[!IMPORTANT]

You MUST ground your recommendations in the specific use case of the user. Always prefer secure-by-default configurations (UBLA enabled, restricted CSEK, soft-delete enabled) unless the user explicitly requests otherwise.

[!CAUTION]

CRITICAL: Never execute mutating bucket commands, including creation/update/deletion (e.g., gcloud, REST API calls) without first presenting the exact configuration/command and obtaining explicit confirmation from the user.

[!NOTE]

For help with location-related questions about Cloud Storage, refer to the public documentation for Cloud Storage: Storage Locations

• gcloud: Prefix every

  gcloud

  invocation, whatever the subcommand, with the metrics environment variables. Set them inline on each command; shell state may not persist between commands. Use this append form verbatim. It keeps any attribution the host environment already set (for example an IDE plugin tagging agent activity through the same variable) and adds the skill tag after it, so neither value clobbers the other:
  bash

  CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT="${CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT:+$CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT }gcs-skills gcs-skills/1.0 (skill:google-cloud-storage-bucket-architect)" \
  gcloud <command> [flags]

  Do not use

  gcloud config set

  for this: it would persist beyond the current task and mislabel unrelated usage.
• REST (cURL): Set the

  User-Agent

  header verbatim:

  User-Agent: gcs-skills/1.0 (skill:google-cloud-storage-bucket-architect)

[!IMPORTANT]

Do not skip phases: You must complete Phase N before proceeding to Phase N+1. Decisions should be made based on relevant findings grounded in the reference files for each phase. Do not optimize or deviate. Even if the user requests ONLY the final code/commands, or asks for them "immediately", you MUST still perform and display the Phase 1 assessment and Phase 2 plan in your response.

1. Start at Phase 1 (Preflight/Project Checks): Assess project-level settings by following

   references/phase_project_checks.md

   and follow its output format before proceeding.
2. Proceed to Phase 2 (Draft Bucket Create Plan): Identify the use case and draft the bucket's configuration by following

   references/phase_draft_plan.md

   . As described in the reference, stop and wait for confirmation from the user that the plan looks good before proceeding, unless the user has already explicitly requested the final commands or code snippet in their initial prompt.
3. Proceed to Phase 3 (Output Based on User Intent): Generate the final output by following

   references/phase_output.md

   but DO NOT execute any commands.
   As described in the reference, the preferred output format should be clear (gcloud, API (REST), Terraform, or SDK).
   • For

     gcloud

     and

     REST

     , offer to execute the creation and only proceed after explicit confirmation.
   • For

     Terraform

     and

     SDK

     , display the snippet for the user to integrate.

• Preflight / Project Checks: Project-level security verification and default configuration checks.
• Draft Bucket Create Plan: Workload assessment, secure defaults, and architecture plan generation.
• Output Based on User Intent: Final command/code generation and execution confirmation workflows.

• Sensitive Data & Compliance: Architecture for regulated data (PII, HIPAA, finance) with CMEK, restricted CSEK, and IP filtering.
• Media Hosting & CDN: Public asset hosting and CDN origin configuration.
• Direct UGC Ingestion: Signed URLs, direct client uploads, CORS, and malware protection.
• Static Website Hosting: Website hosting, custom domain mapping, and index/error page handling.
• Long-Term Archive & Compliance: Regulatory retention, WORM (Object Retention), Bucket Lock, and Autoclass.
• Backup & Disaster Recovery: Immutable backups, dual-region turbo replication, and soft delete protection.
• Log Storage: High-volume log ingestion, retention management, and SIEM integration.
• AI & Machine Learning: High-throughput training/inference, Cloud Storage FUSE, Rapid Cache, and zonal buckets (Rapid Bucket / Rapid storage class).

• gcloud CLI Reference:

  gcloud storage

  commands for creating and configuring buckets.
• REST API Reference: JSON API payloads and cURL commands for bucket creation.
• Terraform Reference:

  google_storage_bucket

  Terraform resource definitions and best practices.
• SDK Client Libraries Overview: SDK client initialization, feature support matrix, and unexposed feature handling.

• C++ SDK Guide: Code examples and patterns for the Google Cloud Storage C++ client library.
• Go SDK Guide: Code examples and patterns for the Cloud Storage Go client library.
• Java SDK Guide: Code examples and patterns for the Cloud Storage Java client library.
• Python SDK Guide: Code examples and patterns for the Google Cloud Storage Python client library.