# Deploying to Google Cloud Run with GitLab CI/CD: A Step-by-Step Guide

Google Cloud Run is a powerful platform that allows developers to run stateless HTTP containers without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. With GitLab CI/CD, you can automate your build, test, and deployment process to Cloud Run, making it a perfect match for modern application development.

In this article, I will walk you through the process of setting up a GitLab CI/CD pipeline to deploy your code to Google Cloud Run.

**NOTE: If you want to use Github Actions instead of Gitlab CI/CD, see my other article** [**here**](https://medium.com/@oluwafemiakinde/deploying-containerized-web-apps-to-google-cloud-run-using-github-actions-777590c8bda5)**.**

Let’s continue….

### Prerequisites

Before we get started, make sure that you have the following:

* A Google Cloud account
    
* A GitLab account with a repository containing your code
    
* The Google Cloud SDK installed on your local machine
    
* Docker installed on your local machine
    

### Step 1: Create a Google Cloud Run Service

First, we need to create a Google Cloud Run service that will host our application. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open the Google Cloud Console and navigate to the Cloud Run page.
    
2. Click the “+ Create Service” button.
    
3. Choose your preferred region and select the “Deploy one revision from an existing container image” option.
    
4. Enter a name for your service and select the container image you want to deploy.
    
5. Click “Create” to create your Cloud Run service.
    

### Step 2: Authenticate the Google Cloud SDK

To deploy your code to Cloud Run, you need to authenticate the Google Cloud SDK on your local machine. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open your terminal and run the following command:
    

`gcloud auth login`

2\. Follow the prompts to log in to your Google Cloud account.

### Step 3: Create a GitLab CI/CD Pipeline

Now that we have our Cloud Run service set up and authenticated the Google Cloud SDK, we can create a GitLab CI/CD pipeline to automate our deployment process.

1. In your GitLab repository, create a new file called `.gitlab-ci.yml`.
    
2. Add the following code to the file:
    
    ```bash
    image: docker:latest
    
    services:
      - docker:dind
    
    before_script:
      - docker login -u $CI_REGISTRY_USER -p $CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD $CI_REGISTRY
    
    deploy:
      image: google/cloud-sdk:latest
      script:
        - gcloud auth activate-service-account --key-file=google-creds.json
        - gcloud config set project $PROJECT_ID
        - gcloud builds submit --tag gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/$CI_PROJECT_NAME:$CI_COMMIT_SHA
        - gcloud run deploy --image=gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/$CI_PROJECT_NAME:$CI_COMMIT_SHA --platform=managed --region=$CLOUD_RUN_REGION --allow-unauthenticated --update-env-vars=VAR1=value1,VAR2=value2 --quiet
      only:
        - master
    ```
    

3\. Replace `$PROJECT_ID` with your Google Cloud project ID and `$CLOUD_RUN_REGION` with your preferred region.

4\. Add any environment variables you need to the `--update-env-vars` flag.

5\. Commit and push your changes to your GitLab repository.

### Step 4: Configure GitLab CI/CD Variables

Finally, we need to configure some variables in GitLab CI/CD to authenticate our Google Cloud account and registry. To do this, follow these steps:

1. In your GitLab repository, navigate to “Settings” > “CI/CD” > “Variables”.
    
2. Add the following variables:
    

* `GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS` - the contents of your Google Cloud service account key file.
    
* `PROJECT_ID` - your Google Cloud project ID.
    
* `CI_REGISTRY_USER` - your GitLab username.
    
* `CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD` - your GitLab personal access token.
    

### Conclusion

Congratulations! You now have a fully automated GitLab CI/CD pipeline that deploys your code to Google Cloud Run. With this setup, you can focus on writing code and let GitLab and Google Cloud handle the rest.