[Product Update] Google Cloud CLI will no longer include Skaffold component starting Jan 15, 2027

[Karen Kalashian]

Hello Skaffold users,

You’re receiving this communication because you are potentially using Google Cloud CLI.

We are writing to inform you that, starting January 15, 2027, we are removing the Skaffold component from the gcloud CLI bundled component workflow. To access the latest open-source software tools, we recommend using the upstream source project.

The details provided below will help you to understand how this change will impact your projects and determine if action is required.

What you need to know

We are making this change to ensure you have direct access to the latest versions of the Skaffold open-source tool.

Key changes starting January 15, 2027:

• Component removal: New gcloud CLI releases will no longer include the Skaffold tool bundled with them.

• Manual installation requirement: To install the Skaffold tool, you need to install it manually. It is no longer included with the gcloud CLI but can still be downloaded for free from its open-source releases. To include Skaffold in your gcloud CLI release, you need to manually install it. Skaffold is still freely available from its open source releases.

What you need to do

No action is required from you to implement this change. There will be no immediate impact for gcloud CLI users, and existing releases will remain unaffected.

Timelines:

• Starting October 15, 2026, all new gcloud CLI releases will show a deprecation message when you attempt to install the Skaffold component using gcloud. All new gcloud CLI releases will also show an error in a small percentage of attempts to install the Skaffold component to increase awareness of this change among the users.

• Starting January 15, 2027, all new gcloud CLI releases will automatically exclude the Skaffold tool in its bundled component workflow. Users will see this error pointing to the alternative installation path: “Skaffold component is not supported by gcloud and should be installed following the instructions in the Installing Skaffold documentation.”

We’re here to help

If you have any questions or require assistance, please contact Google Cloud Support.

Thanks for choosing Google Cloud CLI.

— The Google Cloud Team