Topolearngcloud is how you script, automate and reproduce everything you click in the console.
The gcloud CLI (part of the Google Cloud SDK, alongside bq and the legacy gsutil) drives almost every service. Commands follow gcloud GROUP [SUBGROUP] ACTION, e.g. gcloud compute instances list.
Getting set up:
gcloud initsigns you in and picks a default project and region.gcloud auth loginauthenticates the CLI itself as your user.gcloud config set project IDandgcloud config set compute/region europe-west1set defaults, so you can omit--projectand--region.
Configurations are named sets of these properties. Create one per context (dev, prod, a client) and switch with gcloud config configurations activate prod. Pass --configuration or --project for one-off commands.
A service must be enabled in a project before its API can be used: gcloud services enable run.googleapis.com. A "SERVICE_DISABLED" or "API has not been used in project" error means exactly this.
For scripting, every list or describe command accepts --format (json, yaml, value(field), table(...)) and --filter (server- or client-side filtering on fields). value() gives bare values, perfect for shell variables.
Prefix beta or alpha to reach preview features, and add --help to any command for its full reference.
Example
gcloud config configurations create dev
gcloud config set project shop-dev-4821
gcloud config set compute/region europe-west1
gcloud config configurations list # IS_ACTIVE marks the current one
gcloud services enable run.googleapis.com artifactregistry.googleapis.com
gcloud services list --enabled --filter="name:run" --format="value(name)"
# run.googleapis.com
# Capture a value for scripting
PROJECT_NUMBER=$(gcloud projects describe shop-dev-4821 --format="value(projectNumber)")
echo $PROJECT_NUMBER # 987654321098Remember
- Use named configurations to switch between projects safely
- Enable an API before using its service
- --format=value(...) and --filter make gcloud scriptable
Watch out for
- Running a destructive command against the wrong project because the active configuration was not the one you assumed.