---
title: Use Google Cloud Storage for object storage
description: Use Google Cloud Storage as the object store for your InfluxDB 3 Core instance.
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/core/object-storage/gcs/
estimated_tokens: 1039
product: InfluxDB 3 Core
version: core
publisher: InfluxData
canonical: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/core/object-storage/gcs/
date: '2026-08-27T09:54:30-05:00'
lastmod: '2026-08-27T09:54:30-05:00'
---

Use [Google Cloud Storage](https://cloud.google.com/storage) as the object
store for your InfluxDB 3 Core instance.

* [Object store requirements](#object-store-requirements)
* [Create a Cloud Storage bucket](#create-a-cloud-storage-bucket)
* [Create a service account](#create-a-service-account)
* [Configure InfluxDB to connect to Google Cloud Storage](#configure-influxdb-to-connect-to-google-cloud-storage)
* [Confirm the object store is working](#confirm-the-object-store-is-working)

## Object store requirements

InfluxDB 3 Core depends on strict object store consistency semantics—
strong read-after-write and list-after-write consistency, and conditional PUT
(PUT-if-not-exists) support.
Your Google Cloud Storage bucket must provide these semantics.
See [Object store requirements](../#object-store-requirements) for the full
list of semantics InfluxDB 3 Core depends on and how to verify your
object store meets them.

## Create a Cloud Storage bucket

1. Sign in to the[Google Cloud Storage console](https://console.cloud.google.com/storage/browser).
2. Click **Create bucket**.
3. Enter a bucket name–for example, `influxdb3`–and choose a location and
   storage class.
4. Keep the default access control settings unless your organization
   requires otherwise, and click **Create**.

Alternatively, use the[gcloud CLI](https://cloud.google.com/sdk/gcloud/reference/storage/buckets/create)to create a bucket:

```bash
gcloud storage buckets create gs://influxdb3 --project=GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT
```

## Create a service account

Create a service account with permission to read from and write to your
bucket, and download a JSON key for it:

1. In the[IAM & Admin console](https://console.cloud.google.com/iam-admin/serviceaccounts),
   create a new service account (or use an existing one).
2. Grant the service account the **Storage Object Admin**(`roles/storage.objectAdmin`) role on your bucket.
3. Under **Keys**, create a new JSON key and download it.
   Save the JSON key file–you provide its path to configure
   InfluxDB 3 Core.

> [!Tip]
> In production, prefer[workload identity federation](https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/workload-identity-federation)over a downloaded JSON key where your deployment environment supports it.

## Configure InfluxDB to connect to Google Cloud Storage

To use your Cloud Storage bucket as the object store for your
InfluxDB 3 Core instance, provide the following options or environment
variables with the `influxdb3 serve` command:

#### Command options ####

* `--node-id`: Your InfluxDB 3 Core node ID (`INFLUXDB_NODE_ID`)
* `--object-store`: `google`
* `--bucket`: `influxdb3`
* `--google-service-account`: Path to your service account JSON key file
  (`/path/to/service-account.json`)

```
influxdb3 serve \

--node-id INFLUXDB_NODE_ID \
  --object-store google \
  --bucket influxdb3 \
  --google-service-account /path/to/service-account.json
```

* `INFLUXDB3_NODE_ID`: Your InfluxDB 3 Core node ID (`INFLUXDB_NODE_ID`)
* `INFLUXDB3_OBJECT_STORE`: `google`
* `INFLUXDB3_BUCKET`: `influxdb3`
* `GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT`: Path to your service account JSON key file

```

export INFLUXDB3_NODE_ID=INFLUXDB_NODE_ID
export INFLUXDB3_OBJECT_STORE=google
export INFLUXDB3_BUCKET=influxdb3
export GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT=/path/to/service-account.json

influxdb3 serve
```

## Confirm the object store is working

When InfluxDB 3 Core starts, it seeds your Cloud Storage bucket with the
necessary directory structure and begins storing data there. Confirm the
object store is functioning properly:

1. View the `influxdb3 serve` log output to confirm that the server is
   running correctly.

2. Inspect the contents of your bucket to confirm the necessary directory
   structure is created–for example, using the gcloud CLI:

   ```
   gcloud storage ls gs://influxdb3
   ```

#### Related

* [Create a bucket (Google Cloud docs)](https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/creating-buckets)
* [InfluxDB 3 Core configuration options](/influxdb3/core/reference/config-options/)

[object storage](/influxdb3/core/tags/object-storage/)[Google Cloud Storage](/influxdb3/core/tags/google-cloud-storage/)