Deploying container images in GCP - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Deploying container images means running your app inside a container on the cloud. This helps you share your app easily and run it anywhere without setup problems.

When you want to run your web app on Google Cloud without managing servers.

When you have built a container image locally and want to make it available on Google Cloud.

When you want to update your app by deploying a new container image version.

When you want to run multiple copies of your app for better availability.

When you want to use Google Cloud Run to run containers without managing infrastructure.

Config File - service.yaml

service.yaml

apiVersion: serving.knative.dev/v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: example-service
  namespace: default
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      containers:
      - image: gcr.io/google-samples/hello-app:1.0
        ports:
        - containerPort: 8080

This file defines a Cloud Run service using a container image.

apiVersion: The API version for Cloud Run.

kind: The resource type, here a Service.

metadata: Names the service and sets the namespace.

spec: Describes the container image to run and the port it listens on.

Commands

This command logs you into your Google Cloud account so you can run commands and deploy resources.

Terminal

gcloud auth login

Expected Output

Your browser has been opened to visit:

    https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth?...

You are now logged in as [[e-mail]].



To set the active project, run:

  $ gcloud config set project PROJECT_ID

Sets the active Google Cloud project where your container will be deployed.

Terminal

gcloud config set project example-project

Expected Output

Updated property [core/project].

Builds your container image from the current folder and uploads it to Google Container Registry with the given tag.

Terminal

gcloud builds submit --tag gcr.io/example-project/hello-app:v1 .

Expected Output

[BUILD OUTPUT]

Creating temporary tarball archive of 10 files...

Uploading tarball of [.] to [gs://example-project_cloudbuild/source/...]...

Starting build...

Step 1/3 : FROM python:3.9-slim

 ---> abcdef123456

Step 2/3 : COPY . /app

 ---> Using cache

Step 3/3 : CMD ["python", "app.py"]

 ---> Using cache

Successfully built abcdef123456

Successfully tagged gcr.io/example-project/hello-app:v1

Pushed gcr.io/example-project/hello-app:v1

→

--tag - Specifies the name and tag of the container image to create.

Deploys the container image to Cloud Run as a managed service, making it available on the internet.

Terminal

gcloud run deploy example-service --image gcr.io/example-project/hello-app:v1 --platform managed --region us-central1 --allow-unauthenticated

Expected Output

Deploying container to Cloud Run service [example-service] in project [example-project] region [us-central1]



Allow unauthenticated invocations to [example-service] (y/N)? y



Creating Revision...

Routing traffic...



Service [example-service] revision [example-service-00001-abc] has been deployed and is serving 100 percent of traffic.



Service URL: https://example-service-abc123.run.app

→

--image - Specifies the container image to deploy.

→

--platform - Specifies the Cloud Run platform type.

→

--allow-unauthenticated - Allows public access to the service.

Shows details about the deployed Cloud Run service to verify it is running.

Terminal

gcloud run services describe example-service --platform managed --region us-central1

Expected Output

apiVersion: serving.knative.dev/v1

kind: Service

metadata:

  name: example-service

  namespace: default

spec:

  template:

    spec:

      containers:

      - image: gcr.io/example-project/hello-app:v1

status:

  url: https://example-service-abc123.run.app

  conditions:

  - type: Ready

    status: True

→

--platform - Specifies the Cloud Run platform type.

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: build your container image, upload it to Google Container Registry, then deploy it to Cloud Run to run your app on Google Cloud.

Common Mistakes

Not setting the correct Google Cloud project before deploying.

The deployment will go to the wrong project or fail if the project is not set.

Always run 'gcloud config set project your-project-id' before deploying.

Forgetting to allow unauthenticated access when deploying Cloud Run service.

Your service will not be accessible publicly and will return permission errors.

Use the '--allow-unauthenticated' flag during deployment if you want public access.

Using an incorrect or missing container image tag in the deploy command.

Cloud Run will fail to find the image and the deployment will fail.

Make sure the image tag matches the one pushed to Container Registry.

Summary

Use 'gcloud builds submit' to build and upload your container image to Google Container Registry.

Deploy the container image to Cloud Run with 'gcloud run deploy' to run your app on Google Cloud.

Verify your deployment with 'gcloud run services describe' to check the service status and URL.