How to use the command 'gcpdiag' (with examples)

The ‘gcpdiag’ command is a troubleshooting and diagnostics tool for Google Cloud Platform. It can be run in a Docker container or in GCP Cloudshell. This article will illustrate several use cases of the ‘gcpdiag’ command and provide example code, motivations, explanations, and example outputs for each use case.

Use case 1: Run ‘gcpdiag’ on your project, returning all rules

Code:

gcpdiag lint --project=gcp_project_id

Motivation: This use case allows you to run ‘gcpdiag’ on your project and retrieve all rules. It can be useful for troubleshooting and diagnosing issues in your Google Cloud Platform project.

Explanation:

• ‘gcpdiag’ - This is the command name.
• ’lint’ - This is the subcommand for running the linting tool.
• ‘–project=gcp_project_id’ - This argument specifies the project ID for your Google Cloud Platform project.

Example output:

Retrieving all rules for project gcp_project_id...
- Rule 1: ...
- Rule 2: ...
- Rule 3: ...

Use case 2: Hide rules that are ok

Code:

gcpdiag lint --project=gcp_project_id --hide-ok

Motivation: Sometimes, when running ‘gcpdiag’, there may be rules that are considered “ok” and not relevant to the current troubleshooting or diagnostic scenario. This use case allows you to hide those rules and focus on the more important ones.

Explanation:

• ‘gcpdiag’ - This is the command name.
• ’lint’ - This is the subcommand for running the linting tool.
• ‘–project=gcp_project_id’ - This argument specifies the project ID for your Google Cloud Platform project.
• ‘–hide-ok’ - This argument instructs ‘gcpdiag’ to hide rules that are considered “ok”.

Example output:

Retrieving all rules for project gcp_project_id (excluding rules that are ok)...
- Rule 1: ...
- Rule 2: ...

Use case 3: Authenticate using a service account private key file

Code:

gcpdiag lint --project=gcp_project_id --auth-key path/to/private_key

Motivation: In some cases, you may want to authenticate ‘gcpdiag’ using a service account private key file instead of other authentication methods. This use case allows you to specify the path to the private key file for authentication.

Explanation:

• ‘gcpdiag’ - This is the command name.
• ’lint’ - This is the subcommand for running the linting tool.
• ‘–project=gcp_project_id’ - This argument specifies the project ID for your Google Cloud Platform project.
• ‘–auth-key path/to/private_key’ - This argument instructs ‘gcpdiag’ to authenticate using the service account private key file located at the specified path.

Example output:

Authenticating using service account private key file path/to/private_key...
Retrieving all rules for project gcp_project_id...
- Rule 1: ...
- Rule 2: ...
- Rule 3: ...

Use case 4: Search logs and metrics from a number of days back

Code:

gcpdiag lint --project=gcp_project_id --within-days number

Motivation: When troubleshooting or diagnosing issues, it can sometimes be helpful to search logs and metrics from a specific number of days back. This use case allows you to specify the number of days back to search.

Explanation:

• ‘gcpdiag’ - This is the command name.
• ’lint’ - This is the subcommand for running the linting tool.
• ‘–project=gcp_project_id’ - This argument specifies the project ID for your Google Cloud Platform project.
• ‘–within-days number’ - This argument specifies the number of days back to search for logs and metrics. The default is 3 days if not specified.

Example output:

Searching logs and metrics from 5 days back for project gcp_project_id...
- Log 1: ...
- Metric 1: ...
- Metric 2: ...

Use case 5: Display help

Code:

gcpdiag lint --help

Motivation: If you need help or further information about the ‘gcpdiag’ command and its usage, this use case will display the help documentation.

Explanation:

• ‘gcpdiag’ - This is the command name.
• ’lint’ - This is the subcommand for running the linting tool.
• ‘–help’ - This argument instructs ‘gcpdiag’ to display the help documentation.

Example output:

Usage: gcpdiag lint [OPTIONS]

  Google Cloud Platform troubleshooting and diagnostics tool.

Options:
  --project TEXT    Specify the Google Cloud project ID.  [required]
  --hide-ok         Hide rules that are considered ok.
  --auth-key TEXT   Path to service account private key file.
  --within-days INT Number of days back to search for logs and metrics.
  --help            Show this message and exit.

Conclusion:

The ‘gcpdiag’ command is a powerful tool for troubleshooting and diagnosing issues in Google Cloud Platform projects. It provides various options and features that can be customized to fit specific use cases. By following the examples and explanations provided in this article, users can leverage the ‘gcpdiag’ command effectively to streamline their troubleshooting and diagnostics processes.