gcloud-app
Deploy and manage Google App Engine applications
TLDR
Deploy an app's code and configuration to the App Engine server
List all versions of all services deployed to the App Engine server
Open the current app in a web browser
Create an App Engine app within the current project
Display the latest App Engine app logs
SYNOPSIS
gcloud app <COMMAND> [--project=PROJECT_ID] [--quiet] [--verbosity=LEVEL] [GCLOUD-WIDE-FLAG …]
PARAMETERS
--project=PROJECT_ID
ID of the Google Cloud project.
--quiet
Disable all interactive prompts.
--verbosity=LEVEL
Override default verbosity: debug|info|warning|error|critical|none.
--help
Show help and exit.
--format=FORMAT
Output format: table,json,yaml,csv,value.
--log-http
Log HTTP request/response to stderr.
--trace-token=TOKEN
Trace request with given token.
--user-output-enabled
Print user intended output to stdout.
--verbosity=LEVEL
Set logging verbosity level.
DESCRIPTION
gcloud app is a command group within the Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) for deploying and managing App Engine applications. App Engine is Google's fully managed platform-as-a-service (PaaS) for building scalable web apps and APIs in languages like Python, Java, Node.js, Go, PHP, Ruby, and .NET.
This command enables key operations such as creating apps, deploying code versions, configuring traffic splitting, scaling instances, viewing logs, and browsing live apps. It supports both standard and flexible environments, with standard offering quick scaling and managed infrastructure, while flexible provides custom runtimes via Docker.
Usage typically starts with gcloud app create for new projects, followed by gcloud app deploy to push code from a app.yaml configured directory. Authentication via gcloud auth login is required, and it defaults to the active project set with gcloud config set project.
Ideal for CI/CD pipelines, it outputs deployment URLs and integrates with Cloud Build, Cloud SQL, and other GCP services. Limitations include regional availability and billing enablement for App Engine.
CAVEATS
Requires Google Cloud SDK installed and gcloud auth login. App Engine must be enabled in project with billing. Not all runtimes supported everywhere; check quotas.
KEY SUBCOMMANDS
browse: Open app URL in browser.
deploy: Deploy app version.
describe: View app status.
logs: Tail/read logs.
versions list: List deployed versions.
PREREQUISITES
Install SDK: curl https://sdk.cloud.google.com | bash. Init: gcloud init. Enable API: gcloud services enable appengine.googleapis.com.
EXAMPLE USAGE
gcloud app deploy app.yaml --project=my-project
gcloud app browse --version=v1
HISTORY
Integrated into gcloud SDK in 2014 (v100+), replacing legacy appcfg. Evolved with App Engine Flexible (2016), second-gen runtimes (2018), and Cloud Run migration paths.
