create-cluster.sh

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Purpose

Create a GKE cluster with configurable location, node sizing, and network options.

Location

cloud/gcp/gke/create-cluster.sh

Preconditions

  • Required tools: bash, gcloud
  • Required permissions: container.clusters.create, network read/use permissions as needed
  • Required environment variables: none

Arguments

Flag Required Default Description
--name NAME Yes N/A Cluster name
--zone ZONE Cond. none Zonal location
--region REGION Cond. none Regional location
--project PROJECT No gcloud default Project override
--num-nodes N No 3 Node count
--machine-type TYPE No e2-standard-4 Node machine type
--release-channel CHANNEL No regular rapid\|regular\|stable
--network NAME No default VPC network
--subnetwork NAME No default Subnetwork
--async No false Return without waiting
--dry-run No false Print command only

Scenarios

  • Happy path: create a regular-channel cluster for staging workloads.
  • Common operational path: create regional cluster with custom machine type.
  • Failure path: invalid location flags or missing cluster-create permissions.
  • Recovery/rollback path: fix config/permissions and rerun.

Usage

cloud/gcp/gke/create-cluster.sh --name app-gke --zone us-central1-a
cloud/gcp/gke/create-cluster.sh --name app-gke --region us-central1 --num-nodes 4 --machine-type e2-standard-8

Behavior

  • Main execution flow:
  • validates name and mutually exclusive location flags
  • assembles gcloud container clusters create command
  • executes or prints in dry-run mode
  • Idempotency notes: not idempotent if cluster already exists.
  • Side effects: provisions cluster control plane and nodes.

Output

  • Standard output format: native gcloud create output.
  • Exit codes:
  • 0 success
  • 2 argument validation failure
  • non-zero from gcloud on API failures

Failure Modes

  • Common errors and likely causes:
  • both --zone and --region supplied
  • cluster name conflict
  • IAM/quota limits
  • Recovery and rollback steps:
  • correct location flags
  • choose a unique name
  • request quota or adjust node sizing

Security Notes

  • Secret handling: no inline secrets.
  • Least-privilege requirements: cluster creation and network usage permissions only.
  • Audit/logging expectations: cluster create events should be linked to approved changes.

Testing

  • Unit tests:
  • location and release-channel validation
  • Integration tests:
  • create a small non-prod cluster
  • Manual verification:
  • verify cluster via gcloud container clusters list
stop-instance.sh delete-cluster.sh