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What is Google Cloud Shell?
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Google Cloud Shell is a browser-based interactive shell environment for Google Cloud. Google Cloud+1
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You can launch it directly via shell.cloud.google.com or from within the Google Cloud Console. Google Cloud
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It provisions a Debian-based virtual machine for your session, preloaded with many useful tools and cloud SDKs. Google Cloud+2Google Cloud+2
Key Features & Capabilities
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Preinstalled Tools | Comes with gcloud CLI, Docker, Git, editors (vim, nano), build tools, language runtimes, etc. Google Cloud+2Google Cloud+2 |
| Persistent Storage | You get 5 GB of persistent storage mounted to your $HOME directory. Files stored here survive across sessions. Google Codelabs+3Google Cloud+3Google Cloud+3 |
| Session Lifetime | The VM is ephemeral — after inactivity (≈ 1 hour) the session ends. But the persistent home directory remains. Google Cloud+1 |
| Zero Setup | No need to install or configure the CLI/tools locally — everything you need is ready. Google Codelabs+1 |
| Cloud Code / Editor Integration | It includes a browser-based IDE (Cloud Shell Editor) with support for cloud-native development, code editing, debugging, and version control. Google Cloud+1 |
| Automatic Authentication & Project Context | Your Cloud Shell session inherits your active Google Cloud project and credentials, so you can immediately run gcloud commands. Google Cloud+2Google Codelabs+2 |
Limitations & Considerations
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You cannot expand the persistent storage beyond the fixed 5 GB. Google Cloud+1
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If you don’t use Cloud Shell for ~120 days, Google may delete your
$HOMEdirectory. Google Cloud -
Any files or state stored outside your home directory (for example, installed system-wide packages) are not persisted across sessions. Google Cloud
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The region for your VM is automatically chosen; you can’t pick the zone. Google Cloud
Use Cases & Benefits
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Great for quick command-line access to GCP without local setup or installing SDKs.
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Useful for experimentation, scripts, tutorials, demos, or managing resources across projects.
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Good for development workflows where you want to build, test, and deploy from within the cloud environment.
Creating RDP in Google Cloud Shell
You can create and access a Remote Desktop (RDP) environment through Google Cloud Shell by setting up a Linux VM with a desktop environment and enabling RDP access. Here we can access these RDP via web Browser itself or by using Chrome Remote Desktop.
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| RDP - Can access in browser. |