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Gcp Cloud Build
ASecurityUse when working with Gcp Cloud Build — google Cloud Build trigger management, build history analysis, worker pool configuration, artifact management, and CI/CD pipeline diagnostics via gcloud CLI.
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- Added September 8, 2026
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[](https://www.skillsdirectory.com/skills/cloudthinker-ai-gcp-cloud-build)---
name: gcp-cloud-build
description: |
Use when working with Gcp Cloud Build — google Cloud Build trigger management,
build history analysis, worker pool configuration, artifact management, and
CI/CD pipeline diagnostics via gcloud CLI.
connection_type: gcp
preload: false
---
# Cloud Build Skill
Manage and analyze Google Cloud Build using `gcloud builds` commands.
## Discovery-First Rule
**ALWAYS discover before acting.** Never assume trigger names, build IDs, or worker pool names.
```bash
# Discover build triggers
gcloud builds triggers list --format=json \
| jq '[.[] | {name: .name, id: .id, description: .description, disabled: .disabled, eventType: (if .github then "github" elif .triggerTemplate then "csr" elif .pubsubConfig then "pubsub" else "manual" end), createTime: .createTime}]'
```
## Parallel Execution Requirement
**ALL independent operations MUST run in parallel using background jobs (&) and wait.**
```bash
for trigger_id in $(gcloud builds triggers list --format="value(id)"); do
{
gcloud builds triggers describe "$trigger_id" --format=json
} &
done
wait
```
## Helper Functions
```bash
# Get recent builds
list_builds() {
local limit="${1:-25}"
gcloud builds list --limit="$limit" --format=json \
| jq '[.[] | {id: .id, status: .status, startTime: .startTime, duration: .duration, source: .substitutions.REPO_NAME // .source.repoSource.repoName, branch: .substitutions.BRANCH_NAME, trigger: .buildTriggerId}]'
}
# Get build details
get_build_details() {
local build_id="$1"
gcloud builds describe "$build_id" --format=json \
| jq '{id: .id, status: .status, startTime: .startTime, finishTime: .finishTime, duration: .duration, steps: [.steps[] | {name: .name, status: .status, timing: .timing}], artifacts: .artifacts, logUrl: .logUrl}'
}
# List worker pools
list_worker_pools() {
local region="$1"
gcloud builds worker-pools list --region="$region" --format=json \
| jq '[.[] | {name: .name, state: .state, machineType: .privatePoolV1Config.workerConfig.machineType, diskSizeGb: .privatePoolV1Config.workerConfig.diskSizeGb, network: .privatePoolV1Config.networkConfig}]'
}
# Get build logs
get_build_logs() {
local build_id="$1"
gcloud builds log "$build_id" 2>&1 | tail -100
}
```
## Common Operations
### 1. Build Health Overview
```bash
# Recent builds with status summary
gcloud builds list --limit=50 --format=json \
| jq '{total: length, success: [.[] | select(.status=="SUCCESS")] | length, failure: [.[] | select(.status=="FAILURE")] | length, timeout: [.[] | select(.status=="TIMEOUT")] | length, cancelled: [.[] | select(.status=="CANCELLED")] | length, builds: [.[:10][] | {id: .id[:8], status: .status, duration: .duration, trigger: .buildTriggerId}]}'
```
### 2. Trigger Management
```bash
# List all triggers with config
gcloud builds triggers list --format=json \
| jq '[.[] | {name: .name, id: .id, disabled: .disabled, github: .github, triggerTemplate: .triggerTemplate, filename: .filename, includedFiles: .includedFiles, ignoredFiles: .ignoredFiles, substitutions: .substitutions}]'
# Check disabled triggers
gcloud builds triggers list --format=json \
| jq '[.[] | select(.disabled == true) | {name: .name, id: .id}]'
```
### 3. Build History and Failure Analysis
```bash
# Recent failures
gcloud builds list --filter="status=FAILURE" --limit=10 --format=json \
| jq '[.[] | {id: .id, startTime: .startTime, duration: .duration, failedStep: (.steps[] | select(.status=="FAILURE") | .name), trigger: .buildTriggerId}]'
# Get failure details for a specific build
get_build_details "$BUILD_ID"
get_build_logs "$BUILD_ID"
```
### 4. Worker Pool Configuration
```bash
# List worker pools across regions
for region in us-central1 us-east1 europe-west1; do
{
echo "Region: $region"
list_worker_pools "$region"
} &
done
wait
```
### 5. Artifact Management
```bash
# Check artifact output from recent builds
gcloud builds list --limit=10 --format=json \
| jq '[.[] | select(.artifacts) | {id: .id[:8], images: .images, artifacts: .artifacts.objects.location}]'
# List images built
gcloud builds list --limit=20 --format=json \
| jq '[.[] | select(.images) | {id: .id[:8], images: .images, status: .status}]'
```
## Output Format
Present results as a structured report:
```
Gcp Cloud Build Report
══════════════════════
Resources discovered: [count]
Resource Status Key Metric Issues
──────────────────────────────────────────────
[name] [ok/warn] [value] [findings]
Summary: [total] resources | [ok] healthy | [warn] warnings | [crit] critical
Action Items: [list of prioritized findings]
```
Target ≤50 lines of output. Use tables for multi-resource comparisons.
## Anti-Hallucination Rules
1. **NEVER assume resource names** — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. **NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions** — verify against the service documentation or `--help` output.
3. **NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions** — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. **ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain** — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. **ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully** — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.
## Counter-Rationalizations
| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|----------|---------|-----|
| "I'll skip discovery and check known resources" | Always run Phase 1 discovery first | Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors |
| "The user only asked for a quick check" | Follow the full discovery → analysis flow | Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures |
| "Default configuration is probably fine" | Audit configuration explicitly | Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled |
| "Metrics aren't needed for this" | Always check relevant metrics when available | API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues |
| "I don't have access to that" | Try the command and report the actual error | Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative |
## Common Pitfalls
1. **Build timeout**: Default timeout is 10 minutes (600s). Long builds silently fail with TIMEOUT status. Check and set `--timeout` per trigger.
2. **Machine type**: Default machine type is `e2-standard-2`. CPU-intensive builds benefit from `e2-highcpu-8` or `e2-highcpu-32`. Check step durations.
3. **Source access**: Private GitHub repos require Cloud Build GitHub app installation. CSR repos need IAM permissions. Check source configuration on failures.
4. **Step ordering**: Steps run sequentially by default. Use `waitFor` with step IDs for parallel step execution in `cloudbuild.yaml`.
5. **Service account**: Cloud Build uses a default service account with broad permissions. For least-privilege, assign a custom service account per trigger.
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