes")
    print(f"Updated: {blob.updated}")
    print(f"Generation: {blob.generation}")
    print(f"Metageneration: {blob.metageneration}")
    print(f"Etag: {blob.etag}")
    print(f"Owner: {blob.owner}")
    print(f"Component count: {blob.component_count}")
    print(f"Crc32c: {blob.crc32c}")
    print(f"md5_hash: {blob.md5_hash}")
    print(f"Cache-control: {blob.cache_control}")
    print(f"Content-type: {blob.content_type}")
    print(f"Content-disposition: {blob.content_disposition}")
    print(f"Content-encoding: {blob.content_encoding}")
    print(f"Content-language: {blob.content_language}")
    print(f"Metadata: {blob.metadata}")
    print(f"Medialink: {blob.media_link}")
    print(f"Custom Time: {blob.custom_time}")
    print("Temporary hold: ", "enabled" if blob.temporary_hold else "disabled")
    print(
        "Event based hold: ",
        "enabled" if blob.event_based_hold else "disabled",
    )
    if blob.retention_expiration_time:
        print(
            f"retentionExpirationTime: {blob.retention_expiration_time}"
        )

Ruby

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

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

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

  require "google/cloud/storage"

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

  puts "Name: #{file.name}"
  puts "Bucket: #{bucket.name}"
  puts "Storage class: #{bucket.storage_class}"
  puts "ID: #{file.id}"
  puts "Size: #{file.size} bytes"
  puts "Created: #{file.created_at}"
  puts "Updated: #{file.updated_at}"
  puts "Generation: #{file.generation}"
  puts "Metageneration: #{file.metageneration}"
  puts "Etag: #{file.etag}"
  puts "Owners: #{file.acl.owners.join ','}"
  puts "Crc32c: #{file.crc32c}"
  puts "md5_hash: #{file.md5}"
  puts "Cache-control: #{file.cache_control}"
  puts "Content-type: #{file.content_type}"
  puts "Content-disposition: #{file.content_disposition}"
  puts "Content-encoding: #{file.content_encoding}"
  puts "Content-language: #{file.content_language}"
  puts "KmsKeyName: #{file.kms_key}"
  puts "Event-based hold enabled?: #{file.event_based_hold?}"
  puts "Temporary hold enaled?: #{file.temporary_hold?}"
  puts "Retention Expiration: #{file.retention_expires_at}"
  puts "Custom Time: #{file.custom_time}"
  puts "Metadata:"
  file.metadata.each do |key, value|
    puts " - #{key} = #{value}"
  end
end

Terraform

You can use a Terraform resource to view an object's metadata.

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# Get object metadata
data "google_storage_bucket_object" "default" {
  name         = google_storage_bucket_object.default.name
  bucket       = google_storage_bucket.static.id
}

output "object_metadata" {
  value        = data.google_storage_bucket_object.default
}

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

   curl -X GET \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer OAUTH2_TOKEN" \
     "https://storage.googleapis.com/storage/v1/b/BUCKET_NAME/o/OBJECT_NAME"

   Where:

   • OAUTH2_TOKEN is the access token you generated in Step 1.
   • BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket containing the object whose metadata you want to view. For example, my-bucket.
   • OBJECT_NAME is the URL-encoded name of the object whose metadata you want to view. For example, pets/dog.png, URL-encoded as pets%2Fdog.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. Use cURL to call the XML API with a HEAD Object request:

   curl -I HEAD \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer OAUTH2_TOKEN" \
     "https://storage.googleapis.com/BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_NAME"

   Where:

   • OAUTH2_TOKEN is the access token you generated in Step 1.
   • BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket containing the object whose metadata you want to view. For example, my-bucket.
   • OBJECT_NAME is the URL-encoded name of the object whose metadata you want to view. For example, pets/dog.png, URL-encoded as pets%2Fdog.png.

Edit object metadata

Complete the following steps to edit the metadata associated with an object:

Console

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

   Go to Buckets

2. In the list of buckets, click on the name of the bucket that contains the desired object.

   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 more actions menu () associated with the object.

5. Click Edit metadata.

6. In the overlay window that appears, make the desired edits to the metadata.

   • For standard metadata fields, edit the Value.

   • Add your own custom metadata by clicking the + Add item button.

   • You can edit both the Key and Value of your custom metadata.

   • Delete your custom metadata by clicking the associated X.

7. Click Save.

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

Command line

Use the gsutil setmeta -h command:

gsutil setmeta -h "METADATA_KEY:METADATA_VALUE" gs://BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_NAME

Where:

• METADATA_KEY is the key for the metadata you want to set. For example, Content-Type.
• METADATA_VALUE is the value for the metadata you want to set. For example, image/png.
• BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket containing the object whose metadata you want to edit. For example, my-bucket.
• OBJECT_NAME is the name of the object whose metadata you want to edit. For example, pets/dog.png.

If successful, the response looks like the following example:

Operation completed over 1 objects.

Note that if you are adding custom metadata with gsutil, you must prefix your metadata key with x-goog-meta- for gsutil to recognize that this is a custom metadata attribute, rather than a standard HTTP header. The metadata key itself is not stored with the x-goog-meta- prefix. An example of custom "METADATA_KEY:METADATA_VALUE" is "x-goog-meta-dogbreed:shibainu".

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, std::string const& key,
   std::string const& value) {
  StatusOr<gcs::ObjectMetadata> object_metadata =
      client.GetObjectMetadata(bucket_name, object_name);

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

  gcs::ObjectMetadata desired = *object_metadata;
  desired.mutable_metadata().emplace(key, value);

  StatusOr<gcs::ObjectMetadata> updated =
      client.UpdateObject(bucket_name, object_name, desired,
                          gcs::Generation(object_metadata->generation()));

  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.Cloud.Storage.V1;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class SetObjectMetadataSample
{
    public Google.Apis.Storage.v1.Data.Object SetObjectMetadata(
        string bucketName = "your-bucket-name",
        string objectName = "your-object-name",
        string key = "key-to-add",
        string value = "value-to-add")
    {
        var storage = StorageClient.Create();
        var file = storage.GetObject(bucketName, objectName);

        if (file.Metadata == null)
        {
            file.Metadata = new Dictionary<string, string>();
        }
        file.Metadata.Add(key, value);

        file = storage.UpdateObject(file);
        Console.WriteLine($"Updated custom metadata for object {objectName} in bucket {bucketName}");
        return file;
    }
}

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"
)

// setMetadata sets an object's metadata.
func setMetadata(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()

	o := client.Bucket(bucket).Object(object)

	// Optional: set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race
	// conditions and data corruptions. The request to upload is aborted if the
	// object's generation number does not match your precondition.
	attrs, err := o.Attrs(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("object.Attrs: %v", err)
	}
	o = o.If(storage.Conditions{MetagenerationMatch: attrs.Metageneration})

	// Update the object to set the metadata.
	objectAttrsToUpdate := storage.ObjectAttrsToUpdate{
		Metadata: map[string]string{
			"keyToAddOrUpdate": "value",
		},
	}
	if _, err := o.Update(ctx, objectAttrsToUpdate); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("ObjectHandle(%q).Update: %v", object, err)
	}
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Updated custom metadata for object %v in bucket %v.\n", object, bucket)
	return nil
}

Node.js

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

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

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

/**
 * 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';

async function setFileMetadata() {
  // Optional: set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race
  // conditions and data corruptions. The request to upload is aborted if the
  // object's generation number does not match your precondition.
  const options = {
    ifGenerationMatch: generationMatchPrecondition,
  };

  // Set file metadata.
  const [metadata] = await storage
    .bucket(bucketName)
    .file(fileName)
    .setMetadata(
      {
        // Predefined metadata for server e.g. 'cacheControl', 'contentDisposition',
        // 'contentEncoding', 'contentLanguage', 'contentType'
        contentDisposition:
          'attachment; filename*=utf-8\'\'"anotherImage.jpg"',
        contentType: 'image/jpeg',

        // A note or actionable items for user e.g. uniqueId, object description,
        // or other useful information.
        metadata: {
          description: 'file description...',
          modified: '1900-01-01',
        },
      },
      options
    );

  console.log(
    'Updated metadata for object',
    fileName,
    'in bucket ',
    bucketName
  );
  console.log(metadata);
}

setFileMetadata().catch(console.error);

PHP

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

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use Google\Cloud\Storage\StorageClient;

/**
 * Set a metadata key and value on the specified object.
 *
 * @param string $bucketName The name of your Cloud Storage bucket.
 * @param string $objectName The name of your Cloud Storage object.
 */
function set_metadata(string $bucketName, string $objectName): void
{
    // $bucketName = 'my-bucket';
    // $objectName = 'my-object';

    $storage = new StorageClient();
    $bucket = $storage->bucket($bucketName);
    $object = $bucket->object($objectName);
    $object->update([
        'metadata' => [
            'keyToAddOrUpdate' => 'value',
        ]
    ]);

    printf('Updated custom metadata for object %s in bucket %s', $objectName, $bucketName);
}

Python

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

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from google.cloud import storage


def set_blob_metadata(bucket_name, blob_name):
    """Set a blob's metadata."""
    # bucket_name = 'your-bucket-name'
    # blob_name = 'your-object-name'

    storage_client = storage.Client()
    bucket = storage_client.bucket(bucket_name)
    blob = bucket.get_blob(blob_name)
    metadata = {'color': 'Red', 'name': 'Test'}
    blob.metadata = metadata
    blob.patch()

    print(f"The metadata for the blob {blob.name} is {blob.metadata}")

Ruby

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

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

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

  require "google/cloud/storage"

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

  file.update do |file|
    # Fixed key file metadata
    file.content_type = "text/plain"

    # Custom file metadata
    file.metadata["your-metadata-key"] = "your-metadata-value"
  end

  puts "Metadata for #{file_name} has been updated."
end

Java

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

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import com.google.cloud.storage.Blob;
import com.google.cloud.storage.Storage;
import com.google.cloud.storage.StorageOptions;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;

public class SetObjectMetadata {
  public static void setObjectMetadata(String projectId, String bucketName, String objectName) {
    // 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 objectName = "your-object-name";

    Storage storage = StorageOptions.newBuilder().setProjectId(projectId).build().getService();
    Map<String, String> newMetadata = new HashMap<>();
    newMetadata.put("keyToAddOrUpdate", "value");
    Blob blob = storage.get(bucketName, objectName);
    // Does an upsert operation, if the key already exists it's replaced by the new value, otherwise
    // it's added.
    blob.toBuilder().setMetadata(newMetadata).build().update();

    System.out.println(
        "Updated custom metadata for object " + objectName + " in bucket " + bucketName);
  }
}

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 metadata you wish to modify.

   To add or modify fixed-key metadata such as contentType, use the following format:

   {
     "STANDARD_METADATA_KEY": "STANDARD_METADATA_VALUE"
   }

   Where:

   • STANDARD_METADATA_KEY is the key for the metadata you want to add or modify. For example, Content-Type.
   • STANDARD_METADATA_VALUE is the value for the metadata you want to add or modify. For example, image/png.

   To add or modify custom metadata, use the following format:

   {
     "metadata": {
       "CUSTOM_METADATA_KEY": "CUSTOM_METADATA_VALUE"
     }
   }

   Where:

   • CUSTOM_METADATA_KEY is the custom metadata key that you want to add or modify. For example, dogbreed.
   • CUSTOM_METADATA_VALUE is the value you want associated with the custom metadata key. For example, shibainu.

   To delete a custom metadata entry, use the following format:

   {
     "metadata": {
       "CUSTOM_METADATA_KEY": null
     }
   }

   Where:

   • CUSTOM_METADATA_KEY is the key for the custom metadata that you want to delete. For example, dogbreed.

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

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

   Where:

   • JSON_FILE_NAME is the path for the file that you created in Step 2.
   • OAUTH2_TOKEN is the name of the access token you generated in Step 1.
   • BUCKET_NAME is the name of the bucket containing the object whose metadata you want to edit. For example, my-bucket.
   • OBJECT_NAME is the URL-encoded name of the object whose metadata you want to edit. For example, pets/dog.png, URL-encoded as pets%2Fdog.png.

Note that you can also change an object's metadata with an UPDATE Object request. When using this method, any metadata that is not explicitly specified in the request is removed from the object's metadata.

XML API

When working with the XML API, metadata can only be set at the time the object is written, such as when uploading, moving, or replacing the object. Follow instructions such as uploading an object with the following guidelines:

• Add -H "METADATA_KEY:METADATA_VALUE" to the request header for each metadata value you are setting. For example, -H "Content-Type:image/png".

• Prefix x-goog-meta- to any custom metadata values. An example of custom "METADATA_KEY:METADATA_VALUE" is "x-goog-meta-dogbreed:shibainu".

For more information, see Upload an Object for XML.

What's next

• Learn more about metadata associated with an object.
• Change the storage class associated with an object.
• Add a hold to an object.