<h1 align="center"> Deploy Genkit to Google Cloud Compute Engine </h1>
A step-by-step guide to setting up a Google Cloud Platform VM, authenticating with GitHub, and running Genkit Python samples. This guide walks you through deploying Genkit on a Google Cloud Compute Engine instance to run the provider-google-genai-hello sample.
## Create your VM Instance
First, provision a virtual machine in the Google Cloud Console with the following specifications:
```
| Category | Configuration |
|---------------|----------------------------------------------------|
| Machine Name | genkit |
| Region / Zone | us-central1 / us-central1-a |
| Machine Type | E2 (General Purpose) |
| OS | Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm) |
| Storage | 30 GB Balanced Persistent Disk |
| Firewall | Allow HTTP, HTTPS, and Load Balancer health checks |
```
## Access the VM via SSH
Open your Google Cloud Shell and connect to your new instance:
```bash
gcloud compute ssh genkit --zone us-central1-a
```
## Configure Git and GitHub Authentication
<Steps>
1. Install Git:
```bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt install git -y
```
2. Set your Identity:
```bash
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "youremail@example.com"
```
3. Generate SSH Key:
```bash
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "youremail@example.com"
# Press Enter for all prompts (no passphrase)
```
4. Add Key to SSH Agent:
```bash
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
```
5. Link to GitHub:
Run `cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub` and copy the output. Go to <b>GitHub Settings > SSH and GPG keys > New SSH Key</b>, and paste your public key there.
6. Test Connection:
```bash
ssh -T git@github.com
```
</Steps>
## Clone and Initialize Genkit
Navigate to the Genkit repository and run the automated setup script for Python samples.
```bash
git clone git@github.com:firebase/genkit.git
cd genkit/py/samples
./setup.sh
```
<b>During setup:</b>
- Enter your <b>Gemini API Key</b> when prompted.
- Enter your <b>GCP Project ID</b>.
- You can skip other optional prompts.
## Run the Sample
Follow these steps to launch the Google GenAI hello provider sample:
```bash
# 1. Load your environment variables
source ~/.environment
# 2. Navigate to the specific sample
cd provider-google-genai-hello
# 3. Start the sample
./run.sh
```
## Access the Developer UI
To view the Genkit Developer UI from your local browser, use SSH port forwarding. This is more secure than opening a firewall port.
1. Disconnect from your current SSH session if you are still connected.
2. From your **local machine's terminal**, run the following command to connect to your VM and forward the port:
```bash
gcloud compute ssh genkit --zone us-central1-a -- -L 4000:localhost:4000
```
3. Keep this terminal window open. The SSH connection must remain active for port forwarding to work.
4. Now, open your local web browser and navigate to:
`http://localhost:4000`
You should see the Genkit Developer UI.
