colab · diff
git:20260912.0ce18c0 to git:20260916.50d6810
15 added, 5 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: colab
- description: Use the Google Colab CLI to rent GPU or TPU sessions, run scripts on the remote VM, sync files, and stop sessions to cap spend. Use for Colab compute from the terminal.
+ description: "Operate Colab accelerator sessions, remote execution, artifact transfers, and compute budgets."
license: MIT
metadata:
+ kind: connector
author: Médéric HURIER (Fmind)
source: github.com/fmind/dot/tree/main/skills/colab
- created: "2026-09-02"
- updated: "2026-09-11"
+ created: "2026-09-16"
+ updated: "2026-09-16"
---
# Google Colab CLI
- Use `colab` when a task needs an accelerator the workstation lacks. The official Colab skill documents every command; this skill owns authentication, session hygiene, and the spend boundary.
+ Use `colab` to inspect existing sessions or run work on an accelerator the workstation lacks. The official Colab skill documents every command; this skill owns authentication, session hygiene, and the spend boundary.
- ## Workflow
+ ## Inspect without allocating
+ For session or account inspection, use `colab sessions` and `colab status` with the existing authentication provider; consult installed help before selecting commands. These synchronize session metadata without allocating or stopping a VM. Check authentication diagnostics before interpreting an empty listing as success.
+
+ The reviewed CLI 0.6.0 has no compute-balance command. Use an already available, authorized provider interface for that lookup or report the missing capability; `colab pay` opens a purchase page and is not a balance query. Session inspection does not require `new`, `run`, `exec`, or `stop`.
+
+ ## Run accelerator work
+
+ Follow this workflow only when remote execution is in scope; establish the authorized accelerator, duration, and budget before allocation.
+
1. **Authenticate**: OAuth by default (`--auth oauth2`), or `--auth adc` to reuse the Application Default Credentials from [gcloud](../gcloud/SKILL.md); session state lives under `~/.config/colab-cli/`.
1. **Prefer ephemeral runs**: `colab run` rents a VM, runs the script, and releases it; a shebang `#!/usr/bin/env -S colab run --gpu T4` makes a single file self-contained per [python-script](../python-script/SKILL.md).
```bash
colab run --gpu T4 --timeout 3600 train.py
```
1. **Keep a session only while iterating**: `colab new -s <name> --gpu L4` (or `--tpu v6e1`), then `colab exec -s <name> -f snippet.py --timeout 600`, `colab upload`, `colab download`, and `colab ls`.
1. **Stop what you started**: `colab sessions` then `colab stop -s <name>`; an idle session keeps consuming compute units. Run `colab status` before claiming a job finished.
1. **Verify**: `colab log` shows the history; download the artifacts before stopping the session.
## Gotchas
- **30-second default**: `colab run` and `colab exec` abort code execution after 30 seconds unless `--timeout <seconds>` covers the whole job.
- **Pinned dependency**: mise installs `google-colab-cli` with `jupyter-kernel-client==0.15.0`; 1.0.0 renamed the client class and breaks every session.
- **Tiers**: accelerator availability depends on the subscription; `colab pay` opens the compute-units page, so treat it as spend.
- **Disposable VM**: keep secrets off the session beyond what the task needs; use `colab drivemount` only when Drive data is required.
## Official Skills
Upstream: `googlecolab/google-colab-cli`, the same source `colab skill` prints. Follow the shared [vendor-skill policy](../agent-project/references/vendor-skills.md) and select only the Colab workflow needed by the project.
## Documentation
- [Colab CLI](https://github.com/googlecolab/google-colab-cli)
- Releases: [google-colab-cli](https://github.com/googlecolab/google-colab-cli/releases)
+ - ML workflows: [python-mlops](../python-mlops/SKILL.md) owns data validation, training, experiments, and model delivery.
- Companion skills: [kaggle](../kaggle/SKILL.md), [hf](../hf/SKILL.md), [python-script](../python-script/SKILL.md), [gcloud](../gcloud/SKILL.md).