Name: gcloud
Author: google

Provides safety-critical validation, guardrails, and data reduction for gcloud CLI operations across Google Cloud Platform (GCP) services and infrastructure. Use when planning, generating, constructing, proposing, describing, or executing any gcloud CLI commands - including when answering questions

gcloud CLI Skill for AI Agents [!CAUTION] MANDATORY PRE CONDITION: EXPLICIT LEAF LEVEL SYNTAX VALIDATION All pre existing knowledge of gcloud commands, flags, flag values, and positional argument syntax is stale and prone to hallucination . NEVER propose command parameters, output flag options, execute commands, OR outline step by step plans for any gcloud task before validating leaf level syntax via gcloud help <command (or including leaf level help lookup as a mandatory step in the plan). Mandatory Action Rules : 1. Direct Execution & Code Generation : ALWAYS invoke gcloud help <leaf command (e.g. gcloud help compute instances create or gcloud help sql instances create ) before proposing or executing the final command syntax. 2. Planning & Strategy Queries : When asked for a plan, strategy, or next steps to achieve a user goal (e.g., "What is your plan to accomplish X..." ), the response MUST explicitly include running gcloud help <leaf command as Step 1 of the plan before proposing flags or executing commands. 3. Non Transitive Validation : Parent command group help (e.g. gcloud help compute ) is not sufficient for leaf level syntax validation. Validation must occur at the specific leaf subcommand level. 4. FORBIDDEN Web Search Fallback : NEVER use search web , web search, or external documentation search tools for gcloud CLI syntax. gcloud help <leaf command is the EXCLUSIVE authorized authority for command syntax. 5. User Flag & Project Preservation : When proposing intermediate command steps, ALWAYS preserve all user specified flags (including project=<project id ) in the proposed response text. 6. Mandatory Plan Template : When generating a plan, the response MUST copy this exact 4 step structure: Step 1 : Syntax Validation via gcloud help <leaf command Step 2 : Parameter Verification (confirming required and optional flags, and explicitly checking if the dry run or validate only flag is supported) Step 3 : Dry Run Command Proposal (If dry run or validate only is supported, there MUST be a dry run or validate only invocation before the next step.) Step 4 : Command Proposal & Authorization (If the command is on the "Prohibited Operations" denylist, state that autonomous execution is forbidden, and the user MUST be explicitly asked for authorization to proceed. If the command is NOT on the denylist, propose or proceed with execution, while following ALL "Execution Constraints" below.) This document provides essential guidelines and best practices for AI agents interacting with the Google Cloud SDK ( gcloud CLI). Following these rules is critical to avoid hallucinated commands, flags, flag values, and positional argument syntax, prevent destructive actions, and minimize context window usage. Usage Attribution MUST READ : Before executing any gcloud , REST API, or MCP command, you MUST read and follow the instructions in [Usage Attribution](references/attribution.md). If a more specific product or domain skill (e.g., cloud run basics , bigquery basics , gke basics ) is also loaded or active for the current task, ALWAYS use that specific skill's skill:<name attribution tag instead of skill:gcloud . For commands executed directly in the terminal when no product specific skill applies (never in generated scripts, Terraform, or user code), prefix gcloud with CLOUDSDK METRICS REQUEST ATTRIBUTION="agent skills/1.0 (skill:gcloud)" and append agent skills/1.0 (skill:gcloud) to User Agent headers. Execution Modes AI agents can interact with Google Cloud resources in two primary ways: Direct CLI Execution : Executing gcloud commands directly in a local or automated shell environment. See [CLI Usage](references/cli usage.md) for installation, authentication flows, and configuration management. Model Context Protocol (MCP) : Invoking structured tools via the Cloud CLI remote MCP server ( run gcloud command ). See [MCP Usage](references/mcp usage.md) for tool schemas, parameter rules, and server configuration. Core Principles 1. Explicit Command Validation (Mandatory) Action : ALWAYS call gcloud help <command for the exact command that is intended to be run (e.g., gcloud help compute instances create ). Verify : Ensure the command, flags, flag values, and positional argument syntax are valid for that specific leaf command before attempting execution or presenting plans. Validation is not transitive from parent groups. 2. Data Reduction Strategies (Mandatory) Minimize the volume of data returned by gcloud to save context window space and reduce latency. DO NOT execute any list command without including at least one data reduction flag ( limit , filter , or format ). Projection : Use format="json(key1, key2, ...)" to select only the specific fields needed for the task. To understand the advanced projection and formatting syntax, refer to gcloud topic projections and gcloud topic formats . Limiting : Use limit=N to cap the number of resources returned. Filtering : Use filter to narrow down results server side. Prioritize : for pattern matching and never quote the right side of the colon. Treat the entire filter flag as a singular string without quoting or escaping characters. To study the filter expression syntax, refer to gcloud topic filters . Schema Discovery : Unconstrained resource lists can quickly exhaust the context window with redundant data. To prevent this, discover a resource's schema before executing queries. If unsure of the JSON key path for projecting fields ( format ) or filtering ( filter ), run the targeted resource's list command (if supported) with a single item limit: Examine this single instance's JSON structure to safely identify the correct schema keys before requesting full or filtered datasets. 3. Execution Constraints Single Commands : Execute a single gcloud command at a time. No command chaining or sequencing. No Shell Operators : Do not use command substitution ( $(...) ), pipes ( ), or redirection ( , , < ). This is to increase command safety and ensure commands are more easily understandable and reviewable by users. Non Interactive Execution ( quiet / q ) : Pass the quiet (or q ) global flag on all execution commands (e.g., gcloud pubsub topics delete temp topic quiet project=test project ). AI agents run in headless, non interactive environments without a TTY or stdin input handler. Without quiet , commands that prompt for user confirmation (such as deleting resources, approving defaults, or selecting unspecified regions) will pause execution indefinitely waiting for input, causing background task timeouts. Including quiet forces non interactive mode, causing gcloud to automatically accept safe default choices or fail immediately with an explicit error if required parameters are missing. No Blind Lists : NEVER execute a list command without limit , filter , or format . 4. Project and Location Scoping (Critical) To ensure commands are deterministic, non interactive, and target the correct environment, they must explicitly provide project and location scoping. Explicit Project Target : Do not rely on active configuration defaults. Always append project=<PROJECT ID to all resource manipulating and querying commands (unless running pure local config commands). This avoids accidental execution against the wrong project. Prevent Location Prompts : Many Google Cloud resources are regional or zonal. If the location flag is omitted (e.g., region , zone , or location ), gcloud will trigger an interactive prompt to select a zone/region. This violates the No Interactivity rule. Always provide explicit location flags if the command requires them. Location Discovery : If the correct region, zone, or location for a service is not known, run discovery commands first (remembering to limit results if there are many): Compute Engine (VMs, Networks) : gcloud compute regions list project=<PROJECT ID gcloud compute zones list project=<PROJECT ID Other Services (Standard API Style) : Many GCP services utilize a unified locations list command: gcloud <GROUP locations list project=<PROJECT ID Examples : gcloud artifacts locations list , gcloud kms locations list , gcloud secrets locations list . Safety & Guardrails [!CAUTION] Destructive actions (delete, update, remove) MUST be explicitly authorized by the user. Never invoke them autonomously unless explicitly instructed to do so in the context of a safe, pre approved workflow. Prohibited Operations (Denylist) NEVER execute the following commands autonomously. These require explicit human in the loop authorization: Any IAM policy, role, or binding modification (Security): Risk of privilege escalation, administrative lockout, service disruption, or unauthorized data exposure. No Proactive API Enabling : Assume necessary APIs are enabled. To prevent unexpected resource provisioning or billing charges, do not proactively try to enable APIs. User approval is required to enable any API. No Proactive gcloud CLI Installation (Host Modification): Never autonomously install the Google Cloud CLI ( gcloud CLI) or additional gcloud CLI components ( gcloud components install , gcloud components update , or system package manager installs of the gcloud CLI). If the gcloud binary or a required CLI component is missing, you must inform the user, ask for explicit user confirmation (e.g., "I am ready to install the Google Cloud CLI ( gcloud ). Do you want me to proceed?" ), and strictly stop to wait for the user's positive affirmation before executing any installation commands. gcloud delete (Destructive): Irreversible resource destruction (e.g., project deletion) or data wiping. gcloud billing (Financial): Risk of service disruption or unbounded costs. gcloud organizations (Governance): Org level changes affect security posture for all users. gcloud kms (Encryption): Risk of permanently locking data. gcloud infra manager deployments apply (Destructive): Autonomous IaC execution can destroy managed resources. Execution Guidelines Dry Run (Mandatory) : If the dry run or validate only flag (or equivalent) is listed in the command help output, ALWAYS include the flag in the proposed command or initial execution step. ALWAYS preview changes with dry run or validate only prior to actual execution. Long Running Operations : For commands that support it, the async flag is highly recommended for long running operations to avoid blocking the agentic flow. Note that not every command has an async flag. For commands that return an operation ID (whether via async or by default), operation status must be polled for completion, if needed for the next step. Non Interactive Flag ( quiet ) : Include quiet (or q ) on all proposed or executed commands to guarantee non interactive execution without waiting for TTY confirmation prompts. Structured Workflows Discovery Workflow When asked to perform a task on a service that is unfamiliar: 1. Invoke Help : Call gcloud help <COMMAND on the target leaf command prior to execution. 2. Traverse