🚀Getting Started With Google Cloud Build

Source: Dev.to

🌥️ What is Google Cloud Build?

Google Cloud Build is a serverless CI/CD platform from Google Cloud that automates the process of building, testing, and deploying your applications.

Key advantages

• Serverless – No need to provision or manage build servers; Cloud Build handles compute resources automatically.
• Auto‑Scaling – Scales up or down based on the number of builds; you only pay for the build time you use.
• Single Configuration File – Define all build steps (build, test, package, push images, deploy, etc.) in one YAML or JSON file.
• Built‑in Vulnerability Scanning – Scan container images for security issues as part of the CI/CD workflow.
• Multiple Source Code Providers – Fetch code from Google Cloud Storage, Cloud Source Repositories, GitHub, Bitbucket, and more.
• Deploy Anywhere – Deploy to VM instances, Cloud Run, GKE, Firebase, or other clouds.
• Cloud Builders – Use pre‑built builder images with common tools (Docker, Maven, Node, Go, Python, etc.) to run commands like docker build, npm install, mvn package, etc.

🧩 Build Configuration (cloudbuild.yaml)

The core of Cloud Build is the build configuration file. You provide this file alongside your source code, and Cloud Build uses it to determine which steps to execute.

What is it?

A YAML or JSON file that defines:

• The steps of your build
• Which builder images to use
• Commands to run
• Deployment targets
• Log and artifact storage locations

What does it contain?

• Instructions for Cloud Build
• Step‑by‑step tasks
• Runtime environment specifications
• Docker image definitions
• Artifact locations
• Deploy settings

The file is typically named cloudbuild.yaml.

🧱 Example: A Very Simple Cloud Build File

Below is a basic cloudbuild.yaml that builds a Docker image and pushes it to Google Container Registry:

steps:
  - name: 'gcr.io/cloud-builders/docker'
    args: ['build', '-t', 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/myapp', '.']

  - name: 'gcr.io/cloud-builders/docker'
    args: ['push', 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/myapp']

images:
  - 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/myapp'

What this file does

• Uses the Docker builder to build an image and tag it.
• Pushes the image to Google Container Registry.
• Marks the image as a final output.

🎯 Why Developers Love Cloud Build

• No servers to manage
• Fast and scalable
• Works for monoliths and microservices alike
• Supports Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud Run, and more
• Easy integrations with GitHub, GitLab, etc.
• Secure by design

You can go from code → container → deployment in minutes.

🏁 Final Thoughts

Google Cloud Build offers a low‑maintenance, scalable, and secure CI/CD solution. It’s simple enough for beginners yet powerful enough for experts. All you need is a cloudbuild.yaml file—Cloud Build takes care of the rest.