gcp-storage-emulator
A stub emulator for the Google Cloud Storage API
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you are actively developing or testing code that uses google-cloud-storage and want to avoid production API calls. The low install friction, active maintenance, and zero known vulnerabilities make it safe to adopt. However, verify that the limited API subset it supports covers your use case—this is explicitly an Alpha tool, not a complete GCS replacement.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires google-cloud-storage client library to be installed separately to use the Python example; the emulator itself requires Python >=3.10
- Low friction install with a single runtime dependency (google-crc32c).
- The package is actively maintained with recent releases and no known vulnerabilities, though it is marked as Alpha status and explicitly documented as supporting only a limited subset of the GCS API.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — Permissive license treatment means you can use this freely in commercial and private projects without license compliance burden.
last release 2026-07-19 (26 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-10 · 202 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 155,388 downloads/mo, #10,816 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install gcp-storage-emulator
from gcp_storage_emulator.server import create_server
import os
from google.cloud import storage
server = create_server("localhost", 9023, in_memory=True, default_bucket="test-bucket")
server.start()
os.environ["STORAGE_EMULATOR_HOST"] = "http://localhost:9023"
client = storage.Client()
bucket = client.bucket("test-bucket")
blob = bucket.blob("test.txt")
blob.upload_from_string("data")
server.stop()- Which specific GCS API operations are supported versus unsupported in this Alpha release
- Performance characteristics when emulating large datasets or high request volumes
- Compatibility guarantees with specific versions of google-cloud-storage client library
What it is and what it does
gcp-storage-emulator is a local stub server that mimics the Google Cloud Storage API, letting you develop and test code that uses GCS without hitting production infrastructure. It runs as either a standalone CLI service (listening on localhost:9023 by default) or as a Python API you can start programmatically from test code. The emulator can store data on disk or in memory, and integrates with the standard google-cloud-storage client by setting the STORAGE_EMULATOR_HOST environment variable.
The package is explicitly a work in progress supporting only a limited subset of the GCS API. It's useful for local iteration and automated testing where you need bucket and blob operations but don't require full API coverage. Data can be wiped via CLI command or HTTP endpoint, and buckets can be created automatically on startup.
Use it for
- Run integration tests for code using google-cloud-storage without external GCS credentials or network calls
- Develop locally against GCS APIs without needing a GCP project or production account
- Automate CI/CD pipelines with in-memory storage to avoid test data persistence and cleanup
- Test bucket creation, blob upload/download, and listing operations in isolation
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you are actively developing or testing code that uses google-cloud-storage and want to avoid production API calls.
The low install friction, active maintenance, and zero known vulnerabilities make it safe to adopt. However, verify that the limited API subset it supports covers your use case—this is explicitly an Alpha tool, not a complete GCS replacement.
Install
gcp-storage-emulator on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction install with a single runtime dependency (google-crc32c). The package is actively maintained with recent releases and no known vulnerabilities, though it is marked as Alpha status and explicitly documented as supporting only a limited subset of the GCS API.
Requires google-cloud-storage client library to be installed separately to use the Python example; the emulator itself requires Python >=3.10
License in practice
Permissive license treatment means you can use this freely in commercial and private projects without license compliance burden.
Quickstart
pip install gcp-storage-emulator
from gcp_storage_emulator.server import create_server
import os
from google.cloud import storage
server = create_server("localhost", 9023, in_memory=True, default_bucket="test-bucket")
server.start()
os.environ["STORAGE_EMULATOR_HOST"] = "http://localhost:9023"
client = storage.Client()
bucket = client.bucket("test-bucket")
blob = bucket.blob("test.txt")
blob.upload_from_string("data")
server.stop()Verify before relying
- Which specific GCS API operations are supported versus unsupported in this Alpha release
- Performance characteristics when emulating large datasets or high request volumes
- Compatibility guarantees with specific versions of google-cloud-storage client library
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packagegoogle-crc32c |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 26 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 155,388 / month, #10,816 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 3 - AlphaIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: BSD LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14 |
Evidence: gcp_storage_emulator-2026.7.19-py3-none-any.whl
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