Google Colab

Google Colab CLI

Use colab to manage Google Colab sessions from the terminal. Full reference: https://github.com/googlecolab/google-colab-cli

Install: pip install google-colab-cli

Auth default is ADC. Use --auth oauth2 for browser-based OAuth.

Session Management

colab new                                    # CPU session
colab new --gpu T4                           # GPU (T4, L4, A100, H100)
colab new --tpu v5e1                         # TPU (v5e1, v6e1)
colab new -s my-session --gpu A100           # Named session
colab sessions                               # List active sessions
colab status                                 # All known sessions
colab status -s my-session                   # One session
colab stop -s my-session                     # Terminate
colab url -s my-session                      # Print Colab URL
colab url -s my-session --open               # Open in browser

Code Execution

echo "print('hello')" | colab exec -s my-session          # Pipe code
colab exec -s my-session -f script.py                      # Run local .py
colab exec -s my-session -f notebook.ipynb                  # Run .ipynb
colab exec -s my-session -f script.py --output-image out.png
colab repl -s my-session                                    # Interactive REPL
colab console -s my-session                                 # Raw TTY shell
echo "nvidia-smi" | colab console -s my-session             # Pipe command

One-Shot Script (new + exec + stop)

colab run script.py                                  # Run and destroy
colab run --gpu T4 script.py                         # With GPU
colab run --keep script.py                           # Keep session alive
colab run -s name --gpu A100 script.py -- arg1 arg2  # Named, pass args

File Operations

colab ls -s my-session /content/data
colab upload -s my-session local.csv /content/data.csv
colab download -s my-session /content/result.csv ./result.csv
colab rm -s my-session /content/old.csv
colab edit -s my-session /content/script.py

Packages & Environment

colab install -s my-session -r requirements.txt
colab install -s my-session numpy pandas torch
colab auth -s my-session            # GCP auth (interactive)
colab drivemount -s my-session      # Mount Drive at /content/drive
colab drivemount -s my-session /mnt

History & Logs

colab log -s my-session
colab log -s my-session -n 20
colab log -s my-session -o history.ipynb   # .ipynb, .md, .txt, .jsonl

Utility

colab version
colab update --install
colab help exec

Global Options

| Flag | Description | |------|-------------| | --auth {oauth2,adc} | Auth strategy. Default: adc | | -c, --client-oauth-config PATH | OAuth config JSON | | --config PATH | Session state file | | --logtostderr | Output to stderr |

Notes

• exec reads local files and sends them to VM — no upload needed for .py/.ipynb.
• repl and console require TTY interactively, but work with piped stdin in scripts.
• run is ideal for CI/CD: #!/usr/bin/env colab run --gpu T4
• Session state persists in ~/.config/colab-cli/sessions.json.
• auth and drivemount require user interaction — cannot be fully automated.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: OEvortex
• Source: OEvortex/vtx-coding-agent
• License: Apache-2.0

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.