# ☁️ How I Downloaded 85 Videos From Google's Open Cloud Bucket — With 20 Lines of Python **URL:** \ **Category:** Tutorials & Methods\ **Tags:** learning, tips-tricks\ **Created:** [February 4, 2026, 10:26am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/how-i-downloaded-85-videos-from-googles-open-cloud-bucket-with-20-lines-of-python/317903 "2026-02-04T10:26:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Orkut](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/orkut/32/166852_2.png) [@Orkut](https://onehack.st/u/Orkut)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2026, 10:26am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/how-i-downloaded-85-videos-from-googles-open-cloud-bucket-with-20-lines-of-python/317903/1 "2026-02-04T10:26:58Z")
# ☁ How I Downloaded 85 Free Videos From Google’s Public Cloud — With a Simple Python Script Google left a bucket of videos sitting in the open. I wrote 20 lines of Python to grab them all. No hacking. No passwords. No “exploits.” Just a public storage folder that anyone can access — and a script to automate the download. Here’s how it works and what you can learn from it. * * * ### 🗺 The Backstory — How I Found This Google has a showcase called **Flow TV** — a public demo site showing off video content: - 🔗 [https://labs.google/flow/tv/](https://labs.google/flow/tv/) While watching, I got curious. Where are these videos actually stored? So I did what any nosy person would do — I looked at the video URL. It pointed back to something called a **Google Cloud Storage bucket**. Think of it like a public folder on Google’s servers. And this one? Wide open. No login required. No password. Just… files sitting there for anyone to grab. * * * > **☁️ WTF Is a Cloud Storage Bucket? (Dumb-Proof Explanation)** > > Imagine Google Drive — but for developers and companies. > > Instead of sharing files through a link like normal humans, companies store their images, videos, and data in these “buckets” on Google’s cloud servers. Each bucket has a URL, and inside it are files (called “objects”). > > **The important part:** Buckets can be set to **public** (anyone can see everything) or **private** (locked down, needs a key). > > This bucket? **Public.** No lock on the door. The files inside were video assets Google uses for their Flow TV demo — and the bucket listing was readable by anyone who knew the URL. > > That means you could: > > - See every file stored in the bucket > - Read metadata about each file (size, name, date) > - Download any file directly > > No tricks. That’s just how public buckets work. * * * ## 🔍 What I Found The bucket URL: ```auto https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-tveo-website.appspot.com/ ``` When you visit a public GCS bucket, it returns an **XML file** — basically a structured list of everything stored inside. Each file entry looks something like this: ```xml videos/some-video-name.mp4 12345678 2025-01-15T10:30:00Z ``` **Key** = the file path. **Size** = file size. That’s your download list right there. The pattern to build a download link: ```auto https://storage.googleapis.com/{bucket-name}/{object-key} ``` So for every `.mp4` file listed in that XML → build the URL → download it. That’s it. **Result:** ~85 publicly accessible videos. All downloadable. All legit. * * * ## 🐍 The Python Script (20 Lines) This script reads the XML listing, finds every `.mp4` file, builds the download URL, and grabs them all automatically. > **📜 Full Script — Copy & Run** > > ```python > import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET > import requests > import os > > BUCKET = "https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-tveo-website.appspot.com/" > OUTPUT_DIR = "videos" > os.makedirs(OUTPUT_DIR, exist_ok=True) > > tree = ET.parse("videos.xml") > root = tree.getroot() > ns = {"ns": "http://doc.s3.amazonaws.com/2006-03-01"} > > for contents in root.findall("ns:Contents", ns): > key = contents.find("ns:Key", ns).text > if not key.endswith(".mp4"): > continue > > url = BUCKET + key > local_path = os.path.join(OUTPUT_DIR, key) > os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(local_path), exist_ok=True) > > print(f"Downloading: {key}") > r = requests.get(url, stream=True) > if r.status_code == 200: > with open(local_path, "wb") as f: > for chunk in r.iter_content(8192): > f.write(chunk) > else: > print(f"Failed: {url}") > > ``` > **🧩 What Each Part Does — For People Who Don't Code** > > | Line | What It Does (In English) | > | --- | --- | > | `import ...` | Loads the tools the script needs — XML reader, web downloader, file manager | > | `BUCKET = "..."` | The address of Google’s public storage folder | > | `OUTPUT_DIR = "videos"` | Creates a “videos” folder on your computer to save downloads | > | `tree = ET.parse("videos.xml")` | Opens the XML file (the list of everything in the bucket) | > | `for contents in root.findall(...)` | Loops through every file listed in the XML | > | `if not key.endswith(".mp4")` | Skips anything that isn’t a video file | > | `url = BUCKET + key` | Builds the full download link for each video | > | `requests.get(url, stream=True)` | Downloads the video in small chunks (so it doesn’t eat all your RAM) | > | `with open(...) as f:` | Saves each chunk to a file on your computer | > | `print(f"Failed: {url}")` | Tells you if a download didn’t work | > > **That’s the entire script.** Read a list → filter for videos → download each one. No magic. > **▶️ How to Actually Run This** > > **You need:** > > - Python 3 installed on your computer > - The `requests` library (run `pip install requests` in terminal) > > **Steps:** > > 1. Visit the bucket URL in your browser — it’ll show you the raw XML > 2. Save that page as `videos.xml` in a folder > 3. Save the Python script above as `download.py` in the same folder > 4. Open terminal/command prompt in that folder > 5. Run: `python download.py` > 6. Watch 85 videos download automatically into the `videos` folder > > Takes a few minutes depending on your internet speed. That’s it. * * * ## 🧠 What You Can Learn From This This isn’t about “getting free videos.” The videos themselves aren’t that interesting — they’re demo content for a Google showcase. **The real value is understanding:** - **How cloud storage works** — companies store assets in buckets, and sometimes those buckets are public - **How media delivery pipelines operate** — websites load videos from cloud storage, not from the website server itself - **How to turn manual curiosity into automation** — instead of clicking 85 links one by one, 20 lines of Python does it in minutes - **How XML metadata works** — structured data that lists everything in a storage system, readable by code - **Why bucket security matters** — if you’re ever building something with cloud storage, this is why you lock your buckets down * * * > **⚠️ Important Disclaimer** > > - This was a **public bucket** — no authentication, no bypassing, no scraping > - Accessing publicly listed files on a public URL is the same as visiting any website > - This is a **learning exercise** — not a vulnerability report or a “hack” > - The script only works on **publicly readable** buckets — private buckets will just return an access denied error > - If you work with GCS, AWS S3, or Azure Blob Storage — **audit your bucket permissions**. Misconfigured public buckets are one of the most common cloud security mistakes * * * **20 lines of Python. 85 videos. Zero passwords. That’s what happens when a storage bucket is left open. 🪣**