Connect Google Cloud

7 min readUpdated June 2026

How access works

Cloptima reads Google Cloud resource and cost data through read-only IAM access granted to a Cloptima service account on your project, using the Cloud Asset API. No write access is granted.

Access is read-only and scoped to the project you connect. Remove the granted role at any time to revoke it.

Choose a method

In Cloptima, start onboarding and choose Google Cloud. Pick either the gcloud CLI / Cloud Shell path (fastest for technical users) or the Cloud Console path (step-by-step visual guidance).

Option A — gcloud CLI or Cloud Shell

Find your project ID, then run the IAM grant command Cloptima generates for you (it embeds the correct read-only roles and service account; you substitute your project ID).

gcloud config get-value project

Option B — Google Cloud Console

Enable the Cloud Asset API for your project, then grant IAM access: in IAM → Grant access, paste the Cloptima service account email shown in the console as a new principal with the read-only roles Cloptima specifies. Finally, enter your project ID back in Cloptima to validate and start collection.

Optional: BigQuery billing export

For actual-cost reconciliation and detailed billing analysis, set up a Cloud Billing export to BigQuery, then connect that dataset from Billing settings. This complements resource-level cost visibility with provider-reported spend.