GCloud CLI
Core Capability: Manage Google Cloud Platform resources and services from the command line.
Quick Start
bash# Install curl https://sdk.cloud.google.com | bash exec -l $SHELL # Verify gcloud version # Check auth gcloud auth list # Set project gcloud config set project PROJECT_ID # Show current config gcloud config list
THE EXACT PROMPT — Auth & Config
# Login interactively gcloud auth login # Service account auth gcloud auth activate-service-account --key-file=key.json # Application default credentials gcloud auth application-default login # Set project gcloud config set project PROJECT_ID # Set region/zone gcloud config set compute/region us-central1 gcloud config set compute/zone us-central1-a # Named configurations gcloud config configurations create my-config gcloud config configurations activate my-config
THE EXACT PROMPT — Compute Engine
# List VMs gcloud compute instances list # Create VM gcloud compute instances create my-vm \ --zone=us-central1-a \ --machine-type=e2-medium \ --image-family=debian-12 \ --image-project=debian-cloud # SSH to VM gcloud compute ssh my-vm --zone=us-central1-a # Stop/start gcloud compute instances stop my-vm --zone=us-central1-a gcloud compute instances start my-vm --zone=us-central1-a
THE EXACT PROMPT — Cloud Run
# List services gcloud run services list # Deploy from source gcloud run deploy my-service --source . --region=us-central1 # Deploy container gcloud run deploy my-service \ --image=gcr.io/PROJECT/IMAGE \ --region=us-central1 \ --allow-unauthenticated # View logs gcloud run services logs read my-service --region=us-central1
THE EXACT PROMPT — Cloud Storage
# List buckets gcloud storage buckets list # Create bucket gcloud storage buckets create gs://my-bucket --location=us-central1 # Upload/download gcloud storage cp local-file.txt gs://my-bucket/ gcloud storage cp gs://my-bucket/file.txt ./ # Sync directory gcloud storage rsync -r ./local-dir gs://my-bucket/remote-dir
Essential Commands
| Service | List | Create | Delete |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compute | gcloud compute instances list | gcloud compute instances create | gcloud compute instances delete |
| Cloud Run | gcloud run services list | gcloud run deploy | gcloud run services delete |
| Functions | gcloud functions list | gcloud functions deploy | gcloud functions delete |
| GKE | gcloud container clusters list | gcloud container clusters create | gcloud container clusters delete |
| Storage | gcloud storage buckets list | gcloud storage buckets create | gcloud storage rm |
Output Formatting
bash# JSON output gcloud compute instances list --format=json # Table with specific columns gcloud compute instances list --format="table(name,zone,status)" # Filter results gcloud compute instances list --filter="status=RUNNING" # Quiet mode (no prompts) gcloud compute instances delete my-vm --quiet
Quick Reference
bashgcloud cheat-sheet # Built-in cheat sheet gcloud interactive # Interactive shell gcloud --help # General help gcloud compute --help # Service-specific help
AGENTS.md Blurb
Copy this to your project's AGENTS.md:
markdown### Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) `gcloud` is installed and authenticated. Auth: \`\`\`bash gcloud auth login gcloud auth application-default login # For API libraries \`\`\` Project: \`\`\`bash gcloud config set project <PROJECT_ID> \`\`\` Enable APIs: \`\`\`bash gcloud services enable aiplatform.googleapis.com gcloud services enable analyticsdata.googleapis.com \`\`\` Useful commands: \`\`\`bash gcloud projects list gcloud services list --enabled gcloud beta billing accounts list \`\`\`
When to Use
- Enabling APIs for Gemini, Vertex AI, or other Google services
- Managing billing and cost alerts
- Creating service accounts for CI/CD
- Deploying containers to Cloud Run
- Managing GKE clusters
References
| Topic | Reference |
|---|---|
| All services | SERVICES.md |
| IAM & Security | IAM.md |


