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Release notes for IBM Cloud Shell

Release notes for IBM Cloud Shell

Use the release notes to learn about the latest changes to IBM® Cloud Shell.

The IBM Cloud CLI and plug-ins are regularly updated to the most recent available versions. These updates are not usually detailed in these release notes.

28 March 2024

Tokyo region is deprecated for Cloud Shell

The Tokyo region for Cloud Shell is deprecated and will no longer be supported by Cloud Shell as of 2 July 2024. Cloud Shell users who selected Tokyo as their region will automatically be redirected to the next geographically closest location (Dallas or Frankfurt). If you prefer, you can switch your location yourself within Cloud Shell. For more information, see Changing locations.

If an account’s Cloud Shell settings have enabled only Tokyo Cloud Shell availability, then the account owner or user with the correct access must change their Cloud Shell settings to another listed location before 2 July 2024 to prevent any disruption in Cloud Shell performance. For more information, see Enabling or disabling Cloud Shell locations for an account.

17 May 2023

Preinstalled pyenv is available
Simple Python Version Management (pyenv) is now available on Cloud Shell. A preinstalled Python 3.11.2 is available by using pyenv.

31 March 2023

ibmcloud dev commands not available on Docker
When you deploy or run your application on Docker, the ibmcloud dev app commands are no longer available, including ibmcloud dev build and ibmcloud dev run. However, you can still use Docker commands in Cloud Shell.

21 September 2022

Docker in Docker is supported
Cloud Shell now supports Docker in Docker, which includes the ability to build and run with ibmcloud dev build and ibmcloud dev run when deploying or running your application on Docker.

3 August 2022

Redis 6 is supported
The supported version of Redis is now version 6.

14 April 2022

Helm version 3 is now the default version
Helm version 3 is now the default version. When you run helm on Cloud Shell, Helm version 3 is the version that runs. To run Helm version 2, type helm2. The helm3 alias is also available if you use Helm version 3 in your scripts.

18 December 2020

Features can be enabled or disabled for an account

Account owners or users with Cloud Shell administrator access can enable or disable Cloud Shell features for an account. The available features in this release are File upload and download and Web preview. The feature settings apply only to the enabled Cloud Shell locations. For more information, see Enabling or disabling Cloud Shell features for an account.

Specific users can be granted access to features

An account administrator can grant specific users access to Cloud Shell and its features, even if Cloud Shell settings are disabled at the account level. For more information, see Assigning access to Cloud Shell and its features at a user level.

New service roles are available

The following new service roles are available:

  • Cloud Operator
  • Cloud Developer
  • File Manager

For more information, see IAM roles and actions.

Red Hat Linux bash shell is now used

IBM Cloud Shell now uses a Red Hat™ Linux™ bash shell instead of a x86-64 Ubuntu Linux™ bash shell.

18 September 2020

Cloud Shell settings are managed from the IBM Cloud console

Account owners or users with Cloud Shell administrator access can manage Cloud Shell settings from the IBM Cloud console. For more information, see the following topics:

New and updated tools are available

The following tools are new with this Cloud Shell update:

  • Terraform version switch (tfswitch) version 0.8.832
  • Tekton CLI (tkn) version 0.12.0

The following tools are updated with this Cloud Shell update:

  • kn upgrade to 0.14.0
  • The IBM Cloud CLI (ibmcloud) is upgraded to version 1.2.1, and the CLI plug-ins are upgraded to the most recent versions

12 August 2020

Weekly usage quote increased to 50 hours
Increased the weekly usage quota from 30 hours to 50 hours so you have more time to use Cloud Shell each week. For more information about the usage quota, see Tracking your usage.
Separate Cloud Shell workspaces are available for each account
Changed Cloud Shell to have separate workspaces for each account. Previously, workspaces in each region were set at the user level, which meant that your workspace was shared across all of your accounts. For more information about workspaces, see Your Cloud Shell workspace.
Cookie preferences moved to the Privacy option
Moved the cookie preferences from the in-page button to the Privacy option in the Cloud Shell menu.
Cloud Shell server image is version 1.0.1
Updated the Cloud Shell server image to version 1.0.1, which includes the following changes:
  • Added the Operator SDK (operator-sdk) for managing Kubernetes applications at version 0.19.0.
  • Added the Mercurial source content management tool (hg) at version 4.4.1.
  • Added the Bazaar version control system and CLI (bzr) at version 2.7.0.
  • Updated the Python runtime from version 3.5 to 3.6.
  • Updated the IBM Cloud Provider plug-in for Terraform to 1.8.1

24 June 2020

IBM Cloud Shell is now generally available (GA)
With this release, Cloud Shell includes the following updates:
  • Increased service level availability to 99.99% and hardened disaster recovery plan to meet IBM Cloud requirements. For more information, see Understanding high availability and disaster recovery for Cloud Shell.
  • Added support for inputting and viewing double-byte characters on the command line in your sessions. This enables you to work in national languages such as Japanese, Simplified Chinese, or Traditional Chinese.
  • Added support for the Tokyo (jp-tok) region.
  • Added cookie preferences so you can choose which cookies Cloud Shell saves. Cloud Shell relies on personalization cookies to remember your region preferences.
  • Added a link to these release notes from the About IBM Cloud Shell window, so you can find them even more easily in the future.
  • Updated the Cloud Shell server image to version 0.7.1, which includes the following changes:
    • Updated the ISTIO CLI (istioctl) to 1.5.4.
    • Added auto-complete for Red Hat OpenShift CLI (oc).

15 May 2020

Server image is version 0.6.6
Updated the Cloud Shell server image to version 0.6.6:
  • Updated Red Hat® OpenShift CLI (oc) to 4.3.
  • Updated the IBM Cloud CLI and all plug-ins to the latest versions.
  • Removed Netcat networking utility (netcat).

18 April 2020

Preview web apps

Added the ability to preview web apps that you access through Cloud Shell. For more information, see Previewing apps.

Frankfurt (eu-de) region is supported

Added support for running Cloud Shell in the Frankfurt (eu-de) region. Each region runs independently, so your workspace, sessions, and usage are separate. For more information, see Changing locations.

Time limit updates

Extended the time after which inactive sessions are closed from 30 minutes to an hour.

Extended the time after which workspace data is removed due to inactivity from 30 minutes to an hour after there are no open sessions.

Removed the 4-hour continuous usage limit. You can now use Cloud Shell for any length of time up to the weekly usage quota.

Cloud Shell server image is 0.6.3

Updated the Cloud Shell server image to version 0.6.3, which includes the following changes:

  • Added GNU Automake (automake).
  • Added GNU Compiler Collection (gcc, gcov, and gcov-tool).
  • Downgraded the ISTIO CLI (istioctl) from 1.5 to 1.4.
  • Updated the IBM Cloud CLI and all plug-ins to the most recent versions.

16 February 2020

Cloud Shell server image is 0.4.37

Updated the Cloud Shell server image to version 0.4.37. Changes to this image affect the tools and other capabilities that are available in each session.

Enabled auto-completion for the IBM Cloud CLI.

Added the community kn Knative CLI and removed the third-party knctl Knative CLI.

Added the IBM Watson CLI plug-in (ibmcloud watson).

Updated IBM Cloud CLI plug-ins to the most recent versions.

Updated the ISTIO CLI (istoctl) to version 1.4.4.