Mastering Google Cloud CLI

Expert-level Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) skill for managing GCP resources.

Overview

This skill provides comprehensive gcloud CLI patterns for:

Cross-platform installation guides for macOS, Windows, and Linux
Multi-account management with named configurations
Authentication patterns including OAuth, service accounts, and Workload Identity Federation
IAM governance with least-privilege patterns
Deployment workflows for Cloud Run, Firebase, and containerized applications
CI/CD integration with GitHub Actions and Cloud Build
Database management for AlloyDB and Cloud SQL
VPC networking including subnets, firewall rules, and VPC connectors
Secret management with Secret Manager integration
Automation scripts with error handling and idempotent patterns

Installing with Skilz (Universal Installer)

The recommended way to install this skill across different AI coding agents is using the skilz universal installer.

Install Skilz

pip install skilz

This skill supports Agent Skill Standard which means it supports 14 plus coding agents including Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor and Gemini.

Git URL Options

You can use either -g or --git with HTTPS or SSH URLs:

# HTTPS URL
skilz install -g https://github.com/SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-gcloud-commands

# SSH URL
skilz install --git git@github.com:SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-gcloud-commands.git

Claude Code

Install to user home (available in all projects):

skilz install -g https://github.com/SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-gcloud-commands

Install to current project only:

skilz install -g https://github.com/SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-gcloud-commands --project

OpenCode

Install for OpenCode:

skilz install -g https://github.com/SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-gcloud-commands --agent opencode

Project-level install:

skilz install -g https://github.com/SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-gcloud-commands --project --agent opencode

Gemini

Project-level install for Gemini:

skilz install -g https://github.com/SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-gcloud-commands --agent gemini

OpenAI Codex

Install for OpenAI Codex:

skilz install -g https://github.com/SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-gcloud-commands --agent codex

Project-level install:

skilz install -g https://github.com/SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-gcloud-commands --project --agent codex

Install from Skillzwave Marketplace

# Claude to user home dir ~/.claude/skills
skilz install SpillwaveSolutions_mastering-gcloud-commands/mastering-gcloud-commands

# Claude skill in project folder ./claude/skills
skilz install SpillwaveSolutions_mastering-gcloud-commands/mastering-gcloud-commands --project

# OpenCode install to user home dir ~/.config/opencode/skills
skilz install SpillwaveSolutions_mastering-gcloud-commands/mastering-gcloud-commands --agent opencode

# OpenCode project level
skilz install SpillwaveSolutions_mastering-gcloud-commands/mastering-gcloud-commands --agent opencode --project

# OpenAI Codex install to user home dir ~/.codex/skills
skilz install SpillwaveSolutions_mastering-gcloud-commands/mastering-gcloud-commands --agent codex

# OpenAI Codex project level ./.codex/skills
skilz install SpillwaveSolutions_mastering-gcloud-commands/mastering-gcloud-commands --agent codex --project

# Gemini CLI (project level) -- only works with project level
skilz install SpillwaveSolutions_mastering-gcloud-commands/mastering-gcloud-commands --agent gemini

See this site skill Listing to see how to install this exact skill to 14+ different coding agents.

Other Supported Agents

Skilz supports 14+ coding agents including Windsurf, Qwen Code, Aidr, and more.

For the full list of supported platforms, visit SkillzWave.ai/platforms or see the skilz-cli GitHub repository

Manual Installation

Copy this skill to your Claude Code skills directory:

# User-level installation
cp -r mastering-gcloud-commands ~/.claude/skills/

# Or create a symlink
ln -s "$(pwd)" ~/.claude/skills/mastering-gcloud-commands

Verify Installation

The skill activates automatically when you mention gcloud, GCP, Cloud Run, or related terms.

Skill Structure

mastering-gcloud-commands/
├── SKILL.md                    # Main skill file with decision trees and workflows
├── references/                 # Detailed documentation (loaded on-demand)
│   ├── installation-macos.md   # macOS: Homebrew, Apple Silicon
│   ├── installation-windows.md # Windows: installer, PowerShell, silent
│   ├── installation-linux.md   # Linux: apt, dnf, Docker
│   ├── authentication.md       # OAuth, service accounts, WIF
│   ├── authentication-reset.md # Credential cleanup procedures
│   ├── multi-account-management.md
│   ├── iam-permissions.md      # Roles, custom roles, policies
│   ├── cloud-run-deployment.md # Source, container, traffic splitting
│   ├── cloud-scheduler.md      # Scheduled jobs with OIDC
│   ├── cloud-storage.md        # Bucket and object operations
│   ├── alloydb-management.md   # Cluster and instance management
│   ├── firebase-management.md  # Firebase CLI integration
│   ├── cicd-integration.md     # GitHub Actions, Cloud Build
│   ├── api-enablement.md       # Required APIs by category
│   ├── verification-patterns.md
│   ├── vpc-networking.md       # VPCs, subnets, firewall, connectors
│   ├── secret-manager.md       # Secrets, versions, IAM bindings
│   ├── troubleshooting.md      # Debug mode, common errors
│   └── scripting-patterns.md   # Error handling, batch ops, jq parsing
└── scripts/                    # Ready-to-use automation scripts
    ├── deploy-cloud-run.sh     # Deployment with common options
    ├── setup-wif-github.sh     # Workload Identity Federation setup
    ├── verify-gcp-setup.sh     # Comprehensive project verification
    ├── reset-gcloud-auth.sh    # Authentication cleanup
    ├── switch-gcloud-project.sh # Project switching helper
    └── setup-gcloud-configs.sh # Multi-config initialization

Quick Reference

Essential Commands

# Authentication
gcloud auth login                              # Browser-based user login
gcloud auth list                               # List authenticated accounts
gcloud auth activate-service-account --key-file=KEY.json

# Configuration Management
gcloud config configurations list              # List all configurations
gcloud config configurations create NAME       # Create new profile
gcloud config configurations activate NAME     # Switch active profile
gcloud config set project PROJECT_ID           # Set default project

# Common Operations
gcloud projects list                           # List accessible projects
gcloud run deploy SERVICE --source .           # Deploy to Cloud Run
gcloud storage cp FILE gs://BUCKET/            # Upload to Cloud Storage

Example Prompts

When using Claude Code with this skill:

"Help me set up gcloud on my Mac"
"Configure Workload Identity Federation for GitHub Actions"
"Deploy my app to Cloud Run with traffic splitting"
"Set up a Cloud Scheduler job to trigger my Cloud Run service"
"Create IAM roles for my CI/CD pipeline"
"Switch between my dev and prod GCP projects"

Scripts

deploy-cloud-run.sh

Deploy to Cloud Run with common options:

./scripts/deploy-cloud-run.sh my-api --source . --allow-unauth
./scripts/deploy-cloud-run.sh my-api --image gcr.io/project/image:v1 --env API_KEY=abc
./scripts/deploy-cloud-run.sh my-api --source . --no-traffic --tag canary

setup-wif-github.sh

Set up Workload Identity Federation for GitHub Actions (keyless authentication):

# Preview changes
./scripts/setup-wif-github.sh --dry-run my-project my-org my-repo

# Execute setup
./scripts/setup-wif-github.sh my-project my-org my-repo

verify-gcp-setup.sh

Comprehensive verification of your GCP project:

./scripts/verify-gcp-setup.sh --project-id my-project --verbose

reset-gcloud-auth.sh

Clean up authentication when troubleshooting:

./scripts/reset-gcloud-auth.sh              # Credentials only
./scripts/reset-gcloud-auth.sh --full-reset # Credentials + configurations

switch-gcloud-project.sh

Efficient project switching:

./scripts/switch-gcloud-project.sh switch my-project
./scripts/switch-gcloud-project.sh list
./scripts/switch-gcloud-project.sh status

Features by Category

Installation & Setup

Homebrew installation for macOS
Interactive installer for Windows
Package manager (apt/dnf) for Linux
Docker-based installation
Shell integration (bash, zsh, fish, PowerShell)

Authentication

Browser-based OAuth login
Service account key authentication
Service account impersonation (recommended)
Workload Identity Federation (keyless CI/CD)
Application Default Credentials (ADC)

Multi-Account Management

Named configurations for different projects/environments
Quick context switching
Per-command configuration override
Environment variable configuration

Deployment

Cloud Run from source or container
Traffic splitting and canary deployments
Cloud Scheduler with OIDC authentication
Firebase Hosting and Functions
Artifact Registry integration

Security & IAM

Least-privilege role patterns
Custom role creation
Conditional IAM bindings
Service account best practices
Audit logging

CI/CD

GitHub Actions with WIF (keyless)
GitHub Actions with service account keys
Cloud Build triggers and configurations
GitLab CI integration
Jenkins pipelines

Progressive Disclosure Architecture

This skill uses a three-level loading system for efficient context usage:

Metadata (~100 words) - Always loaded, triggers skill activation
SKILL.md (<5K words) - Quick reference workflows
References (unlimited) - Detailed docs loaded on-demand

When you ask about a specific topic, Claude loads only the relevant reference file.

Version

Version: 1.0.0
Author: Richard Hightower / Spillwave Solutions
License: MIT

Contributing

Fork this repository
Add or update reference files in references/
Update SKILL.md navigation if adding new files
Submit a pull request

Related Skills

mastering-aws-cli - AWS CLI reference
mastering-github-cli - GitHub CLI reference

Largest Agentic Marketplace for AI Agent Skills and SpillWave: Leaders in AI Agent Development.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 7 Commits
references		references
scripts		scripts
.gitignore		.gitignore
README.md		README.md
SKILL.md		SKILL.md

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Mastering Google Cloud CLI

Overview

Installing with Skilz (Universal Installer)

Install Skilz

Git URL Options

Claude Code

OpenCode

Gemini

OpenAI Codex

Install from Skillzwave Marketplace

Other Supported Agents

Manual Installation

Verify Installation

Skill Structure

Quick Reference

Essential Commands

Example Prompts

Scripts

deploy-cloud-run.sh

setup-wif-github.sh

verify-gcp-setup.sh

reset-gcloud-auth.sh

switch-gcloud-project.sh

Features by Category

Installation & Setup

Authentication

Multi-Account Management

Deployment

Security & IAM

CI/CD

Progressive Disclosure Architecture

Version

Contributing

Related Skills

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