# Google Cloud Storage Destination Config Reference

<p><a href="https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/destinations/streaming-destinations/google-cloud-storage/" >Google Cloud Storage</a> is an object storage destination. RudderStack batches events and writes them as files into a GCS bucket you own.</p>
<p>In a Google Cloud Storage destination spec:</p>
<ul>
<li><code>type: gcs</code></li>
<li><code>definition_version: 1</code></li>
</ul>
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<h2 id="sample-configuration">Sample configuration</h2><div class="rs-code">
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  <div class="highlight"><pre class="chroma"><code class="language-yaml" data-lang="yaml">version: rudder/v1
kind: destination
metadata:
  name: gcs-events-prod
spec:
  id: gcs-events-prod
  display_name: GCS Events Production
  type: gcs
  definition_version: 1
  enabled: true
  config:
    bucket_name: rudder-events-prod
    prefix: rudder/events
    credentials: &#34;{{ .GCS_CREDENTIALS }}&#34;

    connection_mode:
      web: cloud
      cloud: cloud
    consent_management:
      web:
        - provider: oneTrust
          consents:
            - analytics</code></pre></div>
</div>
<p>The above example supplies the service account key through a variable, which is how you should always set <code>credentials</code> — see <a href="#secrets" >Secrets</a>.</p>
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<h2 id="config-keys">Config keys</h2><p><code>config</code> accepts only the keys listed below. The <a href="https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/dev-tools/rudder-cli/destination-types/#config-key-rules" >shared config key rules</a> cover unknown keys, defaults, and immutability.</p>
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<h3 id="bucket">Bucket</h3><div class="rs-ckeys">
<div class="rs-ckey" id="bucket_name">
  <div class="rs-ckey__title">
    <p class="rs-ckey__name">bucket_name</p>Required</div>
  <p class="rs-ckey__field">
    Type:
    <code>string</code>
  </p>
<p class="rs-ckey__field">
  Description:
  Name of the GCS bucket RudderStack writes event files to. The bucket must already exist.
</p>

<div class="rs-ckey__notes">
  <p class="rs-ckey__field">Notes:</p>
  <ul>
<li>At most 100 characters, and must not contain line breaks.</li>
<li>A <code>{{ path || fallback }}</code> template is accepted in place of a literal, and isn&rsquo;t measured against the length limit.</li>
</ul>

</div>

</div>

<div class="rs-ckey" id="prefix">
  <div class="rs-ckey__title">
    <p class="rs-ckey__name">prefix</p></div>
  <p class="rs-ckey__field">
    Type:
    <code>string</code>
  </p>
<p class="rs-ckey__field">
  Description:
  Folder prefix inside the bucket. RudderStack writes all files beneath it.
</p>

<div class="rs-ckey__notes">
  <p class="rs-ckey__field">Notes:</p>
  <ul>
<li>At most 100 characters, and must not contain line breaks.</li>
<li>Templates are accepted on the same terms as <code>bucket_name</code>.</li>
</ul>

</div>

</div>

</div>

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<h3 id="authentication">Authentication</h3><div class="rs-ckeys">
<div class="rs-ckey" id="credentials">
  <div class="rs-ckey__title">
    <p class="rs-ckey__name">credentials</p>Secret</div>
  <p class="rs-ckey__field">
    Type:
    <code>string</code>
  </p>
<p class="rs-ckey__field">
  Description:
  Contents of the JSON key file for a GCP service account that can create objects in the bucket.
</p>

<div class="rs-ckey__notes">
  <p class="rs-ckey__field">Notes:</p>
  <ul>
<li>Rudder CLI doesn&rsquo;t require this key and doesn&rsquo;t validate its content.</li>
</ul>

</div>

<div class="rs-ckey__extra">
  <p>Supply it as a <code>{{ .VAR }}</code> reference rather than a literal — see <a href="#secrets" >Secrets</a>.</p>
<p>See <a href="https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/destinations/streaming-destinations/google-cloud-storage/#setting-up-google-cloud-storage" >Setting up Google Cloud Storage</a> for how to create the service account and its key.</p>

</div>

</div>

</div>

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<h3 id="per-source-keys">Per-source keys</h3><p>Both keys are objects keyed by the local source type — the tokens listed under <a href="#source-types" >Source types</a>. A key naming a source type this destination doesn&rsquo;t support fails validation.</p>
<div class="rs-ckeys">
<div class="rs-ckey" id="connection_mode">
  <div class="rs-ckey__title">
    <p class="rs-ckey__name">connection_mode</p></div>
  <p class="rs-ckey__field">
    Type:
    <code>object</code>
  </p>
<p class="rs-ckey__field">
  Description:
  Maps each source type you connect to the mode its events reach GCS in, using the modes in <a href="#source-types" >Source types</a>.
</p>

<div class="rs-ckey__notes">
  <p class="rs-ckey__field">Notes:</p>
  <ul>
<li>An entry is required for each source type you connect — see <a href="#connect-a-source" >Connect a source</a>.</li>
</ul>

</div>

<div class="rs-ckey__extra">
  <div class="rs-code">
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  <div class="highlight"><pre class="chroma"><code class="language-yaml" data-lang="yaml">connection_mode:
  web: cloud
  cloud: cloud</code></pre></div>
</div>

</div>

</div>

<div class="rs-ckey" id="consent_management">
  <div class="rs-ckey__title">
    <p class="rs-ckey__name">consent_management</p></div>
  <p class="rs-ckey__field">
    Type:
    <code>object</code>
  </p>
<p class="rs-ckey__field">
  Description:
  Consent provider configuration per source type. The entry shape, accepted providers, and the rules on <code>resolution_strategy</code> and <code>consents</code> are shared across all destination types — see <a href="https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/dev-tools/rudder-cli/destination-types/#consent-management" >Consent management</a>.
</p>

</div>

</div>

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<h2 id="source-types">Source types</h2><p>Google Cloud Storage accepts events from these source types in the mentioned connection modes:</p>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Source type</th>
<th>Connection mode</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><code>android</code></td>
<td><code>cloud</code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>android_kotlin</code></td>
<td><code>cloud</code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>ios</code></td>
<td><code>cloud</code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>ios_swift</code></td>
<td><code>cloud</code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>web</code></td>
<td><code>cloud</code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>unity</code></td>
<td><code>cloud</code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>react_native</code></td>
<td><code>cloud</code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>flutter</code></td>
<td><code>cloud</code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>cordova</code></td>
<td><code>cloud</code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>cloud</code></td>
<td><code>cloud</code></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Every source type is <code>cloud</code> only — events reach the bucket from RudderStack&rsquo;s servers, never in device mode.</p>

<html lang="en">
<blockquote class="info">
  <div class="tip-quote">
    
    <div class="tip-text">The dashboard additionally offers Google Cloud Storage to AMP, Shopify, and Reverse ETL sources. Rudder CLI doesn&rsquo;t manage those connections, so <code>amp</code>, <code>shopify</code>, and <code>warehouse</code> are invalid here.</div>
  </div>
</blockquote>

</html>
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<h2 id="connect-a-source">Connect a source</h2><p>An event stream connection to this destination is checked against two rules at <code>validate</code> time.</p>
<p><strong>The source&rsquo;s type must be supported.</strong> A source&rsquo;s type resolves to one of the tokens above before the check — a JavaScript source resolves to <code>web</code>, and webhook and server-side SDK sources resolve to <code>cloud</code>. An unsupported type reports:</p>
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  <div class="highlight"><pre class="chroma"><code class="language-text" data-lang="text">destination &#39;gcs-events-prod&#39; (type &#39;gcs&#39;) does not support source &#39;my-source&#39;:
source type &#39;amp&#39; is not among supported source types: android, android_kotlin, ...</code></pre></div>
</div>
<p><strong>The destination config must carry a <code>connection_mode</code> entry for that source type.</strong> This lives on the destination spec, not on the <a href="https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/dev-tools/rudder-cli/yaml-connections/" >connection spec</a>. Without it:</p>
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  <div class="highlight"><pre class="chroma"><code class="language-text" data-lang="text">destination &#39;gcs-events-prod&#39; config has no &#39;connection_mode&#39; entry for source type &#39;web&#39;</code></pre></div>
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<p>Google Cloud Storage needs no additional config keys to connect a source of any type.</p>
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<h2 id="secrets">Secrets</h2><p><code>credentials</code> is the only secret key. Write it as a <code>{{ .VAR }}</code> reference and supply the value at apply time:</p>
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  <div class="highlight"><pre class="chroma"><code class="language-yaml" data-lang="yaml">config:
  credentials: &#34;{{ .GCS_CREDENTIALS }}&#34;</code></pre></div>
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  <div class="highlight"><pre class="chroma"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash">export RUDDER_GCS_CREDENTIALS=&#34;$(cat service-account.json)&#34;
rudder-cli apply

# or
rudder-cli apply --var-file secrets.vars.yaml</code></pre></div>
</div>
<p>Note that:</p>
<ul>
<li>The YAML that <code>rudder-cli import</code> writes may or may not include secret keys. Before you apply, make sure every secret key your configuration needs is present and populated through variable substitution.</li>
</ul>
<p>See <a href="https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/dev-tools/rudder-cli/variable-substitution/" >How to Use Variable Substitution in Rudder CLI</a>.</p>
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<h2 id="see-more">See more</h2><ul>
<li><a href="https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/destinations/streaming-destinations/google-cloud-storage/" >Google Cloud Storage Destination</a> for bucket and service account setup</li>
<li><a href="https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/dev-tools/rudder-cli/destination-types/" >Destination Type Reference for Rudder CLI</a> for the rules shared across destination types</li>
<li><a href="https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/dev-tools/rudder-cli/yaml-destinations/" >Destination YAML Reference</a> for the spec envelope</li>
</ul>