google-cloud-recipe-onboarding Skill for Claude: Set Up Google Cloud, Project and Billing

google-cloud-recipe-onboarding makes Claude walk a new developer through gcloud login, a first project and billing on Google Cloud.

Installs: 15.8K; on skills.sh
Stars: 21.8K; on GitHub
Files: 1; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Nov 2026; last repo commit

google-cloud-recipe-onboarding is a step-by-step skill from Google's skills repo. Claude checks that gcloud is installed, signs you in, finds or creates a project, links a billing account and then verifies the result with gcloud commands.

It triggers when a new developer wants to start on Google Cloud. The description rules out enterprise organization setup and complex multi-project designs, and the skill halts for accounts that sit in a domain-verified organization. It bundles one reference file and no scripts.

You need a Google account and a payment method, which the Prerequisites section says is required for identity verification and the $300 Free Trial credit. Project creation and billing linking run only after Claude shows a summary table and you say yes.

Good for

New developers starting their first Google Cloud project
People who want billing linked and checked without hunting through the console
Solo developers who want a first resource deployed after setup

Install google-cloud-recipe-onboarding

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the google-cloud-recipe-onboarding skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add https://github.com/google/skills --skill google-cloud-recipe-onboarding

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js.

From its listing on skills.sh. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Guides a developer's first steps on Google Cloud, covering account creation, billing setup, project management, and deploying a first resource. Use when a new developer wants to initialize their first Google Cloud project, configure billing, and verify deployment. Don't use for enterprise organization setup (use Google Cloud Setup guided flow for that instead). Don't use for complex multi-project architectures.

Sections in SKILL.md

Attribution
Overview
Prerequisites
Steps
Section 1: Verify Host Tooling Setup
Section 2: Authenticate and Route Session
Section 3: Select or Instantiate Your Google Cloud Project
Section 4: Verify and Link Billing
Section 5: Skill Chaining (Spend Controls & Workloads)
Validation Logic
Additional Resources

Key facts

License (per GitHub): Apache-2.0
Author: google (repo owner)
Repository: google/skills, folder skills/cloud/google-cloud-recipe-onboarding
Installs on skills.sh: 15,829 as of 2026-11-02
Repo stars: 21,764 as of 2026-11-02 (whole repo)
Last repo commit: 2026-11-01
Files in the skill folder: 2 files including SKILL.md
skills.sh audits: Gen Agent Trust Hub: pass; Socket: pass; Snyk: pass

What it includes

Checks that gcloud is installed and a session exists
Runs which gcloud and gcloud auth list. If gcloud is missing, it halts and points to the separate gcloud skill and Google install docs.
Runs code · Section 1: Verify host tooling
gcloud auth login, then an enterprise check
Runs gcloud auth login, confirms the active account and lists organizations. A domain-verified organization stops the skill and routes you to the Google Cloud Setup guided flow.
Runs code · Section 2: Authenticate and route
Reuse an active project or create one after consent
Lists up to 20 active projects and suggests reusing one. To create a new one Claude shows a table of project ID, name, account and billing account and asks for a yes first.
Runs code · Section 3: Select or create a project
Checks billing and links an account
Describes the project billing state, lists billing accounts, and links the one you pick to the project.
Runs code · Section 4: Verify and link billing
Points to spend controls and workload skills
Suggests Google guidance for disabling billing at a budget limit, and hands off to skills such as cloud-run-basics or bigquery-basics when they are installed.
Section 5: Skill chaining
Four commands that confirm the setup
Checks which gcloud, the active account, the project description and billingEnabled in the billing description.
Runs code · Validation logic
Tags gcloud commands and HTTP requests with the skill name
Same tagging method as google-cloud-recipe-auth. The tag is a skill name and version, and the file says it carries no user data.
Runs code · Usage attribution (attribution.md)

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

This skill can create a Google Cloud project and link a billing account, so later resources can cost money. Read the summary table before you agree, and set a budget alert.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It can create a project and link billing
The skill runs gcloud projects create and gcloud billing projects link after you consent. Linked billing means resources you deploy later can cost money, so set a budget alert.
Commands use your signed-in Google account
gcloud auth login signs the CLI in to your account. Approve each command and check the project ID in the summary table.
Mutation commands run with --quiet
The skill's notes tell Claude to append --quiet and --format=json to mutation commands, and its project creation example uses --quiet. Read each command before you approve it.
Claude tags gcloud and HTTP calls with the skill name
attribution.md describes the tag as skill name and version only, with no user data. You can ask Claude to omit it.

Technical details

Talks to	gcloud calls to Google Cloud. Direct API calls with an agent-skills User-Agent suffix
Scopes	Your Google account via gcloud auth login Project and billing settings

Questions

What does google-cloud-recipe-onboarding do?

It guides Claude through a first Google Cloud setup. That means checking gcloud, signing in, choosing or creating a project, linking billing and verifying the result.

How do I install it?

Use the install box above. Google's README installs its skills with npx skills add google/skills and lets you pick the skills, agents and scope.

Will it create projects or link billing without asking?

Not for project creation. Before gcloud projects create or a billing link in the new-project path, the skill tells Claude to show a table of the details, ask a fixed consent question and stop until you say yes. In Section 4 the text only says to propose linking a billing account and then run the link command, so ask Claude to confirm with you first.

Is it safe?

It runs gcloud commands that can create a project and link a billing account, so spend can follow. Read the summary table before you say yes, and set a budget alert. Section 5 points to Google's guide for disabling billing automatically.

Is it for company setups?

No. The skill says not to use it for enterprise organization setup or complex multi-project architectures. If your account sits in a domain-verified organization, it halts and points you to the Google Cloud Setup guided flow.

Do I need other skills with it?

No. The gcloud skill is suggested if gcloud is missing, and cloud-run-basics or bigquery-basics are suggested for a first deployment. They are optional companions in the same repo.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: google/skills
Folder: skills/cloud/google-cloud-recipe-onboarding

google/skills skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 3

google-cloud-recipe-onboarding SKILL.md · github.com
Usage Attribution (attribution.md) · github.com
google/skills README · github.com