For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.archera.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.archera.ai/help-center/gcp-onboarding/gcp.md).

# Onboarding Archera on GCP

This is the installation guide for Archera's GCP integration via **Infrastructure Manager**.

Archera supports one integration per billing account. If you have multiple billing accounts, you'll need to create multiple integrations — if you have many, reach out to Archera for assistance.

The first step is to create an Archera account if you don't already have one. Visit [app.archera.ai/signup](https://app.archera.ai/signup), then select **GCP** as the cloud you'd like to onboard and proceed with this guide.

## Prerequisites

Before you start, please make sure you have:

* **Permissions** on the target GCP organization sufficient to create projects, link billing accounts, edit organization policies, and run Infrastructure Manager deployments — typically **Organization Owner**. For the full list of ongoing permissions granted to Archera, see [What Permissions Does the GCP Deployment Require?](/help-center/gcp-onboarding/required-permissions.md).
* **Access to GCP Cloud Shell** (or a local environment with the `gcloud` CLI installed). Cloud Shell can be opened by clicking the terminal icon in the top-right of the GCP Console.
* **The Archera deployment script URL** (provided on your Archera onboarding page). The URL is only valid for **7 days** after Archera generates it — if more time has passed, request a fresh one from your Archera contact.

During this installation, please make sure to write down the following values. You'll enter them into the Archera portal at the final step:

| Value                         | Description                                                  |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Organization ID**           | Your GCP organization identifier                             |
| **Project ID**                | Hosts required resources and default datasets                |
| **Billing Account ID**        | The account this integration is associated with              |
| **Billing Export Project ID** | Project containing the billing, pricing, and CUD exports     |
| **Billing Export Dataset ID** | BigQuery dataset with the Billing export table               |
| **Pricing Export Dataset ID** | BigQuery dataset with the Pricing export (can match billing) |
| **CUD Export Dataset ID**     | BigQuery dataset with the CUD export (must be different)     |

## Installation Steps

### 1. Start the integration on Archera's website

Open the Archera installation form. Navigate to [app.archera.ai](https://app.archera.ai) → **Integration Settings** → **Google Cloud (GCP)** → **Create New Installation**. Keep this tab open — you'll fill in the form with the values you collect in the following steps.

### 2. Organization & Project IDs

Make sure you are in the correct organization and project (use an existing project or create a new one) by clicking on the organization selector in the top left. **Write down the Organization ID and Project ID.**

### 3. Billing

Navigate to the **Billing** dashboard by searching in the top bar or the navigation bar on the left.

### 4. Billing Account ID

Write down the **Billing Account ID** of the billing account that you will be installing Archera on. If you do not see this page, you can find it by clicking the **Billing account** dropdown in the top left and selecting **Manage billing accounts**. Once you've recorded the ID, click on the correct billing account.

### 5. Billing Export

Navigate to the **Billing Export** subsection of the Billing dashboard.

### 6. Detailed Usage Cost, Pricing, and CUD Exports

Enable **Detailed usage cost**, **Pricing**, and **Committed Use Discounts** exports. Three distinct billing exports are needed for the Archera integration:

* **Detailed usage cost (Billing) Export**
* **Pricing Export**
* **CUD (Committed Use Discounts) Export**

All three exports must reside in the same project. Although the exports reside in one project, they provide visibility into all projects and resources running under your billing account.

### 7. Dataset IDs

Copy the **Detailed usage cost** export dataset ID, the **Pricing** export dataset ID, and the **CUD** export dataset ID. For each of the three exports, click the dataset link (e.g. `billing_export`) under **Dataset name** in the export settings panel — this opens the dataset details page, where the full dataset ID is shown at the top under the **Details** tab. Copy the entire dataset ID, e.g. `project-001.export_dataset` — the dataset ID will contain a project ID prefix.

### 8. Enter your values and copy the deployment link

Return to the Archera installation form you opened in Step 1. Enter the seven values you collected in Steps 2–7: Organization ID, Project ID, Billing Account ID, Billing Export Project ID, and the three dataset IDs (Billing, Pricing, CUD). Press **Continue**.

### 9. Deploying via Infrastructure Manager

Archera's onboarding process uses the GCP Infrastructure Manager service to deploy the required resources:

* **API enablements** in your billing project — Cloud Billing API (`cloudbilling.googleapis.com`), Consumer Procurement API (`cloudcommerceconsumerprocurement.googleapis.com`), and Recommender API (`recommender.googleapis.com`) — to allow Archera to access billing data, view CUD recommendations, and manage Marketplace procurement orders.
* **An organization-level custom IAM role** `archera_application` for the Archera service account, covering Compute Engine and BigQuery commitments and reservations, CUD recommendations, organization structure (folders and projects), monitoring, and service usage — plus (in full mode) the ability to place and manage procurement orders.
* **A second organization-level custom IAM role** `archera_bq_export` bound at the dataset level on your BigQuery billing, pricing, and CUD export datasets only — providing read access plus the ability for Archera to manage authorized dataset access on its own derived views.
* **A project-level `roles/bigquery.jobUser` binding** on your billing project so Archera can run queries against your billing data.
* **Billing-account-level predefined roles** bound directly to the billing account — `roles/consumerprocurement.orderViewer` and `roles/billing.viewer` (plus `orderAdmin` and `billing.admin` in full mode) — since procurement orders and CUD recommendations are scoped to billing accounts and can't always be controlled via organization-level roles.
* **A GCS storage bucket** (`archerastorage_<billing_account_id>`, US region, STANDARD storage class, uniform bucket-level access, public access prevented, objects auto-deleted after 7 days) to stage billing data exports.
* **Permissions on the storage bucket** for use by Archera's Storage Transfer Service account to copy the billing, pricing, and CUD data for analysis.

### 10. Archera — Subscription

Search for "Archera" and subscribe to **Archera - Subscription**. Be sure to select the correct billing account corresponding to this install.

### 11. Sign up with Provider

Select **"Sign up with provider"**. You will be redirected and asked to sign into a service called `clazar.io` — this is Archera's trusted partner for marketplace transactions.

### 12. Complete Registration with Archera

Fill in the required information to complete your registration with Archera, or log into your existing Archera account.

## Summary of values collected

Use this table as a quick reference when filling out Archera's installation form:

| Field                     | Example                                  |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Organization ID           | `302636258399`                           |
| Project ID                | `archera-integration`                    |
| Billing Account ID        | `01478A-B65ABA-BCFDED`                   |
| Billing Export Project ID | `archera-integration`                    |
| Billing Export Dataset ID | `archera-integration.billing_export`     |
| Pricing Export Dataset ID | `archera-integration.billing_export`     |
| CUD Export Dataset ID     | `archera-integration.billing_export_cud` |

## Troubleshooting

### Pricing or CUD table not found on verification

If verification fails with an error like `Table 'cloud_pricing_export' not found in pricing dataset`, the export table simply hasn't been backfilled yet. GCP can take 24–48 hours after exports are enabled to start populating these tables. Wait and retry — no configuration change is required.

### Infrastructure Manager deployment fails with "blueprint fetch failed"

An error such as `blueprint fetch failed: invalid path: stat /workspace/apply/content: no such file or directory` is a transient Infrastructure Manager issue. The deployment is idempotent — safely re-run the deploy script. It typically succeeds on the second attempt.

### Deployment script URL has expired

The script URL provided by Archera is valid for 7 days. If more time has passed, the URL will return a not-found error. Contact your Archera representative to generate a fresh URL.

### "Not Installed" on the Archera GCP integration page

Running the GCP deployment script alone does not register the installation with Archera. You must also complete Step 8 (submitting your values in the Archera installation form) using the values collected in earlier steps. If the GCP integration page still reads **Not Installed** after running the deployment, Step 8 has likely been missed.