Cloud Management Tools (Console, CLI, SDK)

Last reviewed: August 2026

Three Ways to Work with the Cloud

Think about how you’d manage servers in an on-premises environment. You could go to the server room and work directly with a monitor and keyboard, connect remotely over SSH, or call APIs through automation scripts. The cloud offers the same three approaches.

Console (web UI) — Similar to going directly to the server room to work. It lets you view and manage resources visually, which is useful when you’re first learning or checking current status.
CLI (Command Line Interface) — Similar to connecting remotely over SSH and working with commands. Repetitive tasks can be automated with scripts, making it well suited to operations work.
SDK (Software Development Kit) — Similar to calling an API from application code. It lets you control cloud resources from a programming language, making it well suited to application integration.

In practice, you mix all three depending on the situation. It’s common to check status via the console, automate repetitive tasks via the CLI, and integrate cloud services into applications via the SDK.

Console (Web UI)

Each vendor provides a console for managing cloud resources from a web browser.

Item	AWS	Azure	Google Cloud	OCI
Name	AWS Management Console	Azure Portal	Google Cloud Console	OCI Console
URL	console.aws.amazon.com	portal.azure.com	console.cloud.google.com	cloud.oracle.com
Console local-language support	Major languages supported	Major languages supported	Varies by language	Varies by language
Mobile app	AWS Console Mobile App	Azure Mobile App	Google Cloud App	OCI Mobile App
Characteristics	Separate console per service, region selection required	Unified dashboard, resource-group centric	Project-centric, strong search	Compartment-centric, clean UI

Caveats When Using the Console

Check the region — In AWS and Google Cloud, you must explicitly select a region in the console. Creating resources in the wrong region is a common mistake.
Avoid manual production changes — Manual changes made through the console are hard to trace and impossible to reproduce. It’s recommended to manage production environments via CLI or IaC.

CLI (Command Line Interface)

Each vendor provides a CLI tool for managing cloud resources from a terminal.

Item	AWS	Azure	Google Cloud	OCI
CLI name	AWS CLI (`aws`)	Azure CLI (`az`)	Google Cloud CLI (`gcloud`)	OCI CLI (`oci`)
Additional CLI	—	Azure PowerShell	—	—
Install	Install guide	Install guide	Install guide	Install guide
Authentication	`aws login` (browser auth, CLI v2.32+)	`az login` (browser auth)	`gcloud auth login` (browser auth)	`oci session authenticate` (browser auth)
Output formats	JSON, YAML, Table, Text	JSON, YAML, Table, TSV	JSON, YAML, Table, CSV	JSON, Table

Basic Usage Examples

# AWS — list EC2 instances
aws ec2 describe-instances --region us-east-1

# Azure — list VMs
az vm list --resource-group my-rg --output table

# Google Cloud — list Compute Engine instances
gcloud compute instances list --project my-project

# OCI — list Compute instances
oci compute instance list --compartment-id <compartment-ocid>

Azure also provides Azure PowerShell in addition to the CLI. Organizations that primarily use PowerShell on Windows may find Azure PowerShell more familiar.

SDK (Software Development Kit)

Each vendor provides SDKs for major programming languages, letting you call cloud services directly from application code.

Language	AWS	Azure	Google Cloud	OCI
Python	Boto3	azure-sdk-for-python	google-cloud-python	oci-python-sdk
JavaScript/TypeScript	AWS SDK for JavaScript	azure-sdk-for-js	google-cloud-node	oci-typescript-sdk
Java	AWS SDK for Java	azure-sdk-for-java	google-cloud-java	oci-java-sdk
Go	AWS SDK for Go	azure-sdk-for-go	google-cloud-go	oci-go-sdk
.NET (C#)	AWS SDK for .NET	Azure SDK for .NET	Google Cloud .NET	oci-dotnet-sdk
Install docs	AWS SDK guide	Azure SDK guide	Cloud Client Libraries	OCI SDK guide

Unlike the CLI, an SDK integrates directly into application code, so you can implement error handling, retry logic, and asynchronous calls using the features of your programming language.

Cloud Shell

Every vendor provides a Cloud Shell that lets you use the CLI directly from a browser. No local installation is needed, making it useful for quick tests or emergency response.

Item	AWS	Azure	Google Cloud	OCI
Name	AWS CloudShell	Azure Cloud Shell	Google Cloud Shell	OCI Cloud Shell
Preinstalled tools	AWS CLI, Python, Node.js, Git, etc.	Azure CLI, PowerShell, Terraform, etc.	gcloud, kubectl, Terraform, Python, etc.	OCI CLI, Python, Terraform, etc.
Storage	1GB per region	5GB (Azure Files)	5GB (home directory)	5GB (home directory)
Cost	Free	Free (storage cost separate)	Free	Free
Editor	Built-in editor	Monaco editor (VS Code based)	Theia editor (VS Code based)	Built-in editor

Relationship to Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

The console, CLI, and SDK are all imperative approaches to directly creating and managing resources. They give step-by-step instructions like “create a server” or “connect a network.”

In contrast, IaC is a declarative approach. You define only the desired end state — “there should be 3 servers and 1 network” — and the tool compares it against the current state and automatically applies the necessary changes.

Approach	Characteristics	Example tools
Imperative	Executed step by step. Suited to quick tests and emergency response	CLI scripts, SDK code
Declarative	Defines the end state. Suited to reproducibility, version control, and team collaboration	Terraform, CloudFormation, Bicep, CDK

In practice, the standard approach is to check status via the console, respond to emergencies via the CLI, and manage production infrastructure with IaC.

Common Mistakes

“Creating it through the console is enough” — Resources created via the console leave no history, making them impossible to reproduce or audit. Production should be managed with IaC.
“CLI and SDK are the same thing” — The CLI is a tool for running one-off commands in a terminal, while the SDK is a library integrated into application code. Their purposes differ.
“Cloud Shell means no local installation is needed” — Cloud Shell is a temporary environment, and its state may reset when the session ends. Ongoing operations require a local CLI installation.

Checklist

Is CLI authentication set up with browser-based temporary credentials instead of long-lived credentials (access keys)?
Have you established the principle that production changes go through an IaC pipeline rather than the console?
Have you installed the CLI for the vendor you’ll use and run basic commands (resource listing)?