Google Cloud Storage C++ Client Library
The Google Cloud Storage (GCS) C++ Client library offers types and functions access GCS from C++ applications. It offers full access to the GCS API, including operations to list, read, write, and delete GCS objects and buckets . The library also provides functions to modify the IAM permissions on buckets, read and modify the metadata associated with objects and buckets, configure encryption keys, configure notifications via Cloud Pub/Sub, and change the access control list of object or buckets.
Quickstart
The following "Hello World" program should give you a taste of this library. This program is also used to illustrate how to incorporate the library into your project.
#include "google/cloud/storage/client.h"
#include <iostream>
int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
if (argc != 2) {
std::cerr << "Missing bucket name.\n";
std::cerr << "Usage: quickstart <bucket-name>\n";
return 1;
}
std::string const bucket_name = argv[1];
// Create aliases to make the code easier to read.
namespace gcs = ::google::cloud::storage;
// Create a client to communicate with Google Cloud Storage. This client
// uses the default configuration for authentication and project id.
auto client = gcs::Client();
auto writer = client.WriteObject(bucket_name, "quickstart.txt");
writer << "Hello World!";
writer.Close();
if (!writer.metadata()) {
std::cerr << "Error creating object: " << writer.metadata().status()
<< "\n";
return 1;
}
std::cout << "Successfully created object: " << *writer.metadata() << "\n";
auto reader = client.ReadObject(bucket_name, "quickstart.txt");
if (!reader) {
std::cerr << "Error reading object: " << reader.status() << "\n";
return 1;
}
std::string contents{std::istreambuf_iterator<char>{reader}, {}};
std::cout << contents << "\n";
return 0;
}
More Information
- ReadObject() - the function to read object data.
- WriteObject() - the function to write objects.
- InsertObject() - the function to write small objects.
- Error Handling to learn how the library reports run-time errors.
- Environment Variables for environment variables affecting the library. Some of these environment variables enable logging to the console. This can be an effective approach to diagnose runtime problems.
- Override the Default Endpoint
- Override the authentication configuration
- Override the default retry policies
- Writing Tests with a Mock Client shows how to write tests mocking the Client class
- The Setting up your development environment guide describes how to set up a C++ development environment in various platforms, including the Google Cloud C++ client libraries.

