Google Cloud Platform (GCP) CLI

The Google Cloud CLI, gcloud, allows you to run commands in your Google Cloud account.

gcloud is available for Windows, macOS, Linux and supports the Arm architecture.

What should I consider before installing gcloud?

Use the documentation link to find alternative installation options.

This article provides a quick solution to install gcloud for Ubuntu on Arm.

Confirm you are using an Arm machine by running:

    

        
        
            uname -m
        
    

The output should be:

    

        
        aarch64

        
    

If you see a different result, you are not using an Arm computer running 64-bit Linux.

How do I download and install for Ubuntu on Arm?

The easiest way to install gcloud for Ubuntu on Arm is to use the package manager.

Download and install the required software packages.

    

        
        
            sudo apt-get install -y curl apt-transport-https ca-certificates gnupg
        
    

Install gcloud from the Google repository.

    

        
        
            echo "deb https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt cloud-sdk main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-cloud-sdk.list
curl https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt/doc/apt-key.gpg | sudo apt-key add -
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install google-cloud-cli -y
        
    

Confirm the executable is available.

    

        
        
            gcloud -v
        
    

The output should be similar to:

    

        
        Google Cloud SDK 418.0.0
alpha 2023.02.13
beta 2023.02.13
bq 2.0.85
bundled-python3-unix 3.9.16
core 2023.02.13
gcloud-crc32c 1.0.0
gsutil 5.20

        
    

How do I acquire user access credentials for Google Cloud?

You can use gcloud to obtain user access credentials for Google Cloud using a web flow. You will put the credentials in a well-known location for Application Default Credentials (ADC).

Run the following command to obtain user access credentials:

    

        
        
            gcloud auth application-default login
        
    

The command outputs a uniquely generated URL and a prompt to enter an authorization code, as shown below:

Open the URL in your browser and copy the unique authentication code.

Now, paste the authentication code as shown below. The following output indicates a successful log in:

    

        
        Enter authorization code: 4/0AfgeXvsdW0jpvy3dBg5SH03DryspZyV5nz0j3lIDg4LwjL1AgikjjJYHgWlcap3Xtb0ioA

Credentials saved to file: [/home/ubuntu/.config/gcloud/application_default_credentials.json]

These credentials will be used by any library that requests Application Default Credentials (ADC).

        
    

After a successful log in, you will be able to use the Google Cloud CLI and automation tools like Terraform from the terminal.