Google Cloud Filestore NFS File Browser

Enables autonomous agents and cloud engineers to inspect, search, and read files located on Google Cloud Filestore (NFS) instances without needing local NFS client packages (

nfs-common

), root privileges, or manual VPC network mounting.

Quick Start

Ensure
```
gcloud
```
is installed and authenticated. See gcloud installation guide if needed.

Enable essential APIs:

bash

gcloud services enable file.googleapis.com compute.googleapis.com run.googleapis.com --quiet

Discover instances and choose an execution engine (see Execution Engine Selection below).
Run inspection actions using the self-contained runner
```
scripts/nfs_browser.py
```
included within this skill package.

Attribution

Tag every Cloud Filestore command or API request provided or executed. Prefix

gcloud

commands with the metrics environment targeting this skill:

bash

CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT="gcs-skills gcs-skills/1.0 (skill:google-cloud-filestore-nfs-browser)" \
gcloud filestore instances list ...

On direct HTTP calls to the REST API, append the

User-Agent

User-Agent: gcs-skills/1.0 (skill:google-cloud-filestore-nfs-browser)

Conceptual & Informational Queries (CRITICAL)

For purely conceptual, educational, or architectural questions (e.g., "How do I inspect files on Filestore?", "How to deploy the Serverless Cloud Run NFS Bridge?", "Explain Cloud Run NFS volume mounts"):

Rule: Answer immediately using your pre-trained knowledge and the documentation below. Answering directly minimizes tool invocation latency and token consumption when the user only seeks architecture or workflow guidance.
Constraint: Do not execute external tool calls or API requests for basic knowledge questions.
Bridge Deployment Explanations: Always highlight that Cloud Run scales to zero with $0 idle compute cost, detail the
```
gcloud run deploy
```
command with
```
--add-volume
```
and
```
--vpc-egress=all-traffic
```
, and specify the required IAM permissions (
```
roles/run.invoker
```
for callers and
```
roles/run.admin
```
for deployers).

Handling "No-Command" Constraints (CRITICAL)

If the user prompt contains constraints like "Do not execute commands", "without executing", or "read-only":

Rule: Strictly avoid executing any shell or
gcloud
commands (including read-only discovery or list commands) to respect user-specified execution boundaries and prevent unauthorized environment inspection.
Discovery:
1. Check if mock definitions or instance parameters are provided directly in the user's prompt, conversation history, or local documentation files.
2. Explain the required steps, output the exact commands the user should run with proper attribution, and explain what the commands do.
3. Do not attempt to read or search
```
EVAL.*
```
  configuration files during evaluations as access to eval suites is restricted.

Execution Engine Selection

Filestore instances are accessible via private VPC IPs. Select the engine matching your environment:

Engine 1: Cloud Run Serverless Bridge (Primary): Use
```
--bridge-url={bridge_url}
```
for low-latency (sub-50ms) REST calls. Scales to zero ($0 idle cost). Requires
```
roles/run.invoker
```
. See references/nfs-bridge-setup.md.
Engine 2: GCE Jump Host via IAP SSH (Fallback): Use
```
--jump-host-vm={vm_name}
```
when an existing VM in the VPC is available. Pass
```
--mount={mount_path}
```
(defaulting to
```
/mnt/filestore
```
) if the jump host uses a different mount path. Zero new deployment needed. Requires
```
roles/iap.tunnelResourceAccessor
```
. See references/iap-jump-host.md.

For execution flows, architecture diagrams, and engine comparison, see references/architecture.md.

Core Operational Workflow

1. Discovery & Instance Targeting

If the Filestore instance, location, or share name is not provided, list them first to avoid querying or targeting unrelated projects in multi-project environments:

bash

CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT="gcs-skills gcs-skills/1.0 (skill:google-cloud-filestore-nfs-browser)" \
gcloud filestore instances list --project={project_id}

2. Directory Tree Exploration (

tree

)

Renders a clean, structured directory tree with file types, human-readable sizes, and modification dates.

bash

# List top-level folders with depth 1
python3 scripts/nfs_browser.py tree \
  --project={project_id} \
  --instance={instance_id} \
  --path=/ \
  --depth=1

# List subfolder recursively with depth 2 and pagination cap
python3 scripts/nfs_browser.py tree \
  --project={project_id} \
  --instance={instance_id} \
  --path=/backup/logs/ \
  --depth=2 \
  --max-entries=100

3. File Pattern & Content Grep (

search

)

Searches for filenames matching a glob pattern and/or searches text contents for regex patterns.

bash

# Search for all tar.gz backup archives
python3 scripts/nfs_browser.py search \
  --project={project_id} \
  --instance={instance_id} \
  --path=/backups/ \
  --pattern="*.tar.gz"

# Grep for error patterns inside log files
python3 scripts/nfs_browser.py search \
  --project={project_id} \
  --instance={instance_id} \
  --path=/app/logs/ \
  --pattern="*.log" \
  --grep="FATAL|Exception|OutOfMemory" \
  --max-results=25

4. Chunked File Reading (

read

)

Safely reads text file chunks to protect the LLM context window against token blowup. Always default to a safe chunk size (e.g.,

--head 50

--tail 50

) when the user does not specify an explicit range. Unbounded reads are automatically capped to a safe limit of 100 lines. Always explicitly explain that chunked reading protects the LLM context window from overflow and token exhaustion.

bash

# Read the last 50 lines (tail) of a log file
python3 scripts/nfs_browser.py read \
  --project={project_id} \
  --instance={instance_id} \
  --path=/backup/logs/app.log \
  --tail=50

# Read lines 100 to 200 of a config file
python3 scripts/nfs_browser.py read \
  --project={project_id} \
  --instance={instance_id} \
  --path=/config/settings.yaml \
  --lines=100:200

# Read the first 30 lines (head)
python3 scripts/nfs_browser.py read \
  --project={project_id} \
  --instance={instance_id} \
  --path=/var/log/syslog \
  --head=30

5. File Metadata & Attribute Inspection (

stat

)

Inspects POSIX permissions (

), UID/GID, byte sizes, and timestamps.

bash

python3 scripts/nfs_browser.py stat \
  --project={project_id} \
  --instance={instance_id} \
  --path=/backup/database_dump.tar.gz

Context Window & LLM Safety Rules

Strictly Read-Only Guarantee: This skill is strictly read-only. It provides no write, edit, delete, or truncate capabilities.
Never Dump Entire Large Files: Always request a slice (
```
--lines
```
), head (
```
--head 50
```
), or tail (
```
--tail 50
```
) and explicitly explain that chunked reading protects the LLM context window against token overflow and client timeouts.
Handle Pagination: Tree listings are capped at 100 entries per response. When truncated, the tool outputs a clear
```
[TRUNCATED]
```
notice so the agent can target specific subpaths.
Binary Protection: Non-text files (e.g.
```
.tar.gz
```
,
```
.iso
```
,
```
.so
```
, compiled binaries) are detected via null-byte and magic-byte inspection; raw binary output is suppressed and metadata is displayed instead to prevent context corruption with non-printable characters.
See references/token-safety-guardrails.md for full token guardrail details.

Expected Errors & Recovery Strategies

| Error Type / | Root Cause | Recovery Strategy | : Symptom : : : | :------------------ | :----------------- | :------------------------------------------ | |

FileNotFoundError: | Path does not      | Run

tree --path=/ --depth=2

 to discover   | : File not found

: exist on the NFS : valid directory hierarchies. : : : export. : : |

PermissionError:   | Share POSIX        | Use

stat --path={path}

 to inspect UID/GID | : Permission denied

: permissions : and mode bits; request share admin adjust : : : restrict read : permissions. : : : access. : : |

HTTPException: 403 | Path parameter     | Use clean paths (e.g.

/logs/app.log

)      | : Access denied\:     : contains

../

 or  : anchored to the NFS mount root.             : : path traversal

: a symlink : : : : attempting escape : : : : outside mount : : : : point. : : |

Jump Host          | VM is stopped or   | Verify VM status with

gcloud compute | : connection timed : IAP firewall rule : instances list

 and verify firewall rules   : : out / SSH failed

: (

tcp\:22

from : allow

tcp\:22

from the specific IAP : : :

35.235.240.0/20

) : netblock

35.235.240.0/20

(e.g.,

gcloud   : :                     : is missing.        : compute firewall-rules list                 : :                     :                    : --filter="sourceRanges\:35.235.240.0/20"

). : |

Bridge 404 /       | Cloud Run bridge   | Deploy bridge using                         | : connection error

: not deployed or :

scripts/deploy_bridge.sh

or fall back to : : : URL invalid. : GCE IAP Jump Host via

--jump-host

. :

Reference Directory

For progressive disclosure of deeper topics, consult the

references/

directory:

Multi-Engine Architecture & Execution Flow
Serverless NFS Bridge Setup Guide
GCE Jump Host IAP SSH Guide
Token Safety & Context Guardrails
Troubleshooting & Common Errors

Bundled Scripts & Components

The skill package bundles the following scripts and service components:

```
scripts/nfs_browser.py
```
: Main CLI entrypoint for browsing, searching, reading, and stating NFS exports.
```
scripts/formatters.py
```
: Output formatters for human-readable terminal rendering and token-safe summaries.
```
scripts/jump_host_engine.py
```
: Remote SSH jump host execution engine via Google Cloud IAP tunnel.
```
scripts/nfs_browser_test.py
```
: Comprehensive unit test suite covering formatters, HTTP bridge, and SSH jump host engines.
```
scripts/deploy_bridge.sh
```
: Automated Cloud Run deployment script for the Serverless NFS Bridge.
```
scripts/bridge_server/main.py
```
: FastAPI Cloud Run server implementation for direct NFS mounts.
```
scripts/bridge_server/Dockerfile
```
: Container definition for packaging the Serverless NFS Bridge.
```
scripts/bridge_server/requirements.txt
```
: Python dependencies for the Cloud Run bridge service.

google-cloud-filestore-nfs-browser

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Google Cloud Filestore NFS File Browser

Quick Start

Attribution

Conceptual & Informational Queries (CRITICAL)

Handling "No-Command" Constraints (CRITICAL)

Execution Engine Selection

Core Operational Workflow

1. Discovery & Instance Targeting

2. Directory Tree Exploration (
`tree`
)

3. File Pattern & Content Grep (
`search`
)

4. Chunked File Reading (
`read`
)

5. File Metadata & Attribute Inspection (
`stat`
)

Context Window & LLM Safety Rules

Expected Errors & Recovery Strategies

Reference Directory

Bundled Scripts & Components

google-cloud-filestore-nfs-browser

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Google Cloud Filestore NFS File Browser

Quick Start

Attribution

Conceptual & Informational Queries (CRITICAL)

Handling "No-Command" Constraints (CRITICAL)

Execution Engine Selection

Core Operational Workflow

1. Discovery & Instance Targeting

2. Directory Tree Exploration (tree)

3. File Pattern & Content Grep (search)

4. Chunked File Reading (read)

5. File Metadata & Attribute Inspection (stat)

Context Window & LLM Safety Rules

Expected Errors & Recovery Strategies

Reference Directory

Bundled Scripts & Components

2. Directory Tree Exploration (
`tree`
)

3. File Pattern & Content Grep (
`search`
)

4. Chunked File Reading (
`read`
)

5. File Metadata & Attribute Inspection (
`stat`
)