gem-terraform-gcs-create
Activate Cloud Shell
Cloud Shell is a virtual machine that is loaded with development tools. It offers a persistent 5GB home directory and runs on the Google Cloud. Cloud Shell provides command-line access to your Google Cloud resources.
- Click Activate Cloud Shell
at the top of the Google Cloud console.
When you are connected, you are already authenticated, and the project is set to your PROJECT_ID. The output contains a line that declares the PROJECT_ID for this session:
Your Cloud Platform project in this session is set to YOUR_PROJECT_ID
gcloud is the command-line tool for Google Cloud. It comes pre-installed on Cloud Shell and supports tab-completion.
- (Optional) You can list the active account name with this command:
gcloud auth list
-
Click Authorize.
-
Your output should now look like this:
Output:
ACTIVE: *
ACCOUNT: student-01-xxxxxxxxxxxx@qwiklabs.net
To set the active account, run:
$ gcloud config set account `ACCOUNT`
- (Optional) You can list the project ID with this command:
gcloud config list project
Output:
[core]
project = <project_ID>
Example output:
[core]
project = qwiklabs-gcp-44776a13dea667a6
Note: For full documentation of gcloud, in Google Cloud, refer to the gcloud CLI overview guide.
Overview
This lab demonstrates how to create a Google Cloud Storage bucket using Terraform. You will define the bucket resource in a Terraform configuration file, initialize Terraform, and apply the configuration to create the bucket in your Google Cloud project. This lab assumes you have a basic familiarity with Google Cloud and Terraform concepts.
Task 1. Configure Google Cloud SDK
Before you begin, configure the Google Cloud SDK to interact with your Google Cloud project.
-
Set your Project ID:
gcloud config set project {{{ project_0.project_id | "PROJECT_ID" }}}
Note:
This command sets your active project.
-
Set your default region:
gcloud config set compute/region {{{ project_0.default_region | "REGION" }}}
Note:
This command sets your active compute region.
-
Set your default zone:
gcloud config set compute/zone {{{ project_0.default_zone | "ZONE" }}}
Note:
This command sets your active compute zone.
Task 2. Create Cloud Storage Bucket for Terraform State
Terraform uses a state file to track the resources it manages. For collaboration and persistence, it's best to store this state file in a remote backend like Google Cloud Storage.
-
Create the Cloud Storage bucket:
gcloud storage buckets create gs://{{{ project_0.project_id | "PROJECT_ID" }}}-tf-state --project={{{ project_0.project_id | "PROJECT_ID" }}} --location={{{ project_0.default_region | "REGION" }}} --uniform-bucket-level-access
Note:
This command creates a Cloud Storage bucket in the specified region to store the Terraform state file.
-
Enable versioning on the GCS bucket:
gsutil versioning set on gs://{{{ project_0.project_id | "PROJECT_ID" }}}-tf-state
Note:
This command enables object versioning on the state bucket.
Task 3. Create a Terraform Configuration File
Now, define the Terraform configuration to create the resource.
-
Create a new directory for your Terraform configuration files.
mkdir terraform-gcs && cd $_
Note:
This creates a new directory and changes the current directory to it.
-
Create main.tf with the following content:
terraform {
required_providers {
google = {
source = "hashicorp/google"
version = "~> 4.0"
}
}
backend "gcs" {
bucket = "{{{ project_0.project_id | "PROJECT_ID" }}}-tf-state"
prefix = "terraform/state"
}
}
provider "google" {
project = "{{{ project_0.project_id | "PROJECT_ID" }}}"
region = "{{{ project_0.default_region | "REGION" }}}"
}
resource "google_storage_bucket" "default" {
name = "{{{ project_0.project_id | "PROJECT_ID" }}}-my-terraform-bucket"
location = "{{{ project_0.default_region | "REGION" }}}"
force_destroy = true
storage_class = "STANDARD"
versioning {
enabled = true
}
}
Note:
This configuration defines a Google Cloud Storage bucket in the specified region. This configuration also defines a backend for storing Terraform state in Cloud Storage.
Task 4. Initialize Terraform
Initialize Terraform in the directory containing your main.tf file.
-
Run the terraform init command:
terraform init
Note:
This command initializes Terraform and downloads the necessary provider plugins.
-
Plan the changes. This shows you what Terraform will do before it makes any actual changes.
terraform plan
Note:
Review the planned changes.
-
Run the terraform apply command:
terraform apply -auto-approve
Note:
This command applies the configuration and creates the resource.
The `-auto-approve` flag automatically approves the changes.
Task 5. Verify Bucket Creation
Verify that the bucket was created successfully in your Google Cloud project.
-
Enter the following command to validate the bucket has been created:
gsutil ls gs://{{{ project_0.project_id | "PROJECT_ID" }}}-my-terraform-bucket
Note:
Alternatively, you can use the Google Cloud Console, navigate to Storage > Buckets and verify the cloud storage bucket is present.
Task 6. Clean Up (Optional)
To avoid incurring unnecessary charges, you can destroy the resources created by Terraform.
-
Run the terraform destroy command:
terraform destroy
Note:
This command destroys the resources defined in your Terraform configuration. You will be prompted to confirm the action by typing `yes`.
Congratulations!
You have successfully created a Google Cloud Storage bucket using Terraform and stored the Terraform state in a Cloud Storage bucket. This lab demonstrated the basic workflow of defining infrastructure as code using Terraform.
Additional Resources
Manual Last Updated Jul 22, 2025
Lab Last Tested Jul 22, 2025
