To list the objects in a bucket you make a GET request that is scoped to a bucket. You can also use query string parameters to further scope the request. The request returns the list of objects in an XML document in the response body, and objects in the list are ordered lexicographically by name.
You must have bucket READ permission to get the list of objects that are in a bucket, and you must have bucket FULL_CONTROL permission to list a bucket's ACLs or CORS.
You can restrict and organize the list of objects returned in a GET Bucket request by using the delimiter, max-keys, and prefix query string parameters.
Query string parameters
| Parameter | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
continuation-token2 | An encoded representation of an object name and generation number, given in the NextContinuationToken element of a previous object listing response. Only objects whose names are lexicographically greater than the object represented by the continuation-token are returned in the list of objects. | No |
delimiter | A character or multiple characters that can be used to simplify a list of objects that use a directory-like naming scheme. Can be used in conjunction with a prefix. | No |
encoding-type | When set to url, object names are URL-encoded in the response. | No |
fetch-owner2 | A lowercase boolean indicating whether or not to include Owner information for objects in the listing. | No |
generation-marker1 | The object generation after which you want to start listing objects. If you use generation-marker, you must also use marker. | No |
key-marker1 | The object name after which you want to start listing objects. Objects whose names are lexicographically greater than the key-marker are returned in the list of objects. | No |
list-type | An indicator of which version of object listing your request is using. The default value is 1. | No |
marker1 | The object name after which you want to start listing objects. Objects whose names are lexicographically greater than the marker are returned in the list of objects. | No |
max-keys | The maximum number of objects to return in a single list object response. Note that fewer objects than max-keys may be returned so IsTruncated should always be checked. | No |
prefix | A string that can be used to limit the number of objects that are returned in a GET Bucket request to only those whose names begin with the specified value. Can be used in conjunction with a delimiter. | No |
start-after2 | The object name after which you want to start listing objects. Objects whose names are lexicographically greater than the start-after are returned in the list of objects. If you include continuation-token in your request as well, start-after is ignored. | No |
version-id-marker1 | The object generation after which you want to start listing objects. If you use version-id-marker, you must also use key-marker. | No |
versions | If specified on a versioned bucket, returns the list of all object versions. If omitted, only lists current versions. | No |
1 This query parameter is not valid for requests that include list-type=2.
2 This query parameter is only valid for requests that include list-type=2.
See signed URL query string parameters for information on the parameters you include when creating and using signed URLs.
Request headers
In addition to common request headers, the following can be used.
| Header | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
x-goog-interop-list-objects-format | If this header is set to enabled and the request uses the versions parameter, the response returns a list of objects in an interoperable format. If the header is set to disabled, the response returns a list of objects in the legacy format. The default value for x-goog-interop-list-objects-format is disabled. | No |
Request body elements
This request does not include an XML document in the request body.
Request syntax
The following syntax is an example GET Bucket request for listing objects.
GET /?prefix=a_prefix&marker=a_marker&max-keys=max_number_of_keys&delimiter=a_delimiter HTTP/1.1 Host: BUCKET_NAME.storage.googleapis.com Date: DATE Content-Length: 0 Authorization: AUTHENTICATION_STRING
Response headers
The request can return a variety of response headers depending on the request headers you use.
Response body elements
The following response body elements are applicable for GET Bucket requests to list objects.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
ListBucketResult | Container for the object information you are requesting. |
ListVersionsResult3 | Container for the object information you are requesting. |
Name | The bucket name. |
CommonPrefixes | Container for prefixes that satisfy your prefix and delimiter constraints. This container is used only if you specify a delimiter in the request, and duplicate entries are omitted. |
Delimiter | The delimiter that you specified in the request. |
EncodingType2 | The encoding-type that you specified in the request. If this is present in the response, then the response also includes encoded key name values in the Delimiter, Prefix, Key, Marker, and StartAfter response elements. |
MaxKeys | The max-keys that you specified in the request. |
Prefix | The prefix that you specified in the request. |
GenerationMarker1 | The generation-marker that you specified in the request. |
NextGenerationMarker1 | NextGenerationMarker provides the generation of the last object version that was returned. The value of NextGenerationMarker can be provided in the generation-marker query string parameter in a future GET Bucket call to continue listing the bucket after this set of results. Note that the next call might return no results. NextGenerationMarker is returned only when the versions parameter is used in the request and there is also a NextMarker element in the response. If there are no more object versions in the bucket that follow the last object version in the list, NextGenerationMarker is not returned. |
NextVersionIdMarker1 3 | NextVersionIdMarker provides the generation of the last object version that was returned. The value of NextVersionIdMarker can be provided in the version-id-marker query string parameter in a future GET Bucket call to continue listing the bucket after this set of results. Note that the next call might return no results. NextVersionIdMarker is returned only when the versions parameter is used in the request and there is also a NextKeyMarker element in the response. If there are no more object versions in the bucket that follow the last object version in the list, NextVersionIdMarker is not returned. |
Marker1 | The marker that you specified in the request. |
NextMarker1 | NextMarker provides the name of the last object that was returned. The value of NextMarker can be provided in the marker query string parameter in a future GET Bucket call to continue listing the bucket after this set of results. Note that the next call might return no results. If there are no more objects in the bucket that follow the last object in the list, NextMarker is not returned. |
NextKeyMarker1 3 | NextKeyMarker provides the name of the last object that was returned. The value of NextKeyMarker can be provided in the key-marker query string parameter in a future GET Bucket call to continue listing the bucket after this set of results. Note that the next call might return no results. If there are no more objects in the bucket that follow the last object in the list, NextKeyMarker is not returned. |
StartAfter2 | The start-after that you specified in the request. |
ContinuationToken2 | The continuation-token that you specified in the request. |
NextContinuationToken2 | NextContinuationToken is present when IsTruncated is True, and it provides an encoded representation of the last object that was returned. The value of NextContinuationToken can be provided in the continuation-token query string parameter of a future GET Bucket call to continue listing the bucket contents after this set of results. If there are no more objects in the bucket that follow the last object in the list, NextContinuationToken is not returned. |
IsTruncated | Indicates whether there are still more objects to be returned in the next GET Bucket call. The presence of this parameter in the response should always be checked to ensure a complete listing of all the results. |
KeyCount2 | The number of keys returned with this request, which is always less than or equal to any max-keys value specified in the request. |
Contents | Container for object information if versions query parameter is not used. |
Version | Container for object information if versions query parameter is used. |
Key | The name of an object. |
Generation | The generation of the object. |
VersionId3 | The generation of the object. |
MetaGeneration | Generation of the metadata of the object. |
IsLatest | If versions query parameter specified, this is set to true if the object is currently live. Live meaning that if this object is requested without generation, this object is returned. |
LastModified | The date and time that the object metadata was last modified. |
DeletedTime | If versions query parameter was specified, contains the date and time that an object was replaced or deleted for non-current objects (if the bucket has versioning enabled). |
ETag | An HTTP 1.1 entity tag for the object. |
Size | Size of the object in bytes. |
Owner2 | Container for owner information for the object. Relevant only if the bucket does not have uniform bucket-level access enabled, and included only if the request uses fetch-owner=true. |
ID2 | The ID of the owner of the object. The owner is always the uploader of the object. |
DisplayName2 | The name of the owner of the object. The owner is always the uploader of the object. |
KmsKeyName | The name of the KMS key used to encrypt the object. This element is only present if the object is encrypted with Customer-Managed Encryption Keys. |
1 This response element is applicable for requests that do not include list-type=2.
2 This response element is only applicable for requests that include list-type=2.
3 This response element is only applicable for requests that include the query parameter versions and the header x-goog-interop-list-objects-format=enabled.
Examples
The following sample lists the objects in a bucket named travel-maps.
Request
GET / HTTP/1.1 Host: travel-maps.storage.googleapis.com Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:31:56 GMT Content-Length: 0 Content-Type: text/plain Authorization: Bearer ya29.AHES6ZRVmB7fkLtd1XTmq6mo0S1wqZZi3-Lh_s-6Uw7p8vtgSwg
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Length: 4061
Content-Type: application/xml
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:31:57 GMT
Expires: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:31:57 GMT
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<ListBucketResult xmlns='http://doc.s3.amazonaws.com/2006-03-01'>
<Name>travel-maps</Name>
<Prefix></Prefix>
<Marker></Marker>
<IsTruncated>false</IsTruncated>
<Contents>
<Key>europe/france/cannes.pdf</Key>
<Generation>1360887759327000</Generation>
<MetaGeneration>1</MetaGeneration>
<LastModified>2010-02-17T22:11:12.487Z</LastModified>
<ETag>"53fc311c15eda0a031809982ccf92aac"</ETag>
<Size>5061631</Size>
</Contents>
<Contents>
<Key>europe/france/paris.pdf</Key>
<Generation>1360887759329000</Generation>
<MetaGeneration>1</MetaGeneration>
<LastModified>2010-02-17T22:09:57.457Z</LastModified>
<ETag>"53fc311c15eda0a031809982ccf92aac"</ETag>
<Size>5061631</Size>
</Contents>
</ListBucketResult>
The following sample lists the objects in travel-maps, but it restricts the list to 25 objects that begin with the letter "t" and come after "test".
Request
GET /?prefix=t&marker=test&max-keys=25 HTTP/1.1 Host: travel-maps.storage.googleapis.com Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2010 22:58:38 GMT Content-Length: 0 Authorization: Bearer ya29.AHES6ZRVmB7fkLtd1XTmq6mo0S1wqZZi3-Lh_s-6Uw7p8vtgSwg
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:30:40 GMT
Content-Length: 2705
Content-Type: application/xml
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<ListBucketResult xmlns='http://doc.s3.amazonaws.com/2006-03-01'>
<Name>travel-maps</Name>
<Prefix>t</Prefix>
<Marker>test</Marker>
<MaxKeys>25</MaxKeys>
<IsTruncated>false</IsTruncated>
<Contents>
<Key>test_a.jpg</Key>
<Generation>1360887659329000</Generation>
<MetaGeneration>1</MetaGeneration>
<LastModified>2010-02-17T03:12:55.561Z</LastModified>
<ETag>"2281880ef78388266ecd7d4c1b472a0e"</ETag>
<Size>328</Size>
</Contents>
<Contents>
<Key>test_b.jpg</Key>
<Generation>1360887659323000</Generation>
<MetaGeneration>1</MetaGeneration>
<LastModified>2010-02-17T03:12:54.606Z</LastModified>
<ETag>"2281880ef78388266ecd7d4c1b472a0e"</ETag>
<Size>328</Size>
</Contents>
<Contents>
<Key>test_c.jpg</Key>
<LastModified>2010-02-17T03:12:53.734Z</LastModified>
<ETag>"2281880ef78388266ecd7d4c1b472a0e"</ETag>
<Size>328</Size>
</Contents>
</ListBucketResult>
Example using prefix and delimiter
The following example uses a prefix and a delimiter to return a list of objects that are named using a directory-like schema. By using prefix=europe/ and delimiter=/, only those objects that are in the europe/ "directory" are returned. Objects that are in "subdirectories" of the europe directory are not listed, but instead have the leading portion of their names included in the CommonPrefixes elements of the response. The sample assumes that the following objects are contained in a bucket named travel-maps:
- africa/ghana.jpg
- africa/egypt/cairo.jpg
- europe/finland.jpg
- europe/norway.jpg
- europe/france/paris.jpg
- europe/italy/rome.jpg
- europe/sweden/stockholm.jpg
- europe/sweden/stockholm/nordic_museum.jpg
The sample request returns an XML document that lists the following two objects in the Contents element:
- europe/finland.jpg
- europe/norway.jpg
The following europe subdirectories are listed in the CommonPrefixes element:
- europe/france/
- europe/italy/
- europe/sweden/
Request
GET /travel-maps?delimiter=/&prefix=europe/ HTTP/1.1 Host: storage.googleapis.com Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2010 22:58:38 GMT Content-Length: 0 Authorization: Bearer ya29.AHES6ZRVmB7fkLtd1XTmq6mo0S1wqZZi3-Lh_s-6Uw7p8vtgSwg
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:30:40 GMT
Content-Length: 1200
Content-Type: application/xml
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<ListBucketResult xmlns='http://doc.s3.amazonaws.com/2006-03-01'>
<Name>mybucket</Name>
<Prefix>europe/</Prefix>
<Marker />
<IsTruncated>false</IsTruncated>
<Contents>
<Key>europe/finland.jpg</Key>
<Generation>1360887659323000</Generation>
<MetaGeneration>1</MetaGeneration>
<LastModified>2010-02-17T03:12:55.561Z</LastModified>
<ETag>"781e5e245d69b566979b86e28d23f2c7"</ETag>
<Size>10</Size>
</Contents>
<Contents>
<Key>europe/norway.jpg</Key>
<Generation>1360887659323000</Generation>
<MetaGeneration>1</MetaGeneration>
<LastModified>2010-02-17T03:12:55.561Z</LastModified>
<ETag>"781e5e245d69b566979b86e28d23f2c7"</ETag>
<Size>10</Size>
</Contents>
<CommonPrefixes>
<Prefix>europe/france/</Prefix>
</CommonPrefixes>
<CommonPrefixes>
<Prefix>europe/italy/</Prefix>
</CommonPrefixes>
<CommonPrefixes>
<Prefix>europe/sweden/</Prefix>
</CommonPrefixes>
</ListBucketResult>