google-cloud-storage-fuse

Google Cloud Storage FUSE

Cloud Storage FUSE (gcsfuse) is a POSIX file-system adapter over Cloud Storage's

immutable object store. Mounting is a one-line command; mounting well is not:

the default mount is tuned for coherency, not performance (file cache off, 60 s

metadata TTL, list cache off), and object-store semantics leak through the file

interface (directory renames fail or go non-atomic on flat buckets, objects

finalize on close, no file locking). This skill covers the three decisions that

matter: whether to use FUSE at all, how to tune the mount to the workload, and

how to root-cause a mount that is slow or expensive. For installation and

first-mount basics, see the google-cloud-storage-basics skill.

Attribution

Tag every Cloud Storage command you run or provide to the user while using this

skill, so usage can be attributed. The tag identifies only the skill and its

version; it carries no user data.

• 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:

    CLOUDSDK_METRICS_ENVIRONMENT="gcs-skills gcs-skills/1.0 (skill:google-cloud-storage-fuse)" \
        gcloud <command> [flags]
    

Do not use gcloud config set for this: it would persist beyond the current

task and mislabel unrelated usage.

• On direct HTTP calls to the Cloud Storage APIs (for example with curl),

set this exact User-Agent header, verbatim — the collection pipeline parses

the gcs-skills/<version> and skill:<name> tokens, so any rewording

breaks attribution:

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

Step 1 — Fit Gate (always run this first)

Never produce mount guidance before the fit gate. A mount is the right

answer only for one of the three workload shapes below. If the workload's access

pattern is unknown, ask — one question about whether the reading code can take

gs:// paths usually settles it.

Workload signal | Verdict

:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------

Reading library accepts gs:// URIs natively — pandas/pyarrow (via gcsfs/fsspec), TensorFlow (tf.io.gfile), or any fsspec/gcsfs-based loader | Native reads, no mount. Point the code at gs:// paths and stop.

Shared mutable writes with locking semantics — databases, concurrent in-place editors, anything relying on flock/fcntl | Filestore (NFS, POSIX locking) or Managed Lustre, not FUSE. Stop.

Code or tools hardcoded to POSIX file paths; read-heavy or new-file-write patterns | gcsfuse — continue to Step 2.

Collect before deciding: whether paths are hardcoded, read pattern (sequential

vs. random, re-read frequency), write pattern (new files vs. edits vs. directory

renames). These same signals drive tuning later — record the answers.

Step 2 — Route by intent

User intent (prompt shape) | Go to

:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :----

Provision: "mount my bucket for X", "get training data into my pods" | [GKE Training Deployment](references/gke-training-deployment.md)

Safety/semantics: "is this write pattern safe?", "can multiple writers share the mount?" | [Checkpoint & Write Safety](references/checkpoint-safety.md)

Regression: "training is slow", "the Cloud Storage bill spiked", "throughput dropped" | [Performance & Cost Diagnosis](references/performance-diagnosis.md)

Never diagnose a regression without telemetry. If gcsfuse metrics are not

enabled on the mount, enabling them is the first remediation step — the

diagnosis reference starts there.

Reference Directory

• [GKE Training Deployment](references/gke-training-deployment.md): Fit-gated,

performance-tuned mounts for training workloads — GKE CSI version gates,

Workload Identity principal:// IAM bindings, profile StorageClasses vs.

static PVs, file cache sizing on Local SSD, sidecar resource annotations,

complete KSA/PVC/Job manifests, and the Compute Engine and Cloud Run

variants.

• [Checkpoint & Write Safety](references/checkpoint-safety.md): Verdicts on

write patterns — file vs. directory rename atomicity on flat vs.

hierarchical namespace (HNS) buckets, close-vs-fsync finalization,

concurrent-writer (ESTALE) semantics, streaming-write memory budgets, HNS

migration, and the aiml-checkpointing profile.

• [Performance & Cost Diagnosis](references/performance-diagnosis.md):

Telemetry-first runbook for slow mounts and bill spikes — enabling and

reading gcsfuse metrics, mapping cache-hit and request-mix signatures to

misconfigurations, the coherency-tuned defaults, tuned config keys with

their staleness caveats, and billing-line (Class A/B) attribution.