Get a bucket's storage layout

This page describes how to determine the storage layout of your bucket. Storage layout refers to how objects are organized within a bucket, either in a flat namespace or a hierarchical namespace. The layout is important for applications that interact with the bucket, as object access and manipulation methods vary depending on the layout. Storage layout also includes information about the bucket's location.

By using the getStorageLayout API, your application can adapt its behavior based on whether a bucket uses hierarchical namespace or not, ensuring optimal compatibility and leveraging the appropriate features based on the bucket configuration.

Get a bucket's storage layout

Command line

Use the gcloud alpha storage buckets describe command with the --format flag:

gcloud alpha storage buckets describe gs://BUCKET_NAME --raw --format="default(hierarchicalNamespace)"

Where:

  • BUCKET_NAME is the name of the relevant bucket. For example, my-bucket.

If successful and hierarchical namespace is enabled, the response looks similar to the following example:

  hierarchicalNamespace:
    enabled: true

JSON API

  1. Have gcloud CLI installed and initialized, which lets you generate an access token for the Authorization header.

  2. Use cURL to call the JSON API with a getStorageLayout request:

    curl -X GET \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
  "https://storage.googleapis.com/storage/v1/b/BUCKET_NAME/storageLayout"

    Where BUCKET_NAME is the name of the relevant bucket. For example, my-bucket.

    If successful, the response looks like the following example:

      {
      "kind": "storage#storageLayout",
      "bucket": "my-bucket",
      "location": "us-central1",
      "locationType": "region",
      "hierarchicalNamespace":{enabled: true},
  }

What's next

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