markosamuli.gcloud

Install Google Cloud SDK

This guide explains how to install the Google Cloud SDK on Ubuntu and macOS development machines using Ansible. Note: Do not use this on production servers.

Installation Location

By default, the Google Cloud SDK will be installed in the directory ~/google-cloud-sdk. If you want to install it in a different location, you can change the gcloud_install_dir variable. For example, to install it in ~/opt/google-cloud-sdk, set:

# Install to ~/opt/google-cloud-sdk
gcloud_install_dir: "/opt"

The installer will also automatically find any existing installation in ~/opt/google-cloud-sdk and use that path if available.

Prefer Python 3

The Google Cloud SDK installer prefers python2 over python3. If you want to use python3, enable it by adding:

gcloud_prefer_python3: true

Install Using Package Manager

To install the Cloud SDK from your system's package manager (if available), enable it in your Ansible configuration:

# Install Cloud SDK from APT
gcloud_install_from_package_manager: true

This option is only for Debian-based systems with APT repositories.

Changes to Shell Config Files

The installation will modify your .bashrc and .zshrc files if they are present in your home directory. It will ensure that any symbolic links to your dotfiles are resolved.

The configuration will include setups for command completion of the gcloud command.

If you manage your shell configurations or use a specific framework, set gcloud_setup_shell to false to prevent automatic modifications. For example:

# Do not modify my dotfiles!
gcloud_setup_shell: false

Manually Configuring Bash

To manually set up your .bashrc after installation to ~/google-cloud-sdk, you can use:

if [ -d "$HOME/google-cloud-sdk" ]; then
  export CLOUDSDK_ROOT_DIR="$HOME/google-cloud-sdk"
  # Update PATH for the Google Cloud SDK.
  source $CLOUDSDK_ROOT_DIR/path.bash.inc
  # Enable bash completion for gcloud.
  source $CLOUDSDK_ROOT_DIR/completion.bash.inc
fi

If your .bashrc already has an export CLOUDSDK_ROOT_DIR= line, it won't be changed.

Manually Configuring Zsh

For .zshrc configuration after installing to ~/google-cloud-sdk, use this setup:

if [ -d "$HOME/google-cloud-sdk" ]; then
  export CLOUDSDK_ROOT_DIR="$HOME/google-cloud-sdk"
  # Update PATH for the Google Cloud SDK.
  source $CLOUDSDK_ROOT_DIR/path.zsh.inc
  # Enable zsh completion for gcloud.
  source $CLOUDSDK_ROOT_DIR/completion.zsh.inc
fi