Before you deploy a client's DigiTrade environment to Google Cloud Platform, your workstation and your GCP account must meet the requirements in this checklist. It also covers the account permissions that the deployment wizard does not spell out. The Setting Up Automation tab of a client record lists the steps Install Terraform, Install the Google Cloud SDK, Configure Instance and Initialize.
Required tools
Install both tools on the machine you run the deployment from, then confirm each one in a new terminal so the updated PATH is picked up. The official installation guides cover Windows, macOS, and Linux. On Debian or Ubuntu, you can also install Terraform from HashiCorp's apt repository.
Tool | Purpose | Install | Verify |
Terraform | The infrastructure-as-code tool that defines and provisions the GCP resources. |
| |
Google Cloud SDK (gcloud) | The command-line tool Terraform uses to authenticate with and manage GCP. |
|
Authentication
Terraform authenticates to GCP with Application Default Credentials (ADC). After you install the SDK, sign in once with the account that owns the target project.
Command | What it does |
| Opens a browser sign-in and stores credentials that Terraform reads automatically on every run. |
For automated CI/CD, prefer a service account or workload identity federation. ADC is intended for an implementer running the deployment locally.
Required GCP permissions
The signed-in account must be able to create and bill a new project, enable APIs, and provision resources. Permissions equivalent to the roles below are typical. Confirm the exact roles with whoever administers the client's GCP organization or billing account, because organizations group roles differently.
Capability | Typical role |
Create a project | Project Creator ( |
Link the project to billing | Billing Account User on the target billing account ( |
Create projects inside an organization (if one is used) | Organization Administrator ( |
Enable Google Cloud APIs | Service Usage Admin ( |
Delete the project during teardown | Project Deleter or Owner ( |
Notes
The Client Billing Information section of the Setting Up Automation tab contains the Billing account and GCP Account Email fields.
A missing or insufficient permission usually surfaces early in
terraform apply, as a failure to create the project, link billing, or enable a service.
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