gcloud-init

Launch a "Getting Started" workflow

$ gcloud init

$ gcloud init --skip-diagnostics

$ gcloud init --console-only

gcloud init [--console-only] [--no-launch-browser] [--skip-diagnostics] [--project=PROJECT_ID] [--account=ACCOUNT_ID] [--json] [--quiet]

--console-only
    Forces the authorization flow to occur entirely within the console without launching a web browser.

--no-launch-browser
    Prevents gcloud init from automatically opening a web browser for authentication. The authorization URL will be printed to the console.

--skip-diagnostics
    Skips the environment diagnostic checks that gcloud init performs, such as Python and network connectivity tests.

--project=PROJECT_ID
    Sets the default Google Cloud project for the SDK to the specified PROJECT_ID directly, skipping the interactive project selection.

--account=ACCOUNT_ID
    Sets the default user account for authentication to the specified ACCOUNT_ID (e.g., an email address).

--json
    Outputs authorization URLs and other relevant information in JSON format, useful for scripting or automated environments.

--quiet or -q
    Suppresses all interactive prompts, using default values or values provided by other flags. Useful for non-interactive scripts.

gcloud-init is not a standard, standalone command in the Google Cloud SDK. It is highly probable that the command intended was
gcloud init, which is the official command used to initialize your Google Cloud SDK environment.

This process involves authenticating with Google Cloud, selecting a default project, and configuring various SDK properties such as default compute zone and region. It helps users set up their development environment for interacting with Google Cloud services.

This analysis will focus on gcloud init as it is the user-facing command fulfilling the concept of "gcloud initialization" on Linux.

The literal command gcloud-init (with a hyphen) does not exist as a user-executable command in the Google Cloud SDK. This analysis pertains to gcloud init.

Requires an active internet connection to authenticate and retrieve project/configuration data from Google Cloud.

Modifies user-specific configuration files (e.g., ~/.config/gcloud/) and can update SDK components.

gcloud init serves as the primary gateway for new users or new environments to connect their local machine to Google Cloud. It ensures that the SDK has the necessary credentials and default settings to execute commands against Google Cloud resources effectively.

The settings configured by gcloud init are stored in configuration files within the user's home directory (e.g., ~/.config/gcloud/). Multiple configurations can be created and managed using gcloud config configurations.

The gcloud init command has been a fundamental part of the Google Cloud SDK since its inception, evolving with new authentication methods and configuration options to streamline the setup process for developers and administrators. It replaced earlier, more manual setup procedures.

gcloud(1), gcloud auth(1), gcloud config(1), cloud-init(7)