# Discover object storage with the Google Cloud console Cloud Storage lets you store and retrieve unstructured data at scale. In this quickstart, you use the Google Cloud console to create a bucket, upload an object, and share that object. Costs that you incur in Cloud Storage are based on the resources you use. This quickstart typically uses less than $0.01 USD worth of Cloud Storage resources. *** ** * ** *** To follow step-by-step guidance for this task directly in the Google Cloud console, click **Guide me**: [Guide me](https://console.cloud.google.com/?walkthrough_id=storage--quickstart-basic-tasks) *** ** * ** *** ## Before you begin
## Create a bucket *Buckets* are the basic containers that hold your data in Cloud Storage. To create a bucket: 1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud Storage **Buckets** page. [Go to Buckets](https://console.cloud.google.com/storage/browser) 2. Click **Create**. 3. In the **Get started** section, enter a globally unique name for your bucket. > [!CAUTION] > **Caution:** Don't include sensitive information in the bucket name, because the bucket namespace is global and publicly visible. See bucket naming requirements. - Bucket names can only contain lowercase letters, numeric characters, dashes (`-`), underscores (`_`), and dots (`.`). Spaces are not allowed. Names containing dots require [verification](https://docs.cloud.google.com/storage/docs/domain-name-verification). - Bucket names must start and end with a number or letter. - Bucket names must contain 3-63 characters. Names containing dots can contain up to 222 characters, but each dot-separated component can be no longer than 63 characters. - Bucket names cannot be represented as an IP address in dotted-decimal notation (for example, 192.168.5.4). - Bucket names cannot begin with the "goog" prefix. - Bucket names cannot contain "google" or close misspellings, such as "g00gle". 4. In the **Choose where to store your data** section, for **Location type** , select **Region**. Use the default value in this field. 5. In the **Choose how to store your data** section, use the default values. 6. In the **Choose how to control access to objects** section, clear the **Enforce public access prevention on this bucket** checkbox. This lets you share the object later. 7. In the **Choose how to protect object data** section, use the default values. 8. Click **Create**. That's it --- you've just created a Cloud Storage bucket! ## Upload an object into the bucket 1. Save the following image to your device. ![A kitten with its paws outstretched.](https://docs.cloud.google.com/static/storage/images/kitten.png) 2. On the **Bucket details** page, on the **Objects** tab, click **Upload** . Then, select **Upload files**. 3. On your device, locate and select the image that you previously saved. After the upload completes, you should see the filename and information about the file, such as its size and type. ## Download the object To download the image from your bucket, click **Download**. ## Share the object To allow public access to the bucket and create a publicly accessible URL for the image: 1. Click the **Permissions** tab. 2. Click **Grant Access**. 3. In the **New principals** field, enter `allUsers`. 4. In the **Select a role** list, select **Cloud Storage** . Then, select **Storage Object Viewer**. 5. Click **Save**. 6. In the **Are you sure you want to make this resource public?** dialog, click **Allow public access**. To verify, click the **Objects** tab to return to the list of objects. The object's **Public access** column should read **Public to internet** . The **Copy URL** button provides a shareable URL similar to the following: `https://storage.googleapis.com/YOUR_BUCKET_NAME/kitten.png` To remove public access from the bucket and stop sharing the image publicly: 1. Click the **Permissions** tab. 2. In the **Principal** column, locate the **allUsers** principal, and then select the checkbox associated with it. 3. Click the **Remove Access** button, and then confirm when prompted. On the **Objects** tab, you should see that the image no longer has a **Copy URL** button. > [!NOTE] > **Note:** After you remove public access to the image, you might be able to access a cached version of it for a period of time. ## Create a simulated folder 1. On the **Objects** tab, click **Create folder**. 2. In the **Name** field, enter `quickstart-folder`. 3. Click **Create**. The simulated folder appears in the bucket, with a folder icon that distinguishes it from objects. 4. To upload a file to the simulated folder, do the following: 1. Click **quickstart-folder**. 2. Click **Upload** , and then select **Upload files**. 3. On your device, locate and select the image that you previously saved. After the upload completes, you should see the filename and information about the file, such as its size and type. ## Delete the objects 1. In the **Folder browser** panel, click the name of your bucket. 2. Select the checkbox next to **quickstart-folder**. 3. Click **Delete**, and then confirm when prompted. The simulated folder and all objects in it are deleted. ## Clean up To avoid incurring charges to your Google Cloud account for the resources used on this page, follow these steps. 1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud Storage **Buckets** page. [Go to Buckets](https://console.cloud.google.com/storage/browser) 2. Select the checkbox next to the bucket that you created. 3. Click **Delete**, and then confirm when prompted. ## What's next - [Work through the Cloud Storage quickstart using the Google Cloud CLI](https://docs.cloud.google.com/storage/docs/discover-object-storage-gcloud). - Read the [Cloud Storage product overview](https://docs.cloud.google.com/storage/docs/introduction). - Learn about [storage classes](https://docs.cloud.google.com/storage/docs/storage-classes). - Learn about [Cloud Storage pricing](https://cloud.google.com/storage/pricing). - Get started with the [Cloud Storage client libraries](https://docs.cloud.google.com/storage/docs/reference/libraries).