The gcloud command-line tool

The primary tool for interacting with Google Cloud is the gcloud command-line interface. As the gcloud help says:

The gcloud CLI is a fundamental component of development and operations work on Google Cloud, and it will be used heavily throughout this book.

As with the rest of the Google Cloud SDK, gcloud can be accessed at any time from within the Google Cloud Shell. The gcloud compliments the Google Cloud Console, giving users a far deeper level of control for products and services when needed.

Because gcloud plays such an important role in development and operational workflows, it's important to have a solid understanding of its core features and philosophies. The majority of commands in gcloud are specific to a given product or service; those commands will be covered in this book as part of those services. Here, we will look at the overall layout of gcloud as well as functionality that is unique to the tool itself.