GCP Compute Operations

MCP Servers

• Compute Engine: https://compute.googleapis.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP)
• Resource Manager: https://cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP)
• Auth: OAuth 2.0 via Google IAM — service account key (GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS) or gcloud auth application-default login
• Requires: GCP_PROJECT_ID environment variable

Key Difference from On-Prem MCP Servers

Google Cloud MCP servers are remote HTTP endpoints hosted by Google — nothing to install locally. Authentication uses OAuth 2.0 / Google IAM, not API keys. The transport is Streamable HTTP, not stdio.

Available Tools (29)

Resource Manager (1 tool)

| Tool | What It Does | |------|-------------| | search_projects | Search for GCP projects by parent, ID, or filter. Use this first to discover available projects. |

Instance Management (8 tools)

| Tool | What It Does | |------|-------------| | list_instances | List VM instances in a project (filter by zone) | | get_instance_basic_info | Get core instance details — name, status, machine type, network interfaces, IPs | | create_instance | Provision a new VM instance | | delete_instance | Remove a VM instance | | start_instance | Boot a stopped instance | | stop_instance | Halt a running instance | | reset_instance | Restart an instance (hard reset) | | set_instance_machine_type | Resize an instance (change machine type) |

Instance Groups (3 tools)

| Tool | What It Does | |------|-------------| | list_instance_group_managers | List managed instance groups (MIGs) | | get_instance_group_manager_basic_info | Get MIG details — template, target size, autoscaling | | list_managed_instances | List instances within a MIG |

Instance Templates (3 tools)

| Tool | What It Does | |------|-------------| | list_instance_templates | List available instance templates | | get_instance_template_basic_info | Get template basics — name, description | | get_instance_template_properties | Get template specs — machine type, disks, network interfaces |

Disks & Storage (5 tools)

| Tool | What It Does | |------|-------------| | list_disks | List persistent disks in a project | | get_disk_basic_info | Get disk metadata — size, type, attached instances | | get_disk_performance_config | Get disk performance settings — IOPS, throughput | | list_snapshots | List disk snapshots | | list_instance_attached_disks | List disks attached to a specific instance |

Resource Discovery (3 tools)

| Tool | What It Does | |------|-------------| | list_machine_types | List available machine types in a zone (e2, n2, c3, etc.) | | list_accelerator_types | List available GPU/TPU types in a zone | | list_images | List available boot images (Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, etc.) |

Reservations & Commitments (6 tools)

| Tool | What It Does | |------|-------------| | list_reservations | List capacity reservations | | get_reservation_basic_info | Get reservation details | | get_reservation_details | Get comprehensive reservation info | | list_commitments | List committed use discounts (CUDs) | | get_commitment_basic_info | Get commitment details — term, status | | list_commitment_reservations | List reservations tied to a commitment |

Operations (1 tool)

| Tool | What It Does | |------|-------------| | get_zone_operation | Check status of an async operation (create, delete, resize) |

Workflow: GCP Infrastructure Audit

When a user asks "show me our GCP compute resources":

1. Discover projects: search_projects to list all accessible GCP projects
2. List instances: list_instances per project — name, status, zone, machine type
3. Network interfaces: get_instance_basic_info to see IPs, VPC, subnet per VM
4. Instance groups: list_instance_group_managers for autoscaled workloads
5. Disk inventory: list_disks — size, type, attached instances
6. Report: GCP compute inventory with status and network details

Workflow: VM Troubleshooting

When investigating a GCP VM issue:

1. Find the VM: list_instances filtered by name or zone
2. Get details: get_instance_basic_info — status, machine type, network interfaces, external IP
3. Check disks: list_instance_attached_disks — any missing or detached?
4. Check operation: get_zone_operation — any pending/failed operations?
5. Cross-reference: Use gcp-cloud-logging for instance logs, gcp-cloud-monitoring for metrics
6. Report: VM health assessment with findings

Workflow: Capacity Planning

When planning GCP compute capacity:

1. Current usage: list_instances — count by machine type and zone
2. Reservations: list_reservations — reserved capacity vs actual usage
3. Commitments: list_commitments — CUD utilization and expiration
4. Available types: list_machine_types — what's available in target zones
5. GPU availability: list_accelerator_types — GPU/TPU options per zone
6. Report: Capacity utilization with recommendations

Important Rules

• Google Cloud MCP servers are remote — no local install, runs on Google's infrastructure
• OAuth 2.0 authentication — uses service account or user credentials via IAM
• Project-scoped — all operations are scoped to the configured GCP project
• Write operations available — unlike AWS Network MCP, Compute Engine MCP can create/modify/delete VMs. Use ServiceNow CR gating for changes.
• Record in GAIT — log all GCP operations for audit trail

Environment Variables

• GCP_PROJECT_ID — Google Cloud project ID
• GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS — Path to service account key JSON file (or use gcloud auth application-default login)