Cloud Shell and gcloud CLI in GCP - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Cloud Shell and gcloud CLI Basics

📖 Scenario: You are starting to use Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for your projects. You want to learn how to use Cloud Shell and the gcloud command-line tool to manage your cloud resources easily from your browser.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to open Cloud Shell, set your project ID, list available compute zones, and create a simple virtual machine instance using the gcloud CLI.

📋 What You'll Learn

Use Cloud Shell in the GCP Console

Set the active project using gcloud config set project

List available compute zones with gcloud compute zones list

Create a VM instance with gcloud compute instances create

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Cloud Shell and gcloud CLI let you manage cloud resources quickly without leaving your browser. This is useful for developers and system administrators who want to automate and control their cloud infrastructure.

💼 Career

Knowing how to use Cloud Shell and gcloud CLI is essential for cloud engineers, DevOps specialists, and anyone working with Google Cloud Platform to deploy and manage resources efficiently.

1

Open Cloud Shell and Set Project ID

Open Cloud Shell in the GCP Console and set your active project ID by typing gcloud config set project my-project-123. Write this exact command in Cloud Shell.

GCP

# Type the command to set your project ID
# Your code here

Hint

Use the exact command gcloud config set project my-project-123 to set your project.

2

List Available Compute Zones

In Cloud Shell, list all available compute zones by typing the command gcloud compute zones list. Write this exact command.

GCP

gcloud config set project my-project-123
# Type the command to list compute zones
# Your code here

Hint

Use the command gcloud compute zones list to see zones.

3

Create a Virtual Machine Instance

Create a VM instance named my-vm-instance in the zone us-central1-a using the command gcloud compute instances create my-vm-instance --zone=us-central1-a. Write this exact command.

GCP

gcloud config set project my-project-123
gcloud compute zones list
# Type the command to create a VM instance
# Your code here

Hint

Use the command gcloud compute instances create my-vm-instance --zone=us-central1-a to create the VM.

4

Verify the VM Instance Creation

Verify your VM instance is created by listing all instances in the zone us-central1-a using the command gcloud compute instances list --zones=us-central1-a. Write this exact command.

GCP

gcloud config set project my-project-123
gcloud compute zones list
gcloud compute instances create my-vm-instance --zone=us-central1-a
# Type the command to list VM instances
# Your code here

Hint

Use gcloud compute instances list --zones=us-central1-a to check your VM.

Practice

1. What is the primary purpose of Google Cloud Shell?

easy

A. To create graphical user interfaces for cloud services

B. To provide a browser-based command-line interface pre-configured for Google Cloud

C. To store large amounts of data in the cloud

D. To host virtual machines for running applications

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand Cloud Shell functionality

   Cloud Shell is a tool that gives you a command-line environment in your browser, ready to use with Google Cloud tools.

2. Step 2: Compare options with Cloud Shell purpose

   Options A, B, and C describe other cloud services, not Cloud Shell's main use.

3. Final Answer:

   To provide a browser-based command-line interface pre-configured for Google Cloud -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Cloud Shell = browser CLI [OK]

Hint: Cloud Shell is a browser terminal for Google Cloud commands [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing Cloud Shell with VM hosting
• Thinking Cloud Shell stores data
• Assuming Cloud Shell creates GUIs

2. Which of the following is the correct command to list all active Google Cloud projects using gcloud CLI?

easy

A. gcloud list projects

B. gcloud projects show

C. gcloud projects list

D. gcloud list all-projects

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall gcloud CLI syntax for listing projects

   The correct command to list projects is 'gcloud projects list'.

2. Step 2: Verify other options

   Options A, C, and D do not follow the correct gcloud command structure and will cause errors.

3. Final Answer:

   gcloud projects list -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   List projects command = gcloud projects list [OK]

Hint: Remember: gcloud <resource> list to show resources [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Swapping 'list' and 'projects' order
• Using 'show' instead of 'list'
• Adding extra words like 'all-projects'

3. What will be the output of the following command run in Cloud Shell?

gcloud config get-value project

medium

A. An error saying 'command not found'

B. A list of all available projects

C. The current user's email address

D. The currently set Google Cloud project ID

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the command purpose

   'gcloud config get-value project' retrieves the project ID currently set in gcloud configuration.

2. Step 2: Analyze other options

   A list of all available projects lists projects, which requires 'projects list'. An error saying 'command not found' is incorrect because the command exists. The current user's email address returns user info, not project.

3. Final Answer:

   The currently set Google Cloud project ID -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Get project config = current project ID [OK]

Hint: get-value returns current config setting [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting a list of projects instead of one project
• Confusing project ID with user email
• Assuming command is invalid

4. You run the command gcloud compute instances create my-vm --zone=us-central1-a but get an error saying the zone is invalid. What is the most likely fix?

medium

A. Change the zone to a valid one like us-central1-b

B. Remove the --zone flag completely

C. Use --region instead of --zone

D. Rename the instance to a different name

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand zone error cause

   The error indicates the specified zone 'us-central1-a' is invalid or unavailable in your project or region.

2. Step 2: Fix by choosing a valid zone

   Changing to a valid zone like 'us-central1-b' resolves the error. Removing the flag or using region instead won't fix zone-specific errors. Renaming instance is unrelated.

3. Final Answer:

   Change the zone to a valid one like us-central1-b -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Zone error = pick valid zone [OK]

Hint: Check available zones with 'gcloud compute zones list' [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Removing zone flag instead of correcting it
• Using region flag where zone is required
• Changing instance name instead of zone

5. You want to automate setting the default project in Cloud Shell for multiple users. Which gcloud CLI command sequence correctly sets the project and verifies it?

hard

A. gcloud config set project my-project-id && gcloud config get-value project

B. gcloud projects set my-project-id && gcloud projects get my-project-id

C. gcloud set project my-project-id && gcloud get project

D. gcloud config project set my-project-id && gcloud config project get

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify correct command to set project

   The correct command to set the default project is 'gcloud config set project '.

2. Step 2: Verify project setting

   To verify, use 'gcloud config get-value project' which returns the current project ID.

3. Step 3: Check other options for correctness

   Options B, C, and D use invalid command syntax and will cause errors.

4. Final Answer:

   gcloud config set project my-project-id && gcloud config get-value project -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   Set and get project config = gcloud config set project my-project-id && gcloud config get-value project [OK]

Hint: Use 'gcloud config set' and 'gcloud config get-value' for config changes [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using incorrect command order or syntax
• Confusing 'projects' commands with 'config' commands
• Trying to set project with invalid commands