Set up a local development environment

Learn how to configure a local development environment for Google Cloud. This document covers the core tools required to build, test, and run applications with Google Cloud services:

  • gcloud CLI: Manage cloud resources, configure projects, and set up local Application Default Credentials (ADC).
  • Cloud Client Libraries: Access Google Cloud APIs programmatically using idiomatic libraries in your preferred programming language.

For an overview of other tools and interfaces across Google Cloud, see Ways to interact with Google Cloud.

Before you begin

Ask your organization administrator to complete the following prerequisites:

  • Provision your user identity: Assign a Cloud Identity or Google Workspace account.
  • Grant project access and IAM roles: Assign the required Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles for your project.
  • Enable billing: Verify Cloud Billing is enabled on your project.

For organization-wide setup, see the Google Cloud Setup guided flow.

Set up the gcloud CLI and authentication

Configure gcloud CLI (gcloud) to manage resources and authenticate your local environment:

  1. Install gcloud CLI on your local workstation.
  2. Run gcloud init in your terminal to sign in and select your default project.
  3. Run gcloud auth application-default login to configure Application Default Credentials (ADC). ADC enables local client libraries to authenticate automatically against your project.

Install Cloud Client Libraries

To access Google Cloud services programmatically from your application code:

  1. Enable required Cloud APIs for your project.
  2. Install Cloud Client Libraries for your programming language (such as Java, Python, or Go). Your code authenticates automatically using ADC.

Alternative tools and environments

If your workflow requires specific development environments or infrastructure tooling, consider the following:

What's next