How do I install the Gcloud CLI skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add alivirgo/gcloud-cli in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

What does the Gcloud CLI skill do?

Operational skill for agents to manage Google Cloud via gcloud - projects, IAM, GKE, Cloud Run, GCS, and safe deploy hygiene. It is listed under DevOps & Infra on SkillMD.

Is Gcloud CLI safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Gcloud CLI?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Gcloud CLI free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Gcloud CLI?

alivirgo (@alivirgo) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Gcloud CLI by alivirgo — Agent Skill

Name: Gcloud CLI
Author: alivirgo

Google Cloud gcloud CLI AI Skill Guide

Overview

gcloud is the primary CLI for Google Cloud Platform. It authenticates against GCP Identity, scopes work to a project, and drives APIs for Compute Engine, GKE, Cloud Run, Cloud Storage, IAM, and logging. Agents should treat project ID, region, and account as first-class context - most "wrong resource" bugs are wrong active config, not wrong YAML.

+------------------+     +-------------------+     +--------------------+
| gcloud config    | --> | Cloud APIs / IAM  | --> | GCE / GKE / Run    |
| account+project  |     | Resource Manager  |     | GCS / Artifact Reg |
+------------------+     +-------------------+     +--------------------+

When to use

Creating or switching GCP projects, regions, and named configurations
Deploying to Cloud Run or inspecting GKE clusters with gcloud + kubectl
Managing GCS buckets, Artifact Registry images, and service accounts
Diagnosing auth failures (Reauthentication required, permission denied)

Operational directives

Always print active context first: gcloud config list and gcloud auth list.
Prefer named configurations (gcloud config configurations create) over silently mutating the default.
Use --project and --region flags on mutating commands; do not rely on ambient defaults in scripts.
Prefer least-privilege service accounts; never embed user refresh tokens in CI.
Prefer --format=json or --format=yaml for machine parsing; never scrape human tables in automation.

Concrete examples

Context and auth

gcloud auth login
gcloud config set project my-prod-123
gcloud config set compute/region us-central1
gcloud config configurations create staging
gcloud config configurations activate staging
gcloud config list

Cloud Run deploy (source)

gcloud run deploy api \
  --source=. \
  --region=us-central1 \
  --allow-unauthenticated=false \
  --service-account=api-runtime@my-prod-123.iam.gserviceaccount.com \
  --set-env-vars=LOG_LEVEL=info

GKE credentials + GCS

gcloud container clusters get-credentials prod-gke --region us-central1
gcloud storage cp ./dist/* gs://my-prod-123-assets/app/
gcloud artifacts repositories list --location=us-central1

IAM binding (explicit member)

gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding my-prod-123 \
  --member="serviceAccount:ci@my-prod-123.iam.gserviceaccount.com" \
  --role="roles/run.developer"

Troubleshooting matrix

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix path
Permission denied on API	Missing IAM role on SA/user	Check `gcloud projects get-iam-policy`; bind least role
Wrong cluster / bucket	Active project mismatch	`gcloud config list`; pass `--project`
Reauth required	Expired ADC / user session	`gcloud auth login` or `gcloud auth application-default login`
Image pull on Cloud Run	Artifact Registry IAM	Grant `roles/artifactregistry.reader` to runtime SA

Best practices

Pin CLI version in CI (gcloud version) and document required components (gke-gcloud-auth-plugin).
Use Workload Identity Federation for CI - avoid long-lived JSON keys when possible.
Tag resources with labels (env, owner, service) for cost and blast-radius clarity.
Prefer gcloud ... --dry-run or describe-before-delete for destructive ops.

Limitations

gcloud does not replace Terraform/Pulumi for full IaC drift control.
Some APIs lag behind Console UI; confirm beta vs GA (gcloud beta / gcloud alpha).
Organization Policy constraints can block otherwise valid commands.

Related skills

kubernetes - GKE workload manifests and kubectl debugging
docker - image build before Artifact Registry push
pulumi / terraform (if present) - declarative GCP infrastructure
opentelemetry - tracing/metrics export from Cloud Run / GKE

Gcloud CLI

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