Quickstart: Getting started with Cloud SDK

This quickstart guides you through installing and initializing Cloud SDK, which includes the gcloud command-line tool, as well as running a few core gcloud tool commands to get you started. You can also use Cloud SDK without installation by using Cloud Shell. For guidance on this alternative, follow the Cloud SDK interactive tutorial.

Installing the latest Cloud SDK version (358.0.0)

Linux

  1. Cloud SDK requires Python; supported versions are Python 3 (preferred, 3.5 to 3.8) and Python 2 (2.7.9 or higher).

    python --version
    Your operating system must be able to run one of these supported Python versions in order for Cloud SDK to run. For more information on how to choose and configure your Python interpreter, refer to gcloud topic startup.
  2. Download one of the following:

    3. Platform Package Size SHA256 Checksum
    Linux 64-bit

    (x86_64)

    		 google-cloud-sdk-358.0.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz 92.2 MB a617718d7284e8198e866a93b85e62f16d5662be6ac3a887f9c72f7f33cb823b
    Linux 64-bit

    (arm)

    		 google-cloud-sdk-358.0.0-linux-arm.tar.gz 89.5 MB b4fed2ff2ba59c76be37478a494f472fc4a80658246a12c17c0b122c89589567
    Linux 32-bit

    (x86)

    		 google-cloud-sdk-358.0.0-linux-x86.tar.gz 89.5 MB ca11c065bce2a689ac24649c032567697e270c38b72afe416e8eded2b1c97df5
  3. Alternatively, to download the Linux 64-bit archive file from your command-line, run:

    curl -O https://dl.google.com/dl/cloudsdk/channels/rapid/downloads/google-cloud-sdk-358.0.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz

    For the 64-bit arm archive file, run:

    curl -O https://dl.google.com/dl/cloudsdk/channels/rapid/downloads/google-cloud-sdk-358.0.0-linux-arm.tar.gz

    For the 32-bit archive file, run:

    curl -O https://dl.google.com/dl/cloudsdk/channels/rapid/downloads/google-cloud-sdk-358.0.0-linux-x86.tar.gz
  4. Extract the contents of the file to any location on your file system (preferably your Home directory). If you would like to replace an existing installation, remove the existing google-cloud-sdk directory and extract the archive to the same location.
  5. Optional. Use the install script to add Cloud SDK tools to your PATH. You'll also be able to opt-in to command-completion for your shell and usage statistics collection.

    Run the script (from the root of the folder you extracted in the last step) using this command: 

    ./google-cloud-sdk/install.sh
    This can also be done non-interactively (for example, using a script) as well by providing preferences as flags. These are described in: 
    ./google-cloud-sdk/install.sh --help
    Open a new terminal so that the changes take effect.
  6. Run gcloud init to initialize the SDK:
    7. ./google-cloud-sdk/bin/gcloud init
  7. Optional. Install additional components using the component manager.
Debian/Ubuntu

Package contents

Cloud SDK is available in package format for installation on Debian and Ubuntu systems. This package contains the gcloud, gcloud alpha, gcloud beta, gsutil, and bq commands only. It does not include kubectl or the App Engine extensions required to deploy an application using gcloud commands. If you want these components, you must install them separately as described later in this section.

Prerequisites

Before you install Cloud SDK, make sure that your operating system is one of the following:

Installation
  1. Add the Cloud SDK distribution URI as a package source: 
    echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/cloud.google.gpg] https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt cloud-sdk main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-cloud-sdk.list
    Make sure you have apt-transport-https installed: 
    sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https ca-certificates gnupg
  2. Import the Google Cloud public key: 
    curl https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt/doc/apt-key.gpg | sudo apt-key --keyring /usr/share/keyrings/cloud.google.gpg add -
  3. Update and install the Cloud SDK: 
    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install google-cloud-sdk
    For additional apt-get options, such as disabling prompts or dry runs, refer to the apt-get man pages.

    Docker Tip: If installing the Cloud SDK inside a Docker image, use a single RUN step instead: 

    RUN echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/cloud.google.gpg] http://packages.cloud.google.com/apt cloud-sdk main" | tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-cloud-sdk.list && curl https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt/doc/apt-key.gpg | apt-key --keyring /usr/share/keyrings/cloud.google.gpg  add - && apt-get update -y && apt-get install google-cloud-sdk -y

  4. Optionally, install any of these additional components:
    • google-cloud-sdk-app-engine-python
    • google-cloud-sdk-app-engine-python-extras
    • google-cloud-sdk-app-engine-java
    • google-cloud-sdk-app-engine-go
    • google-cloud-sdk-bigtable-emulator
    • google-cloud-sdk-cbt
    • google-cloud-sdk-cloud-build-local
    • google-cloud-sdk-datalab
    • google-cloud-sdk-datastore-emulator
    • google-cloud-sdk-firestore-emulator
    • google-cloud-sdk-pubsub-emulator
    • kubectl

    For example, the google-cloud-sdk-app-engine-java component can be installed as follows: 

    sudo apt-get install google-cloud-sdk-app-engine-java
  5. Run gcloud init to get started: 
    gcloud init

Downgrading Cloud SDK versions

If you'd like to revert to a specific version of Cloud SDK, where VERSION is of the form 123.0.0, run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install google-cloud-sdk=123.0.0-0 The most recent ten releases will always be available in the repo.

Red Hat/Fedora/CentOS

Package contents

Cloud SDK is available in package format for installation on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Fedora 33, and CentOS 7 and 8 systems. This package contains the gcloud, gcloud alpha, gcloud beta, gsutil, and bq commands only. It does not include kubectl or the App Engine extensions required to deploy an application using gcloud commands, which can be installed separately as described later in this section.

Installation
  1. Update DNF with Cloud SDK repo information: 
    sudo tee -a /etc/yum.repos.d/google-cloud-sdk.repo << EOM
[google-cloud-sdk]
name=Google Cloud SDK
baseurl=https://packages.cloud.google.com/yum/repos/cloud-sdk-el8-x86_64
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
repo_gpgcheck=0
gpgkey=https://packages.cloud.google.com/yum/doc/yum-key.gpg
       https://packages.cloud.google.com/yum/doc/rpm-package-key.gpg
EOM
  2. Install the Cloud SDK: 
    sudo dnf install google-cloud-sdk
  3. Optionally, install any of these additional components:
    • google-cloud-sdk-app-engine-python
    • google-cloud-sdk-app-engine-python-extras
    • google-cloud-sdk-app-engine-java
    • google-cloud-sdk-app-engine-go
    • google-cloud-sdk-bigtable-emulator
    • google-cloud-sdk-cbt
    • google-cloud-sdk-cloud-build-local
    • google-cloud-sdk-datalab
    • google-cloud-sdk-datastore-emulator
    • google-cloud-sdk-firestore-emulator
    • google-cloud-sdk-pubsub-emulator
    • kubectl

    For example, the google-cloud-sdk-app-engine-java component can be installed as follows: 

    sudo dnf install google-cloud-sdk-app-engine-java
  4. Run gcloud init to get started: 
    gcloud init

Downgrading Cloud SDK versions

If you'd like to revert to a specific version of Cloud SDK, where VERSION is of the form 123.0.0, run: sudo dnf downgrade google-cloud-sdk-VERSION The most recent ten releases will always be available in the repo.

macOS
  1. Cloud SDK requires Python:
    • Supported versions are Python 3 (3.7 recommended) and Python 2 (2.7.9 or higher).
    • Modern versions of macOS include the appropriate version of Python required for the Cloud SDK. To check your current Python version, run python -V.
    • For Cloud SDK release version 352.0.0 and above, the main install script offers to install CPython's Python 3.7 on Intel-based Macs.
    • For more information on how to choose and configure your Python interpreter, refer to gcloud topic startup.
  2. Download one of the following:

    3. Platform Package Size SHA256 Checksum
    macOS 64-bit

    (x86_64)

    		 google-cloud-sdk-358.0.0-darwin-x86_64.tar.gz 92.7 MB 7986b36e8457ca700d47739f9eb2731ca6c2b0cc91bc0fa0a4e4ab64692e82b0
    macOS 64-bit

    (arm64, Apple M1 silicon)

    		 google-cloud-sdk-358.0.0-darwin-arm.tar.gz 92.6 MB 5ba8c3502616849f190c552333e4abf71ff7f2581810b5911f6887bd900cead5
    macOS 32-bit

    (x86)

    		 google-cloud-sdk-358.0.0-darwin-x86.tar.gz 96.4 MB 3ce98184f4c21bebca88af9e6102eed8eac36ca45d2c1ebdeb9b4e90ba9f58f9

    1. Extract the archive to any location on your file system (preferably your Home directory). On macOS, this can be achieved by opening the downloaded .tar.gz archive file in the preferred location.

      If you would like to replace an existing installation, remove the existing google-cloud-sdk directory and extract the archive to the same location.

    2. Optional. Use the install script to add Cloud SDK tools to your PATH.

      You'll also be able to opt-in to command-completion for your shell and usage statistics collection, and optionally install Python 3.7.

      Run the script (from the root of the folder you extracted in the last step) using this command: 

      ./google-cloud-sdk/install.sh
      This can also be done non-interactively (for example, using a script) as well by providing preferences as flags. These are described in: 
      ./google-cloud-sdk/install.sh --help
      If you'd like to run the install script with screen reader mode on: 
      ./google-cloud-sdk/install.sh --screen-reader=true
      Open a new terminal so that the changes take effect.
    3. Run gcloud init to initialize the SDK:
      4. ./google-cloud-sdk/bin/gcloud init
    4. Optional. Install additional components using the component manager.
Windows

  1. Download the Cloud SDK installer.

    Alternatively, open a PowerShell terminal and run the following PowerShell commands: 

    (New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadFile("https://dl.google.com/dl/cloudsdk/channels/rapid/GoogleCloudSDKInstaller.exe", "$env:Temp\GoogleCloudSDKInstaller.exe")

& $env:Temp\GoogleCloudSDKInstaller.exe

  2. Launch the installer and follow the prompts. The installer is signed by Google LLC.

    If you're using a screen reader, check the Turn on screen reader mode checkbox. This option configures gcloud to use status trackers instead of unicode spinners, display progress as a percentage, and flatten tables. For more information, see the Accessibility features guide.

  3. Cloud SDK requires Python; supported versions are Python 3 (preferred, 3.5 to 3.8) and Python 2 (2.7.9 or higher). Cloud SDK comes bundled with Python 3 by default. To use Cloud SDK, your operating system must be able to run a supported version of Python.

    The installer installs all necessary dependencies, including the needed Python version. While Cloud SDK installs and manages Python 3 by default, you can use an existing Python installation if necessary by unchecking the option to Install Bundled Python. See gcloud topic startup to learn how to use an existing Python installation.

  4. After installation is complete, the installer gives you the option to create Start Menu and Desktop shortcuts, start Cloud SDK shell, and configure the Cloud SDK. Make sure that you leave the options to start the shell and configure your installation selected. The installer starts a terminal window and runs the gcloud init command.

  5. The default installation doesn't include the App Engine extensions required to deploy an application using gcloud commands. These components can be installed using the Cloud SDK component manager.
Troubleshooting tips:
  • If your installation is unsuccessful due to the find command not being recognized, ensure your PATH environment variable is set to include the folder containing find. Usually, this is C:\WINDOWS\system32;.
  • If you have just uninstalled Cloud SDK, you must reboot your system before installing Cloud SDK again.

Optional: Install the latest Cloud Client Libraries

You can download Cloud Client Libraries for supported languages.

Initializing the Cloud SDK

Use the gcloud init command to perform several common Cloud SDK setup tasks. These include authorizing the Cloud SDK tools to access Google Cloud using your user account credentials and setting up the default configuration.

To initialize the Cloud SDK:

  1. Run the following at a command prompt:

    ```
gcloud init
```

  2. Accept the option to log in using your Google user account:

    To continue, you must log in. Would you like to log in (Y/n)? Y

  3. In your browser, log in to your Google user account when prompted and click Allow to grant permission to access Google Cloud resources.

  4. At the command prompt, select a Google Cloud project from the list of those where you have Owner, Editor or Viewer permissions:

    Pick cloud project to use:
 [1] [my-project-1]
 [2] [my-project-2]
 ...
 Please enter your numeric choice:

    If you only have one project, gcloud init selects it for you.

    If you have access to more than 200 projects, you will be prompted to enter a project id, create a new project, or list projects.

    This account has a lot of projects! Listing them all can take a while.
 [1] Enter a project ID
 [2] Create a new project
 [3] List projects
Please enter your numeric choice:

  5. If you have the Google Compute Engine API enabled, gcloud init allows you to choose a default Compute Engine zone:

    Which compute zone would you like to use as project default?
 [1] [asia-east1-a]
 [2] [asia-east1-b]
 ...
 [14] Do not use default zone
 Please enter your numeric choice:

    gcloud init confirms that you have complete the setup steps successfully:

    gcloud has now been configured!
You can use [gcloud config] to change more gcloud settings.

Your active configuration is: [default]

  6. (Optional) If you'd like a more streamlined screen reader experience, the gcloud tool comes with an accessibility/screen_reader property.

    To enable this property, run:

    gcloud config set accessibility/screen_reader true

    For more details about the accessibility features that come with the gcloud tool, refer to the Enabling accessibility features guide.

Running core commands

Run these gcloud tool commands to view information about your Cloud SDK installation:

  1. To list accounts whose credentials are stored on the local system:

    ```
gcloud auth list
```

    The gcloud tool displays a list of credentialed accounts:

           Credentialed Accounts
ACTIVE             ACCOUNT
*                  example-user-1@gmail.com
                   example-user-2@gmail.com

  2. To list the properties in your active Cloud SDK configuration:

    ```
gcloud config list
```

    The gcloud tool displays the list of properties:

    [core]
account = example-user-1@gmail.com
disable_usage_reporting = False
project = example-project

  3. To view information about your Cloud SDK installation and the active configuration:

    ```
gcloud info
```

    The gcloud tool displays a summary of information about your Cloud SDK installation. This includes information about your system, the installed components, the active user account and current project, and the properties in the active configuration.

  4. To view information about gcloud commands and other topics from the command line:

    ```
gcloud help
```

    For example, to view the help for gcloud compute instances create:

    ```
gcloud help compute instances create
```

    The gcloud tool displays a help topic that contains a description of the command, a list of command flags and arguments, and examples of how to use it.

What's next

  • Read the gcloud tool guide for an overview of the gcloud tool, including a quick introduction to key concepts, command conventions, and helpful tips.
  • Read the gcloud tool reference guide for detailed pages on each The gcloud tool command, including descriptions, flags, and examples, that you can use to perform a variety of tasks on Google Cloud.
  • Refer to the gcloud tool cheat sheet for a list of commonly used commands and key concepts.
  • Install additional components such as the App Engine emulators or kubectl using the Cloud SDK component manager.

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