The browser-based Google Cloud console tool lets you manage your Cloud Storageresources through a graphical interface. Use the Google Cloud console tomanage your data if you prefer using a user interface through the browser.

This page describes how to access the Google Cloud console and lists tasksin Cloud Storage that can be performed using the Google Cloud console.As an alternative to the Google Cloud console, you can also use theGoogle Cloud CLI,REST API, orCloud Storage client libraries.

Console features

The Google Cloud console provides the following features:

• Access to all your Google Cloud projects
• Access to theCloud Shell
• A customizable project dashboard, with an overview of Google Cloudresources, billing, and a filterable activity listing
• Access to all Google Cloud APIs, with a dashboard specific to eachAPI, and access to manage your resources
• Links to Google Cloud starting points, news, and documentation

The Google Cloud console is used to perform a variety of tasks inCloud Storage, such as the following:

• Creating buckets
• Uploading objects to buckets anddownloading objects from buckets
• Filtering and sorting lists of buckets and objects
• Deleting objects
• Creating and managingfolders
• Controlling access to your data and resources by usingIdentity and Access Management (IAM) and ACLs
• Monitoring buckets and bandwidth usage
• Using Cloud Storage features likeAnywhere Cache,soft delete, andObject Versioning

Access to the Google Cloud console

The Google Cloud console requires no setup or installation, and you canaccess it directly in a browser. Depending on your use case, you access theGoogle Cloud console using different URLs. If you are:

A user granted access to a project

Use:https://console.cloud.google.com/

Go to the Google Cloud console

A current project owner cangive you access to the entire project, whichapplies equally to all buckets and objects defined in the project.

A user granted access to a bucket

Use:https://console.cloud.google.com/storage/browser/BUCKET_NAME

In this use case, a project owner gives you access to an individual bucketwithin a larger project. The owner then sends you the bucket name which yousubstitute into the URL. You are able to only work with objects in thespecified bucket. This is useful for users who don't have access to the fullproject, but who need to access a bucket. When you access the URL, youauthenticate if you are not already signed in.

A variation of this use case is when a project owner grantsAll Userspermission to read objects in a bucket. This creates a bucket whose contentsare publicly readable. For more information, seeMake data public.

A user granted access to an object

Use:https://console.cloud.google.com/storage/browser/_details/BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_NAME

In this use case, a project owner gives you access to single objects withina bucket and sends you the URL to access the objects. When you access the URLs,you are prompted to authenticate with a user account if you are not alreadysigned in.

Note that the form of this URL is different from the URL for objects thatareshared publicly. When you share a link publicly, the URL is of theform:https://storage.googleapis.com/BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_NAME.This public URL does not require a recipient to authenticate with a validaccount and can be used for non-authenticated access to an object.

Filtering and sorting lists of buckets and objects

In the Google Cloud console list of buckets for a project, you can filter andsort the buckets you see.

• To filter buckets, clickFilter buckets. Then, specify the columnsand values you want to filter by.

• To sort buckets, clickarrow_upwardSort next to the name of the column you want to sort by.

• To improve filtering performance in projects with more than 1,000 buckets, youcan limit filtering options and disable sorting. To do this,clickView options. SelectFilter by name prefix only, and then clickSave. Then, specify the bucket name prefix you want to filter by.

  Note: Projects with more than 1,000 buckets might experience degradedfiltering and sorting performance.

• To switch the list view between live buckets and soft-deleted buckets, clickView options. Then, selectLive buckets only orSoft deleted buckets only.

In the Google Cloud console list of objects for a bucket, you can filter theobjects you see by using theFilter field.

• To filter objects, select theSort and filter option and thenspecify the column and value you want to filter by.

• To filter objects by object name prefix, select theFilter by name prefix only option and then specify the object name prefixyou want to filter by.

• To sort objects, clickarrow_upwardSort next to the name of the column you want to sort by.

Filtering and sorting only applies to objects and folders in the currentpath being displayed. For example, if you're viewing the top-level of a bucket,filtering and sorting don't return objects contained in folders.

• Large scale data transfers to and from the bucket using Storage Transfer Service

  Storage Transfer Service is a service that lets you transfer large volumes ofdata between your bucket and other storage options, such asyour on-premises file system, other buckets, or other cloud providers.

  You can initiate a transfer by clicking theTransfer data drop-down intheObjects tab, selecting eitherTransfer data in orTransfer data out, and following the instructions.

• Scanning the bucket for sensitive data using Sensitive Data Protection

  Sensitive Data Protection is a service that lets you identify andprotect sensitive data in your buckets, such as credit card numbers, IPIP addresses, and other forms of personally identifiable information (PII).

  For a list of the types of data Sensitive Data Protection detects,see theInfotype detector reference.

  You can initiate a Sensitive Data Protection scan for a bucket byclicking theOther services drop-down in theObjects tab, selectingInspect for sensitive data, and following the instructions. For a guideto performing a Sensitive Data Protection scan on a bucket, seeInspecting a Cloud Storage location.

• Exporting data from the bucket to Pub/Sub

  Pub/Sub is a messaging service that lets you notifysubscribers about events that occur for your Google Cloud resources.Pub/Sub supports receiving event records that are stored as textfiles in your bucket and publishing them to a Pub/Sub topic.

  You can create an export job for a bucket by clicking theOther servicesdrop-down in theObjects tab, selectingExport data to Pub/Sub, andfollowing the instructions. For more information, seeCloud Storage text to Pub/Sub (Batch) template.

• Processing data in the bucket using Cloud Run functions

  Cloud Run functions is a service that lets you specify code that shouldrun when certain events occur within the bucket. For example, you couldcreate a Java function that runs every time an object in the bucket isdeleted.

  You can define a function for a bucket by clicking theOther servicesdrop-down in theObjects tab, selectingProcess data, and followingthe instructions.