gsutil tool

gsutil is a Python application that lets you access Cloud Storage from the command line. You can use gsutil to do a wide range of bucket and object management tasks, including:

  • Creating and deleting buckets.
  • Uploading, downloading, and deleting objects.
  • Listing buckets and objects.
  • Moving, copying, and renaming objects.
  • Editing object and bucket ACLs.

gsutil performs all operations, including uploads and downloads, using HTTPS and transport-layer security (TLS).

Should you use gsutil?

Generally, you should use gcloud storage commands instead of gsutil commands:

  • The gsutil tool is a legacy Cloud Storage CLI and minimally maintained.

  • The gsutil tool does not support working with newer Cloud Storage features.

  • gcloud storage commands require less manual optimization in order to achieve the fastest upload and download rates.

Syntax for accessing resources

gsutil uses the prefix gs:// to indicate a resource in Cloud Storage:

gs://BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_NAME

In addition to specifying exact resources, gsutil supports the use of wildcards in your commands.

Built-in help

gsutil contains thorough built-in help about every command as well as a number of topics, which you can list and read with the gsutil help command.

The gsutil help pages are also available online. For example, gsutil cp and gsutil options are a command help page and a topic help page, respectively.

To get information about your gsutil installation, use the gsutil version command:

gsutil version -l

Usage statistics

During the installation process, you can opt-in to tracking usage statistics which helps improve the gsutil tool. If you subsequently decide that you want to disable these usage statistics, see Usage statistics.

About gsutil

gsutil is an open-source project. To download the developer version of gsutil or volunteer to help develop gsutil, visit the gsutil project on GitHub.

Limitations

  • When using gsutil with Windows, commands that use the -m global flag cannot be canceled using Ctrl-C.

What's next