What this is
gsutil is the Google Cloud command-line tool for reading from and writing to Google Cloud Storage. When your Zeotap source is a Google Cloud Storage bucket, gsutil gives you a scriptable way to push data files into the bucket path Zeotap reads from — an alternative to the browser upload in the Google Cloud Console or a desktop client like Cyberduck. This page walks you through installing the Cloud SDK, authenticating with the G Suite account tied to your source, and copying or listing files under the bucket path Zeotap provisioned for your dataset.
Prerequisites
Before you start, gather the following from your Zeotap source configuration. Open the source in Zeotap to find the Access Details and Path Details sections.
- G Suite account — the account listed under Access Details; you will use it to authenticate the Cloud SDK.
- Project ID — listed under Access Details.
- Bucket path — listed under Path Details (of the form
gs://bucket/path/).
- Role — an Editor account is required to upload files. A Viewer account can only list files that are already in the bucket.
- Python 3 on your machine — recommended for use with
gsutil to avoid pop-ups during tab completion or when pressing Enter.
- Cloud SDK installed — download it from the Cloud SDK site and follow the setup instructions for your operating system.
Upload files with gsutil
1. Authenticate with your G Suite account
In a terminal, run:
A browser window opens. Log in with the G Suite account listed under Access Details for your source, then click Allow so the Cloud SDK can access the account.
2. Set the active project
In the same terminal, run the command below, replacing PROJECT_ID with the project ID listed under Access Details:
If prompted to select a compute region and zone, choose Do not set default zone and Do not set default region.
3. Copy files into the bucket (Editor account)
If your account has the Editor role, use gsutil cp to copy files from your local machine to the bucket path from Path Details. For example:
Replace ~/Desktop/sample.json with the file you want to upload and gs://bucket/path/ with the path from Path Details.
4. List files in the bucket (Viewer account)
If your account has the Viewer role, you cannot upload — you can only list files that are already in the bucket. Use gsutil ls against the path from Path Details:
Verify the upload
To confirm your file landed in the bucket, list the path from Path Details and check that the filename appears in the output:
If you uploaded into a dated sub-path (for example under raw/yyyy/mm/dd), list that specific sub-path instead.
Troubleshooting
For PGP-encrypted sources, upload files only in .pgp format and use the pgpencrypted/sourceid/raw/yyyy/mm/dd folder structure under the bucket. See the PGP encryption reference linked in Next steps for details.
Next steps
Last modified on September 8, 2026
