gcloud-components

name	gcloud-components
description	Google Cloud CLI component manager via gcloud (`gcloud components`). List, install, update, or remove Google Cloud CLI components — repositories.

gcloud components — Google Cloud CLI component manager

Overview

gcloud components manages the Google Cloud CLI's own component system — the installable parts of the CLI itself, such as the gcloud, bq, and gsutil tools, the alpha/beta command surfaces, and supporting packages like kubectl or local emulators. Reach for it to inspect what is installed, add tools, update or pin/downgrade the CLI version, remove components, or repair a corrupt installation. This is not a Google Cloud API-backed service: every command runs locally against the Cloud SDK component repository, with no project or API enablement required.

Note: the component manager is disabled when the CLI was installed via a package manager (APT, yum/dnf). In that case, manage components through the OS package manager instead (for example apt-get install google-cloud-cli-kubectl). On Windows "All Users" installs, run install/update/remove from an Administrator terminal, and keep your working directory outside the google-cloud-cli install directory.

Quick reference — common workflows

1. Inspect installed and available components

# Status (not installed / installed / update available) of every component
gcloud components list

# Include installed and latest-available version numbers
gcloud components list --show-versions

# Only what is installed locally
gcloud components list --only-local-state

2. Install a component (e.g. kubectl, or the alpha/beta surfaces)

# See available component IDs first
gcloud components list

# Install one component (dependencies resolved automatically)
gcloud components install kubectl

# Install several at once
gcloud components install alpha beta

3. Update — or pin/downgrade — the CLI

# Update all installed components to the latest version
gcloud components update

# Update (or downgrade) to a fixed Google Cloud CLI version
gcloud components update --version=1.2.3

4. Remove a component

# Remove a component and anything that depends on it
gcloud components remove kubectl

# Remove several at once
gcloud components remove alpha beta

5. Repair a corrupt installation

# Downloads the latest CLI and reinstalls the same component set
gcloud components reinstall

6. Manage Trusted Tester repositories

# Register a Trusted Tester component repository
gcloud components repositories add http://repo.location.com

# List registered repositories
gcloud components repositories list

# Remove all registered repositories
gcloud components repositories remove --all

Command groups

Group	Reference file	Commands	Description
components repositories	repositories.md	3	Manage additional component repositories for Trusted Tester programs

Top-level commands (see _commands.md):

• gcloud components install — install one or more components
• gcloud components list — list the status of all components
• gcloud components reinstall — reinstall the CLI with the components you have now
• gcloud components remove — remove one or more installed components
• gcloud components update — update all installed components to the latest version

See index.md for a one-line index of all 8 commands.

Common flags & tips

• Component IDs come from list. gcloud components list is the canonical source of installable IDs (kubectl, alpha, beta, gsutil, emulators, and so on); use those exact IDs as the positional args to install and remove.
• list is filterable like any gcloud list. It accepts --filter, --limit, and --sort-by in addition to the component-specific --only-local-state, --show-versions, and --show-platform.
• Dependencies are automatic. install also installs dependencies; remove also uninstalls anything that depends on the targets. Both list what they will change and prompt for confirmation.
• Versions live on update, not install. install always installs at your current CLI version; to move the whole installation use gcloud components update --version=VERSION (a lower version downgrades the CLI).
• reinstall takes no arguments — it rebuilds the installation in place with the current component set.
• repositories remove can target specific URLs or use --all. With no URL and no flag it prompts you to pick a registered repository.

Official documentation

• Managing gcloud CLI components — primary how-to for list/install/update/remove, including the package-manager caveats.
• Install the Google Cloud CLI — all platform installation methods; references component management for post-install add-ons.
• Google Cloud CLI quickstart — install + init flow that points to component management for kubectl, emulators, and alpha/beta.
• gcloud components reference — the command group and every subcommand.