If you've already installed the gcloud CLI, run the following
command to make sure it's up to date:
gcloud components update
Install or update the beta component of the gcloud CLI, along
with the
cbt CLI
:
gcloud components install beta cbt
Set a default project for the gcloud CLI, replacing
PROJECT_ID with the project where your Bigtable instances
are located:
gcloud config set project PROJECT_ID
You can now use the gcloud CLI and the
cbt CLI
for
Bigtable.
Get help
For the gcloud CLI, each command for working with
Bigtable begins with gcloud bigtable or gcloud beta bigtable.
To get help for each command, see the reference documentation
or beta reference documentation, or use the
gcloud CLI itself to get help:
gcloudbigtableclusters--help# help for all commandsgcloudbigtableclusterscreate--help# help for the `create` command
For the
cbt CLI
, get help from the
reference documentation, or use the
cbt CLI
itself to
get help:
cbthelp# view a list of commands and help for all commandscbthelpcreatetable# help for the `createtable` command
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-29 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe gcloud CLI and cbt CLI can be used as command-line alternatives to the Google Cloud console for managing Bigtable instances.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eInstallation requires updating the gcloud CLI and installing the beta component along with the cbt CLI via the \u003ccode\u003egcloud components install beta cbt\u003c/code\u003e command.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eSet a default project using \u003ccode\u003egcloud config set project PROJECT_ID\u003c/code\u003e for your Bigtable instances.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou can use \u003ccode\u003egcloud bigtable --help\u003c/code\u003e or \u003ccode\u003ecbt help\u003c/code\u003e to view a list of available commands and learn about specific commands.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Install the gcloud CLI\n======================\n\nAs an alternative to the [Google Cloud console](https://console.cloud.google.com/), you can use the\n[Google Cloud CLI](/sdk) and the [`cbt` CLI](/bigtable/docs/cbt-overview) to\nmanage your Bigtable instances from the command line.\n\nInstall\n-------\n\nTo install the command-line interfaces:\n\n1. [Install the gcloud CLI](/sdk/docs).\n\n If you've already installed the gcloud CLI, run the following\n command to make sure it's up to date: \n\n gcloud components update\n\n2. Install or update the `beta` component of the gcloud CLI, along\n with the\n `cbt` CLI\n :\n\n gcloud components install beta cbt\n\n3. Set a default project for the gcloud CLI, replacing\n `PROJECT_ID` with the project where your Bigtable instances\n are located:\n\n gcloud config set project PROJECT_ID\n\nYou can now use the gcloud CLI and the\n`cbt` CLI\nfor\nBigtable.\n\nGet help\n--------\n\nFor the gcloud CLI, each command for working with\nBigtable begins with `gcloud bigtable` or `gcloud beta bigtable`.\nTo get help for each command, see the [reference documentation](/sdk/gcloud/reference/bigtable)\nor [beta reference documentation](/sdk/gcloud/reference/beta/bigtable), or use the\ngcloud CLI itself to get help: \n\n gcloud bigtable clusters --help # help for all commands\n gcloud bigtable clusters create --help # help for the `create` command\n\nFor the\n`cbt` CLI\n, get help from the\n[reference documentation](/bigtable/docs/cbt-reference), or use the\n`cbt` CLI\nitself to\nget help: \n\n cbt help # view a list of commands and help for all commands\n cbt help createtable # help for the `createtable` command\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- Learn how to [create a Bigtable instance](/bigtable/docs/creating-instance).\n- Find out how to [view and update existing Bigtable\n instances](/bigtable/docs/modifying-instance).\n- Learn how to [delete a Bigtable instance](/bigtable/docs/deleting-instance).\n- See [other maintenance tasks you can perform with the\n `cbt` CLI](/bigtable/docs/cbt-reference)."]]
