Get instance information

This page explains how to list all instances in a project and get instance detailsprogrammatically usingBigtable client libraries ormanually using theGoogle Cloud console, Google Cloud CLI, or cbt CLI:

List instances

To get a list of instances, do the following:

Console

  1. Open the list of Bigtable instances in the Google Cloud console.

    Open the instance list

    TheInstances page displays a list of instances.

gcloud

Use thebigtable instances list command to view a list of instances:

  gcloud bigtable instances list

cbt

Use thelistinstances command to view a list of instances:

  cbt listinstances

C++

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

namespacecbta=::google::cloud::bigtable_admin;using::google::cloud::Project;using::google::cloud::StatusOr;[](cbta::BigtableInstanceAdminClientinstance_admin,std::stringconst&project_id){std::stringproject_name=Project(project_id).FullName();StatusOr<google::bigtable::admin::v2::ListInstancesResponse>instances=instance_admin.ListInstances(project_name);if(!instances)throwstd::move(instances).status();for(autoconst&instance:instances->instances()){std::cout <<instance.name() <<"\n";}if(!instances->failed_locations().empty()){std::cout <<"The Cloud Bigtable service reports that the following ""locations are temporarily unavailable and no information ""about instances in these locations can be obtained:\n";for(autoconst&failed_location:instances->failed_locations()){std::cout <<failed_location <<"\n";}}}

C#

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

// Lists instances in the project.// Initialize request argument(s).ListInstancesRequestlistInstancesRequest=newListInstancesRequest{ParentAsProjectName=newProjectName(projectId)};try{// Make a request.Console.WriteLine("Waiting for operation to complete...");ListInstancesResponseinstances=bigtableInstanceAdminClient.ListInstances(listInstancesRequest);}catch(Exceptionex){Console.WriteLine($"Exception while requesting information about instances in {projectId} project");Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);return-1;}Console.WriteLine(newstring('-',50));

Java

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

try{List<Instance>instances=adminClient.listInstances();for(Instanceinstance:instances){System.out.println(instance.getId());}}catch(PartialListInstancesExceptione){System.err.println("Failed to list instances: "+e.getMessage());System.err.println("The following zones are unavailable: "+e.getUnavailableZones());System.err.println("But the following instances are reachable: "+e.getInstances());}

Node.js

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

const{BigtableInstanceAdminClient}=require('@google-cloud/bigtable').v2;constinstanceAdminClient=newBigtableInstanceAdminClient();constprojectId=awaitinstanceAdminClient.getProjectId();const[instances]=awaitinstanceAdminClient.listInstances({parent:`projects/${projectId}`,});instances.instances.forEach(instance=>{console.log(instance.name);});

PHP

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

use Google\Cloud\Bigtable\Admin\V2\Client\BigtableInstanceAdminClient;use Google\Cloud\Bigtable\Admin\V2\ListInstancesRequest;/** * List Bigtable instances in a project * * @param string $projectId The Google Cloud project ID */function list_instance(string $projectId): void{    $instanceAdminClient = new BigtableInstanceAdminClient();    $projectName = $instanceAdminClient->projectName($projectId);    printf('Listing Instances:' . PHP_EOL);    $listInstancesRequest = (new ListInstancesRequest())        ->setParent($projectName);    $getInstances = $instanceAdminClient->listInstances($listInstancesRequest)->getInstances();    $instances = $getInstances->getIterator();    foreach ($instances as $instance) {        print($instance->getName() . PHP_EOL);    }}

Python

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

print("\nListing instances:")forinstance_localinclient.list_instances()[0]:print(instance_local.instance_id)

Ruby

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

bigtable.instances.alldo|instance|puts"Instance:#{instance.instance_id}"end

Get instance details

To get details about an instance, do the following:

Console

  1. Open the list of Bigtable instances in the Google Cloud console.

    Open the instance list

  2. Click the instance whose details you want to view.

    TheInstance Overview page displays detailed information about the instance.

gcloud

Use thebigtable instances describe command to view details of an instance:

    gcloud bigtable instances describeINSTANCE_ID

Replace the following:

  • INSTANCE_ID: The permanent identifier for the instance.

cbt

Use thelistclusters command to view a view details of an instance:

    cbt listclustersINSTANCE_ID

Replace the following:

  • INSTANCE_ID: The permanent identifier for the instance.

C++

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

namespacecbt=::google::cloud::bigtable;namespacecbta=::google::cloud::bigtable_admin;using::google::cloud::StatusOr;[](cbta::BigtableInstanceAdminClientinstance_admin,std::stringconst&project_id,std::stringconst&instance_id){std::stringinstance_name=cbt::InstanceName(project_id,instance_id);StatusOr<google::bigtable::admin::v2::Instance>instance=instance_admin.GetInstance(instance_name);if(!instance)throwstd::move(instance).status();std::cout <<"GetInstance details : " <<instance->DebugString() <<"\n";}

C#

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

// Initialize request argument(s).GetInstanceRequestrequest=newGetInstanceRequest{InstanceName=newInstanceName(projectId,instanceId)};try{// Make Request.Console.WriteLine("Waiting for operation to complete...");Instancerespond=bigtableInstanceAdminClient.GetInstance(request);}catch(Exceptionex){Console.WriteLine($"Exception retreiving {instanceId} instance");Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);}

Java

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

Instanceinstance=null;try{instance=adminClient.getInstance(instanceId);System.out.println("Instance ID: "+instance.getId());System.out.println("Display Name: "+instance.getDisplayName());System.out.print("Labels: ");Map<String,String>labels=instance.getLabels();for(Stringkey:labels.keySet()){System.out.printf("%s - %s",key,labels.get(key));}System.out.println("\nState: "+instance.getState());System.out.println("Type: "+instance.getType());}catch(NotFoundExceptione){System.err.println("Failed to get non-existent instance: "+e.getMessage());}

Node.js

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

const{BigtableInstanceAdminClient}=require('@google-cloud/bigtable').v2;constinstanceAdminClient=newBigtableInstanceAdminClient();constprojectId=awaitinstanceAdminClient.getProjectId();const[instance2]=awaitinstanceAdminClient.getInstance({name:`projects/${projectId}/instances/${instanceID}`,});console.log(`Instance ID:${instance2.name}`);console.log(`Instance Meta:${JSON.stringify(instance2.labels)}`);

PHP

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

use Google\ApiCore\ApiException;use Google\Cloud\Bigtable\Admin\V2\Client\BigtableInstanceAdminClient;use Google\Cloud\Bigtable\Admin\V2\GetInstanceRequest;use Google\Cloud\Bigtable\Admin\V2\Instance\State;use Google\Cloud\Bigtable\Admin\V2\Instance\Type;/** * Get a Bigtable instance * * @param string $projectId The Google Cloud project ID * @param string $instanceId The ID of the Bigtable instance */function get_instance(    string $projectId,    string $instanceId): void {    $instanceAdminClient = new BigtableInstanceAdminClient();    $instanceName = $instanceAdminClient->instanceName($projectId, $instanceId);    printf('Fetching the Instance %s' . PHP_EOL, $instanceId);    try {        $getInstanceRequest = (new GetInstanceRequest())            ->setName($instanceName);        $instance = $instanceAdminClient->getInstance($getInstanceRequest);    } catch (ApiException $e) {        if ($e->getStatus() === 'NOT_FOUND') {            printf('Instance %s does not exists.' . PHP_EOL, $instanceId);            return;        }        throw $e;    }    printf('Printing Details:' . PHP_EOL);    // Fetch some commonly used metadata    printf('Name: ' . $instance->getName() . PHP_EOL);    printf('Display Name: ' . $instance->getDisplayName() . PHP_EOL);    printf('State: ' . State::name($instance->getState()) . PHP_EOL);    printf('Type: ' . Type::name($instance->getType()) . PHP_EOL);    printf('Labels: ' . PHP_EOL);    $labels = $instance->getLabels();    // Labels are an object of the MapField class which implement the IteratorAggregate, Countable    // and ArrayAccess interfaces so you can do the following:    printf("\tNum of Labels: " . $labels->count() . PHP_EOL);    printf("\tLabel with a key(dev-label): " . ($labels['dev-label'] ?? 'N/A') . PHP_EOL);    // we can even loop over all the labels    foreach ($labels as $key => $val) {        printf("\t$key: $val" . PHP_EOL);    }}

Python

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

print("\nName of instance:{}\nLabels:{}".format(instance.display_name,instance.labels))

Ruby

To learn how to install and use the client library for Bigtable, seeBigtable client libraries.

To authenticate to Bigtable, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, seeSet up authentication for a local development environment.

# instance_id = "my-instance"instance=bigtable.instanceinstance_idputs"Get Instance id:#{instance.instance_id}"

What's next

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Last updated 2026-02-19 UTC.