---
id: google-cloud-common
version: "1.10.0"
license: Apache-2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# google-cloud-common — Google Cloud Common API client library

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 343.0K/mo

## What it is and what it does

google-cloud-common is a foundational library that provides shared protobuf message definitions used across Google Cloud Python client libraries. It centralizes common types—particularly operation metadata structures—that multiple Google Cloud services reference, avoiding duplication and ensuring consistency. The package is a thin wrapper around protobuf definitions compiled for Python, with no significant business logic of its own.

Developers typically do not install this package directly; instead, it arrives as a transitive dependency when installing higher-level Google Cloud client libraries (for services like Compute, Storage, or BigQuery). When needed explicitly, it serves as a reference for the standard message types those services use, allowing direct construction or inspection of operation metadata. It requires Python 3.10 or later and depends on google-api-core, google-auth, grpcio, proto-plus, and protobuf.

Use it for:

- Working with operation metadata structures when building applications that interact with multiple Google Cloud services
- Accessing or constructing OperationMetadata protobuf messages in custom Google Cloud integrations
- Ensuring type consistency across Google Cloud client library versions in monolithic projects

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Provides common protobuf definitions and metadata types for Google Cloud APIs, enabling Python applications to work with standardized operation metadata structures.

Yes, if you are building applications that use Google Cloud client libraries or need to work directly with common operation metadata types. Install it explicitly only if you need direct access to these shared protobuf definitions; otherwise, let it arrive as a transitive dependency. No known security vulnerabilities, permissive license, and active maintenance make it safe to depend on.

## Install

pip install google-cloud-common
uv add google-cloud-common
poetry add google-cloud-common

## Installing google-cloud-common

Before you install: Low install friction with a single wheel distribution. Actively maintained as of 2026-06-03 with recent activity (72 days since last release). Depends on five stable Google Cloud runtime libraries (google-api-core, google-auth, grpcio, proto-plus, protobuf).

License in practice: Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), allowing use in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions beyond attribution and liability disclaimers.

Quickstart:

pip install google-cloud-common

from google.cloud.common_pb2 import OperationMetadata

# Use OperationMetadata protobuf type in your Google Cloud API calls

Requires Python >= 3.10; Python 3.9 and earlier are not supported.

Verify before relying:

- Specific protobuf message types and APIs exported by this package beyond OperationMetadata
- Whether this package is intended for direct use or primarily as a transitive dependency of other Google Cloud libraries
- Performance or memory characteristics when handling large operation metadata structures

## Package facts

- License: Apache-2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 343.0K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

google cloud protobuf definitions, common operation metadata, google cloud api types, cloud operation metadata library, google cloud common types, protobuf google cloud, cloud api metadata handling, google-cloud, protobuf, api-client

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