gcpath

gcpath is an agent-native, read-only CLI for querying Google Cloud Platform resource hierarchy paths. It translates between GCP resource names (e.g., folders/12345) and human-readable paths (e.g., //example.com/department/team).

Why gcpath?

GCP's resource hierarchy — organizations, folders, projects — is central to how teams structure access, billing, and governance. But navigating it with gcloud means juggling multiple subcommands, parsing verbose output, and stitching together parent-child relationships yourself.

gcpath gives you a single tool that treats the hierarchy as a first-class concept: list, search, resolve paths, and traverse ancestry with Unix-style commands.

Built for AI agents

gcpath is designed from the ground up to be used by AI coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, etc.), not just humans:

Fully read-only — every command is a query, never a mutation. Agents can run gcpath freely with zero risk of modifying your GCP environment.
AXI-compliant output — defaults to TOON format, a token-efficient structured format that agents parse natively. Includes pre-computed aggregates, definitive empty states, structured errors, and contextual help sections — no screen-scraping required.
Ambient context hooks — gcpath hook install registers a session-start hook with Claude Code and Codex so the agent automatically knows your GCP hierarchy context when a session begins. No manual prompting needed.
Agent Skill definition — ships with an Agent Skills manifest that teaches agents when to use gcpath, what commands are available, and common workflows — so the agent reaches for the right tool without you telling it to.
Multiple output formats — --format toon|json|yaml|rich lets agents pick the format that suits the task, with TOON as the default for maximum token efficiency.

Also great for humans

Familiar Linux-like CLI (ls, tree, find)
Stay in the terminal for quick hierarchy lookups
Rich colored output with --format rich
No need to learn the complex gcloud resource manager interface

Features

Tree Visualization: View your hierarchy as a tree.
Recursive Listing: List all folders and projects in your organization as paths.
Path Resolution: Get the resource name (ID) for a given path.
Reverse Lookup: Get the path for a given resource name (ID).
Find: Search for resources by name using glob patterns.
Ancestors: Show the full ancestry chain from any resource up to the org root.
Type Filtering: Filter ls, tree, and find output by resource type (folder, project, organization).
Structured Output: --format toon|json|yaml|rich for machine-readable or human-friendly output across all commands.
Dual API Mode:
- Cloud Asset API (Default): Fast, bulk loading using GCP Cloud Asset Inventory.
- Resource Manager API: Iterative loading using standard Resource Manager API (slower, but different permissions).

Installation

pipx install gcpath
# or
pip install gcpath
# or
uv tool install gcpath

Prerequisites

Authentication

gcpath uses Google Cloud Application Default Credentials (ADC).

Install gcloud CLI.
Authenticate:
```
gcloud auth application-default login
```

Permissions

Ensure you have enough permissions on your entrypoint (organization or folder), see API modes.

Quick Start

# List all resources
gcpath ls

# List children of a specific folder
gcpath ls folders/123456789

# List only folders, recursively, up to depth 2
gcpath ls -R --type folder -L 2

# Find resources by name pattern
gcpath find "*prod*"

# Show ancestry chain of a resource
gcpath ancestors projects/my-project

# Find ID of a specific path
gcpath name //example.com/engineering

# Find path of a specific resource ID
gcpath path folders/123456789

# View tree rooted at organization
gcpath tree

# View tree rooted at folder
gcpath tree folders/123456789

# Generate a Mermaid diagram of the hierarchy
gcpath diagram

# Generate a D2 diagram scoped to a folder
gcpath diagram folders/123456789 --format d2

# Machine-readable output
gcpath --format json ls -R
gcpath --format yaml tree -L 2

Usage

List Resources (`ls`)

List folders and projects. Defaults to the organization root.

gcpath ls [RESOURCE_NAME]

Options:

-l, --long: Show resource IDs and numbers (for projects).
-R, --recursive: List resources recursively.
-t, --type TYPE: Filter by resource type: folder, project, organization.
-L, --level N: Limit depth for recursive listing (requires -R).

Examples:

# List all organizations and their top-level children
gcpath ls

# List all contents of an organization recursively
gcpath ls -R

# List children of a specific folder
gcpath ls folders/123456789

# List only folders, recursively
gcpath ls -R --type folder

# Recursive listing limited to depth 2
gcpath ls -R -L 2

Tree View (`tree`)

Visualize the resource hierarchy in a tree format.

gcpath tree [RESOURCE_NAME]

Options:

-L, --level N: Limit depth of the tree (no limit by default).
-i, --ids: Include resource IDs in the output.
-t, --type TYPE: Filter by resource type: folder, project.
-y, --yes: Skip confirmation prompts for large hierarchy loads.

Generate Diagram (`diagram`)

Generate a Mermaid or D2 diagram of the resource hierarchy.

gcpath diagram [RESOURCE_NAME]

Options:

-f, --format FORMAT: Output format: mermaid (default) or d2.
-L, --level N: Limit depth of the diagram.
-i, --ids: Include resource IDs in node labels.
-o, --output FILE: Write diagram to a file instead of stdout.
-y, --yes: Skip confirmation prompts for large hierarchy loads.

Examples:

# Generate Mermaid diagram of the full hierarchy
gcpath diagram

# Generate D2 diagram scoped to a folder
gcpath diagram folders/123456789 --format d2

# Save Mermaid diagram to a file with depth limit
gcpath diagram -L 3 -o hierarchy.mmd

# Include resource IDs in labels
gcpath diagram --ids

Get Resource Name (`name`)

Get the GCP resource name (e.g., folders/123) from a path:

gcpath name //example.com/engineering/backend

To get just the ID:

gcpath name --id //example.com/engineering/backend

Get Path (`path`)

Get the path from a resource name:

gcpath path folders/987654321

Find Resources (`find`)

Search for resources by display name using glob patterns.

gcpath find PATTERN [RESOURCE]

Options:

-t, --type TYPE: Filter by resource type: folder, project, organization.

The optional RESOURCE argument scopes the search to a subtree.

Examples:

# Find all resources with "prod" in the name
gcpath find "*prod*"

# Find only projects matching a pattern
gcpath find --type project "*backend*"

# Search within a specific folder
gcpath find "team-*" folders/123456789

# Case-insensitive by default
gcpath find "*STAGING*"

Show Ancestry (`ancestors`)

Show the full ancestry chain from a resource up to the organization root. Uses direct API calls without loading the full hierarchy.

gcpath ancestors RESOURCE_NAME

Examples:

# Show ancestry of a project
gcpath ancestors projects/my-project

# Show ancestry of a folder
gcpath ancestors folders/123456789

# JSON output for scripting
gcpath --format json ancestors projects/my-project

Output Formats (`--format`)

All commands support --format toon|json|yaml|rich:

Format	Best for	Description
`toon`	AI agents (default)	Token-efficient structured format with aggregates and help sections
`json`	Scripting / piping	Standard JSON
`yaml`	Config files / readability	Standard YAML
`rich`	Humans in a terminal	Colored tables and trees

# Default TOON output (agent-optimized)
gcpath ls -R

# JSON for scripting
gcpath --format json ls -R | jq '.[] | select(.type == "project")'

# Rich colored output for humans
gcpath --format rich ls -R

# YAML output
gcpath --format yaml ancestors projects/my-project

API Modes

gcpath supports two GCP APIs for loading resource hierarchy data:

Cloud Asset API (Default - Recommended)

Fast bulk loading via Cloud Asset Inventory. Recommended for most users.

# Use Cloud Asset API (default)
gcpath ls
gcpath ls --use-asset-api  # explicit
gcpath ls -u               # short form

Advantages:

5-6x faster than Resource Manager API
Supports scoped loading (ls folders/123, tree folders/123)
Efficient for large hierarchies (1000+ folders)

Required Permissions:

cloudasset.assets.searchAllResources
resourcemanager.organizations.get
resourcemanager.folders.get
resourcemanager.projects.get

Setup: Requires Cloud Asset API to be enabled: gcloud services enable cloudasset.googleapis.com

Resource Manager API

Traditional recursive API calls. Use when Cloud Asset API is not available.

# Use Resource Manager API
gcpath ls --no-use-asset-api
gcpath ls -U  # short form

Advantages:

Works without Cloud Asset API enabled
Simpler permission model
Standard resourcemanager.* permissions

Required Permissions:

resourcemanager.organizations.get
resourcemanager.folders.list
resourcemanager.projects.list
resourcemanager.projects.get

Which Should I Use?

For most users: Use the default (Cloud Asset API) for best performance
If you get permission/API errors: Use -U flag for Resource Manager API

Entrypoint Configuration

If you're a folder admin without organization-level access, or simply want to focus on a specific part of the hierarchy, you can configure an entrypoint. This scopes all commands to a subtree, improving performance and relevance.

Setting an Entrypoint

# Set a default entrypoint (persisted in ~/.gcpath/config.json)
gcpath config set-entrypoint folders/123456789

# Show current configuration
gcpath config show

# Remove the entrypoint
gcpath config clear-entrypoint

One-off Override

Use the --entrypoint / -e flag to override the configured entrypoint for a single command:

gcpath -e folders/987654321 ls
gcpath -e folders/987654321 tree

Behavior

When an entrypoint is set, commands like ls, tree, diagram, and name automatically scope to that resource.

Passing an explicit resource argument overrides the entrypoint:

gcpath ls folders/555  # uses folders/555, not the configured entrypoint

The cache is scope-aware: cached data stores which entrypoint it was built for. Changing the entrypoint automatically invalidates the cache and triggers a fresh load.

Python API

In addition to the CLI, gcpath can be used as a Python library. See the Installation section; for uv projects, you may prefer uv add gcpath.

Basic Usage

from gcpath import Hierarchy

# Load the full GCP resource hierarchy
# The faster Cloud Asset API is recommended (requires `cloudasset.googleapis.com` enabled).
hierarchy = Hierarchy.load(via_resource_manager=False)

# Alternatively, use the default Resource Manager API. It's slower but has simpler permissions.
# hierarchy = Hierarchy.load()

# Iterate over organizations, folders, and projects
for org_node in hierarchy.organizations:
    print(org_node.organization.display_name)  # e.g. "example.com"

for folder in hierarchy.folders:
    print(folder.path)  # e.g. "//example.com/engineering/backend"

for project in hierarchy.projects:
    print(project.path, project.project_id)  # e.g. "//example.com/my-project", "my-project"

Path ↔ Resource Name Conversion

from gcpath import Hierarchy

hierarchy = Hierarchy.load(via_resource_manager=False)

# Path → resource name
resource_name = hierarchy.get_resource_name("//example.com/engineering/backend")
print(resource_name)  # e.g. "folders/123456789"

# Resource name → path
path = hierarchy.get_path_by_resource_name("folders/123456789")
print(path)  # e.g. "//example.com/engineering/backend"

# Works for organizations and projects too
org_path = hierarchy.get_path_by_resource_name("organizations/111111111")
project_path = hierarchy.get_path_by_resource_name("projects/my-project-id")

Lightweight Single-Resource Lookup

When you only need the path for one resource, resolve_ancestry() traverses up the hierarchy via individual API calls — no full hierarchy load required:

from gcpath import Hierarchy

path = Hierarchy.resolve_ancestry("folders/123456789")
print(path)  # e.g. "//example.com/engineering/backend"

Scoped Loading

For large hierarchies or restricted access, scope the load to a specific folder or organization:

from gcpath import Hierarchy

# Load only the subtree under a specific folder (recursive)
hierarchy = Hierarchy.load(
    via_resource_manager=False,
    scope_resource="folders/123456789",
    recursive=True,
)

# Load only direct children of a folder
hierarchy = Hierarchy.load(
    via_resource_manager=False,
    scope_resource="folders/123456789",
    recursive=False,
)

Error Handling

from gcpath import Hierarchy, GCPathError, ResourceNotFoundError, PathParsingError

try:
    hierarchy = Hierarchy.load(via_resource_manager=False)
    name = hierarchy.get_resource_name("//example.com/nonexistent/path")
except ResourceNotFoundError as e:
    print(f"Resource not found: {e}")
except PathParsingError as e:
    print(f"Invalid path format: {e}")
except GCPathError as e:
    print(f"gcpath error: {e}")

API Reference

Symbol	Description
`Hierarchy`	Main class. Load with `Hierarchy.load()`, then query with `get_resource_name()`, `get_path_by_resource_name()`.
`Hierarchy.load()`	Load the full hierarchy from GCP. Key params: `via_resource_manager`, `scope_resource`, `recursive`.
`Hierarchy.resolve_ancestry()`	Lightweight static method to resolve a single resource name to path.
`OrganizationNode`	Represents a GCP organization with its folders.
`Folder`	Represents a GCP folder. Has `.path`, `.name`, and `.display_name` attributes.
`Project`	Represents a GCP project. Has `.path`, `.project_id`, `.name`, and `.display_name` attributes.
`GCPathError`	Base exception class for all gcpath errors.
`ResourceNotFoundError`	Raised when a resource cannot be found in the hierarchy.
`PathParsingError`	Raised when a path string cannot be parsed.
`path_escape()`	URL-encodes a display name for safe use in paths.

Agent Integration

gcpath is designed to work seamlessly with AI coding agents. There are two complementary ways to set this up.

Ambient Context Hooks

Session-start hooks inject your GCP hierarchy context into the agent's conversation automatically — the agent knows about your orgs, folders, and projects from the moment a session begins.

# Install hooks for Claude Code and Codex
gcpath hook install

# Check hook status
gcpath hook status

# Remove hooks
gcpath hook uninstall

This registers a SessionStart hook that runs gcpath hook run, which outputs a compact TOON dashboard of your cached hierarchy (under 500 tokens). The agent sees this context without you having to explain your GCP setup each session.

Agent Skill

gcpath ships with an Agent Skills definition that teaches agents when and how to use it.

bunx skills add github:tardigrde/gcpath --skill gcpath
# or
npx skills add github:tardigrde/gcpath --skill gcpath

The skill teaches the agent:

when to reach for gcpath vs other GCP tools (and when not to — e.g., IAM, billing, compute)
all commands, flags, and output formats
common workflows (ancestry lookup, scoped listing, path ↔ name conversion)
gotchas (organizationless projects, caching behavior, API modes)

See skills/gcpath/SKILL.md for the full skill definition and skills/gcpath/references/commands.md for the compact command reference.

Acknowledgments

Thanks for xebia/gcp-path for the inspiration!

License

MIT

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gcpath

Why gcpath?

Built for AI agents

Also great for humans

Features

Installation

Prerequisites

Authentication

Permissions

Quick Start

Usage

List Resources (ls)

Tree View (tree)

Generate Diagram (diagram)

Get Resource Name (name)

Get Path (path)

Find Resources (find)

Show Ancestry (ancestors)

Output Formats (--format)

API Modes

Cloud Asset API (Default - Recommended)

Resource Manager API

Which Should I Use?

Entrypoint Configuration

Setting an Entrypoint

One-off Override

Behavior

Python API

Basic Usage

Path ↔ Resource Name Conversion

Lightweight Single-Resource Lookup

Scoped Loading

Error Handling

API Reference

Agent Integration

Ambient Context Hooks

Agent Skill

Acknowledgments

License

List Resources (`ls`)

Tree View (`tree`)

Generate Diagram (`diagram`)

Get Resource Name (`name`)

Get Path (`path`)

Find Resources (`find`)

Show Ancestry (`ancestors`)

Output Formats (`--format`)