Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) Cheat Sheet 2026 — Quick Command Reference

Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) Cheat Sheet is the complete quick-reference of Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) commands grouped by function. Copy any command with one click and find what you need with Ctrl+F in under 3 seconds.

Command Sections

Pick a section — each is a focused, verified cheat sheet:

Compute Engine (11 commands)
GKE & Kubernetes (11 commands)
Cloud Storage (10 commands)
IAM & Permissions (11 commands)
Cloud Functions (10 commands)
Cloud SQL (11 commands)
Networking (7 commands)
Cleanup & Prune (6 commands)

Cross-Cloud Equivalents (AWS · Azure · GCP)

Translate the same task between the three major clouds. Searchable with the filter above.

Action	AWS CLI	Azure CLI	gcloud
list compute instances	`aws ec2 describe-instances`	`az vm list --output table`	`gcloud compute instances list`
create a storage bucket/container	`aws s3api create-bucket --bucket my-bucket --region us-east-1`	`az storage container create --name mycontainer --account-name mystorageaccount`	`gcloud storage buckets create gs://my-bucket`
list IAM users	`aws iam list-users`	`az ad user list`	`gcloud iam service-accounts list`
get cluster credentials	`aws eks update-kubeconfig --name my-cluster`	`az aks get-credentials --resource-group my-resource-group --name my-cluster`	`gcloud container clusters get-credentials my-cluster --zone us-central1-a`
view logs	`aws logs get-log-events --log-group-name my-log-group --log-stream-name my-log-stream`	`az monitor activity-log list --max-events 10`	`gcloud logging read --limit 10`
delete a resource group/stack	`aws cloudformation delete-stack --stack-name my-stack`	`az group delete --name my-resource-group --yes`	`gcloud projects delete PROJECT_ID`
list storage buckets	`aws s3 ls`	`az storage container list --account-name mystorageaccount`	`gcloud storage buckets list`
list clusters	`aws eks list-clusters`	`az aks list`	`gcloud container clusters list`

⚠️ Dangerous / Destructive Commands

These commands are irreversible. Verify your environment (dev/staging vs prod) before running them.

Action	Command	Warning
⚠️ Iam service-accounts	`gcloud iam service-accounts list --filter='email ~ [0-9]-compute@.' --format='table(email)'`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Container clusters	`gcloud container clusters delete CLUSTER_NAME --zone ZONE --quiet`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Iam service-accounts	`gcloud iam service-accounts list --filter='email ~ [0-9]-compute@.' --format='table(email)'`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Compute disks	`gcloud compute disks delete DISK_NAME --zone=ZONE`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Compute disks	`gcloud compute disks list --filter="users:[]" --format="value(name,zone)" \| while read name zone; do gcloud compute disks delete $name --zone=$zone --quiet; done`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Container images	`gcloud container images list-tags IMAGE_PATH --filter="tags:[]" --format="get(digest)" \| xargs -I {} gcloud container images delete IMAGE_PATH@sha256:{} --quiet`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Container images	`gcloud container images list-tags IMAGE_PATH --filter="timestamp.datetime < 2025-01-01" --format="get(digest)" \| xargs -I {} gcloud container images delete IMAGE_PATH@sha256:{} --quiet`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Compute addresses	`gcloud compute addresses list --filter="users:[]" --format="value(name,region)" \| while read name region; do gcloud compute addresses delete $name --region=$region --quiet; done`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Iam service-accounts	`gcloud iam service-accounts delete SA_EMAIL --quiet`	Irreversible — verify the target before running

FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Compute Engine and GKE & Kubernetes?

Each group in this Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) cheat sheet covers a distinct area. Compute Engine focuses on its specific scope, while GKE & Kubernetes and the remaining groups cover networking, storage, security and diagnostics respectively.

How do I check the installed Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) version?

Run the version command (usually google version or google --version). The output shows the client and, when applicable, the server version.

Why does Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) return ‘permission denied’?

A ‘permission denied’ error in Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) usually means the current user lacks sufficient privileges or credentials are not configured. Check: (1) assigned IAM/RBAC roles, (2) an active authentication context via the corresponding login command.

How do I filter Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) output by status or name?

Use flags such as --filter, --selector or --query depending on the tool. You can also pipe into grep or jq to process JSON:

google list | grep RUNNING

What is the fastest way to debug a Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) error?

Add the verbose flag (--verbose, -v or --debug) to the failing command. This reveals the underlying HTTP/API calls and the full error response body.

Official sources & references

Commands cross-checked against vendor documentation and high-authority repositories: