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 (9 commands)
GKE & Kubernetes (7 commands)
IAM & Permissions (10 commands)
Cloud SQL (5 commands)
Networking (8 commands)
Cleanup & Prune (8 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`	`gcloud compute instances list`
Create a storage bucket/container	`aws s3 mb s3://my-bucket`	`az storage container create --name mycontainer`	`gcloud storage buckets create gs://my-bucket`
List IAM users	`aws iam list-users`	`az ad user list`	`gcloud iam service-accounts list`
List IAM roles	`aws iam list-roles`	`az role definition list`	`gcloud iam roles list`
Get Kubernetes cluster credentials	`aws eks update-kubeconfig --name my-cluster`	`az aks get-credentials --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster`	`gcloud container clusters get-credentials my-cluster --zone us-central1-a`
View logs (tail recent events)	`aws logs tail --log-group-name my-log-group`	`az monitor log-analytics query --workspace-id my-workspace --analytics-query 'Heartbeat \| take 10'`	`gcloud logging read 'resource.type=global' --limit 10`
Delete a resource group/stack	`aws cloudformation delete-stack --stack-name my-stack`	`az group delete --name myResourceGroup --yes`	`gcloud deployment-manager deployments delete my-deployment`
List storage buckets/containers	`aws s3 ls`	`az storage container list`	`gcloud storage buckets list`
List resources in a resource group/stack	`aws cloudformation list-stack-resources --stack-name my-stack`	`az resource list --resource-group myResourceGroup`	`gcloud deployment-manager resources list --deployment my-deployment`
Create a virtual machine	`aws ec2 run-instances --image-id ami-0abcdef1234567890 --instance-type t2.micro`	`az vm create --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myVM --image UbuntuLTS --admin-username azureuser --generate-ssh-keys`	`gcloud compute instances create my-vm --zone us-central1-a --image-family ubuntu-2004-lts --image-project ubuntu-os-cloud`

⚠️ Dangerous / Destructive Commands

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

Action	Command	Warning
⚠️ Compute instances	`gcloud compute instances delete <instance-name> --zone=<zone>`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Container clusters	`gcloud container clusters delete <cluster_name>`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Sql instances	`gcloud sql instances delete <instance-id>`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Compute networks	`gcloud compute networks delete <network-name>`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Compute instances	`gcloud compute instances delete <instance-name>`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Compute disks	`gcloud compute disks delete <disk-name>`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Container clusters	`gcloud container clusters delete <cluster-name>`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Iam service-accounts	`gcloud iam service-accounts delete <service-account-email>`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Compute firewall-rules	`gcloud compute firewall-rules delete <firewall-rule-name>`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Compute images	`gcloud compute images delete <image-name>`	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 gcloud version or gcloud --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:

gcloud 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: