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Cloud setup

20 min

Create a Google account if you don't have one, get a Google Cloud project ready, enable the APIs you'll need today (and for the bonus tracks), and install the Antigravity IDE so the rest of the workshop is creative work.

This is the one block where everyone needs to keep pace. Once your project is live and your tools are installed, you won't touch the cloud console again until step 4.

Create a Google account (if you don't have one)

Everything in this workshop — Cloud, Antigravity, Stitch, Gemini — runs on a single Google account. A personal Gmail account is fine; you don't need a paid Google Workspace account.

Already have a Gmail or Google account? Skip ahead to "Install the gcloud CLI."

  1. Open accounts.google.com/signup.
  2. Choose For my personal use.
  3. Fill in name, date of birth, and gender.
  4. Pick a Gmail address — or click Use your existing email if you'd rather sign up with the email you already have. Both work for the workshop.
  5. Choose a strong password and verify your phone number.
  6. Accept the terms and finish the flow.
You must use a personal Google account

School accounts (.edu) and company / Google Workspace accounts do not work for this workshop. They cannot install Antigravity, sign in to Stitch, or redeem the Cloud credits — admin policies block it. If your only Google account is from school or work, create a personal one with the steps above before you continue.

Install the gcloud CLI

The gcloud command-line tool is how you talk to Google Cloud from your terminal. You need it for setup, deploy, and almost everything else in this workshop.

First, check whether it's already installed:

gcloud version

If you see version info, skip ahead to Sign in to gcloud. Otherwise, install it for your operating system below.

First, find out which CPU your Mac has:

uname -m

If it prints arm64 (Apple Silicon — M1/M2/M3/M4):

curl -O https://dl.google.com/dl/cloudsdk/channels/rapid/downloads/google-cloud-cli-darwin-arm.tar.gz
tar -xf google-cloud-cli-darwin-arm.tar.gz
./google-cloud-sdk/install.sh

If it prints x86_64 (Intel Mac):

curl -O https://dl.google.com/dl/cloudsdk/channels/rapid/downloads/google-cloud-cli-darwin-x86_64.tar.gz
tar -xf google-cloud-cli-darwin-x86_64.tar.gz
./google-cloud-sdk/install.sh

The installer asks two questions: say Y to "Add gcloud to your PATH" and Y to enable command completion. Then open a new terminal window so the PATH change takes effect.

Verify the install

gcloud version

You should see something like Google Cloud SDK 500.0.0 followed by component versions. If the command isn't found, your shell needs a fresh window to pick up the PATH update.

Sign in to gcloud

Authenticate the CLI with your Google account. This opens a browser window — sign in with the same account you'll use for the workshop.

gcloud auth login

While you're at it, set up application default credentials. The bonus chatbot needs these later, and doing it now means you won't trip over auth errors at deploy time:

gcloud auth application-default login

Pre-flight before you click anything

Five small browser hygiene tips that prevent the most common setup pain. Do all of them in the next two minutes:

Claim your cloud credits

The workshop uses TryGCP credits — a $5 trial billing account that's valid for 6 months and doesn't need a credit card. Plenty for everything in this workshop and the bonus tracks.

Your instructor will give you a URL that looks like trygcp.dev/claim/<event-id>. Then:

  1. Open the link. Paste it into your Incognito window.
  2. Sign in with Gmail. Use the same personal Google account you'll use for the rest of the workshop.
  3. Click "access credits." The page prompts you with a single button.
  4. Verify your name and accept the T&Cs. Click "Accept and Continue."

That creates a "Google Cloud Platform Trial Billing Account" attached to your Gmail. The credits live there — not on a project yet. The next step links them.

Where do I see my credits?

You won't see them on the project dashboard. Open the navigation menu (top-left) → Billing → Credits tab. Start date, end date, percentage remaining all show there. If you can't find them, you're probably looking on the project page instead of the billing page.

Create a Google Cloud project

  1. Open the Google Cloud Console in the same Incognito window.
  2. Click the project picker in the top bar (next to the Google Cloud logo) and choose New project.
  3. Enter a name like gde-workshop-2026. Leave No organization selected as parent.
  4. If a billing-account dropdown appears, pick Google Cloud Platform Trial Billing Account. Click Create.
  5. Note the auto-generated project ID — it may differ from the name. You'll need it shortly.
"Project ID already taken" is normal

Project IDs are globally unique across all of Google Cloud — not just your account. Common names like gde-workshop-2026 are likely already reserved. If creation fails, append a random suffix (-7f3a, your initials, today's date). The project name can stay readable; only the ID needs to be unique.

Link the trial billing to your project

If the dropdown above let you set billing during project creation, you can skip this section. Otherwise:

  1. Open the navigation menu (top-left) → Billing.
  2. You'll see a notice that the project has no billing account. Click Link a billing account.
  3. Pick Google Cloud Platform Trial Billing Account — exactly that one, not any other personal billing account you might have. Click Set account.
Pick the trial billing, not your existing one

If you've used Google Cloud before, you probably have a personal billing account already. The dropdown will show both. Pick the trial — picking your own billing means you pay out of pocket while the $5 credit sits unused. The trial is the one with "Trial Billing" in the name.

Already linked the wrong one? Project picker → 3-dot menu next to your project → Change Billing → pick the trial.

Point gcloud at the project

gcloud config set project YOUR_PROJECT_ID

Verify:

gcloud config get-value project

Enable the required APIs

Four APIs cover everything in the workshop, including the bonus chatbot. Enabling them all now means you won't have to come back here later.

gcloud services enable \
  run.googleapis.com \
  artifactregistry.googleapis.com \
  cloudbuild.googleapis.com \
  aiplatform.googleapis.com
What each API does
  • run.googleapis.com — Cloud Run, where your site will live.
  • artifactregistry.googleapis.com — stores the container image for your site.
  • cloudbuild.googleapis.com — builds that image from your source.
  • aiplatform.googleapis.com — Vertex AI. Not needed for the core build, but the bonus chatbot uses it. Enable it now and the bonus track works without re-doing setup.
"Cannot enable services" — billing not linked

If gcloud services enable errors out with a permission or billing message, your project doesn't have a billing account linked yet. APIs refuse to enable without one — even with credits sitting in your trial account. Go back to Link the trial billing to your project above.

Install Antigravity

Antigravity is Google's agentic IDE. It's the editor you'll spend most of the workshop in, and it's where Gemini will do the actual coding.

  1. Go to antigravity.google and download the build for your operating system.
  2. Install and launch it.
  3. Sign in with the same Google account you used for Cloud.

Already have Antigravity installed? Skip ahead to the Node check below.

Install Node.js 20+

The starter project runs on Node 20. Check what you have:

node --version

If the output is below v20.0.0 or the command isn't found, install a recent LTS from nodejs.org or via your package manager of choice (Homebrew, nvm, fnm, etc.).

Tip

If you use nvm, run nvm install 20 && nvm use 20. The starter project pins Node 20 in its Dockerfile, so matching it locally avoids surprises later.

If something's still off — quick reference

Five issues we see at every workshop. If any sound familiar, the fix is right here:

Symptom. The console rejects "Create" with a vague error about the project ID.

Why. Project IDs are globally unique across all Google Cloud — common names are reserved by other users.

Fix. Append a unique suffix to the ID: random hex (-7f3a), your initials, today's date. The display name can stay readable.

Key takeaways
  • Credits come via TryGCP — a $5 trial billing account, valid 6 months, attached to your Gmail.
  • You created a project with a globally-unique ID and linked it to that trial billing account, not any other.
  • gcloud is installed, signed in, and pointed at the right project — verified, not assumed.
  • Run, Artifact Registry, Cloud Build, and Vertex AI APIs are all enabled.
  • Antigravity is installed and signed in. Node 20+ is on your path.