Ways to interact with Google Cloud

You can use several methods to interact with Google Cloud and your resources. The methods you choose can depend on your preferences, your company workflows, and your goals.

The following are example interaction methods:

Use the browser-based Google Cloud console

If you prefer to manage your Google Cloud projects and resources through a graphical user interface, use the browser-based Google Cloud console.

Use the Google Cloud console to perform a variety of management and administrative tasks, including the following:

  • Manage resources.
  • Store, query, and process data.
  • Connect to virtual machines (VMs).
  • Analyze activity.
  • Diagnose production issues.
  • Deploy easy-to-launch solutions.

For more information, see Google Cloud console.

Write commands and create scripts

If you prefer to manage development and workflows on the command line or through automated scripts, use the Google Cloud CLI. Use the Google Cloud CLI to perform tasks efficiently and at scale. For example, you might do the following:

  • Create a script to push a file to all VMs.
  • Simulate backend data with a data emulator to help you efficiently write client-side code.
  • Deploy serverless code.

Run gcloud commands using the following methods:

  • Install the Google Cloud CLI, which lets you run commands in a terminal window on your local computer.

  • Use the browser-based Cloud Shell, which doesn't require local installation. Open Cloud Shell from the Google Cloud console to use the following features:

    • A temporary Compute Engine VM instance.
    • A built-in code editor.
    • Persistent disk storage.
    • Pre-installed gcloud CLI, Terraform, and other tools.
    • Language support for Java, Go, Python, Node.js, PHP, Ruby and .NET.
    • Web preview.
    • Built-in authorization for access to Google Cloud console projects and resources.

For more information about Cloud Shell, see How Cloud Shell works.

For a list of gcloud commands, as well as flags and examples, see the gcloud reference.

Develop your own application using Cloud Client Libraries

If you want to create your own applications to manage resources, use Cloud Client Libraries to access Google Cloud APIs.

Cloud Client Libraries provide the following benefits to help you build your application:

  • Use conventions that are specific to your preferred language.
  • Use a consistent style across services.
  • Handle authentication.

For an overview, see Cloud Client Libraries explained.

Scale resource provisioning and management with Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is the process of provisioning and managing infrastructure using code instead of graphical user interfaces or command-line scripts.

Your company's administrators and architects might use IaC to obtain the following benefits:

  • Incorporate your change management process.
  • Test and audit as you make changes.
  • Store configurations in source control.
  • Standardize your infrastructure.

Google Cloud is integrated with several IaC tools. For example, you might use Terraform to provision and manage your infrastructure through human-readable configuration files that you can version, reuse, and share.

For an overview of IaC and a list of tools you can use with Google Cloud, see Infrastructure as Code on Google Cloud.

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