--- title: GCP description: GCP in Zero Trust networking. image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/zt-preview.png --- > Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. [Skip to content](#%5Ftop) # GCP This guide covers how to connect a Google Cloud Project (GCP) virtual machine to Cloudflare using our lightweight connector, `cloudflared`. We will deploy: * A Google Cloud Project (GCP) virtual machine that runs a basic HTTP server. * A Cloudflare Tunnel that allows users to connect to the service via either a public hostname or a private IP address. Tip If your server is behind a restrictive firewall, verify it can reach Cloudflare on port `7844` before proceeding. Refer to [Connectivity pre-checks](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/troubleshoot-tunnels/connectivity-prechecks/). ### Prerequisites To complete the following procedure, you will need to: * [Add a website to Cloudflare](https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/manage-domains/add-site/) * [Deploy the Cloudflare One Client](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/team-and-resources/devices/cloudflare-one-client/deployment/manual-deployment/) on an end-user device ## 1\. Create a VM instance in GCP 1. In your [Google Cloud Console ↗](https://console.cloud.google.com/), [create a new project ↗](https://developers.google.com/workspace/guides/create-project). 2. Go to **Compute Engine** \> **VM instances**. 3. Select **Create instance**. 4. Name your VM instance. In this example we will name it `http-test-server`. 5. Choose your desired operating system and specifications. For this example, you can use the following settings: * **Machine family:** General Purpose * **Series:** E2 * **Machine type:** e2-micro * **Boot disk image:** Debian GNU/Linux 12 * **Firewalls**: Allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic 6. Under **Advanced options** \> **Management** \> **Automation**, add the following startup script. This example deploys a basic Apache web server on port `80`. ``` #!/bin/bashapt updateapt -y install apache2cat < /var/www/html/index.html

Hello Cloudflare!

This page was created for a Cloudflare demo.

EOF ``` 7. Select **Create**. 8. The operating system automatically starts the Apache HTTP server. To verify that the server is running: 1. Copy the **External IP** for the VM instance. 2. Open a browser and go to `http://`. You should see the **Hello Cloudflare!** test page. 9. To login to the VM instance, open the dropdown next to **SSH** and select _Open in browser window_. ## 2\. Create a Cloudflare Tunnel Create a Cloudflare Tunnel and run it on the GCP VM. 1. Log in to the Cloudflare dashboard and go to **Networking** \> **Tunnels**. [ Go to **Tunnels** ](https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/tunnels) 2. Select **Create a tunnel**. 3. Enter a name for your tunnel (for example, `gcp-tunnel`). 4. Select **Create Tunnel**. 5. Choose your operating system (select **Debian** for your GCP VM). Copy the installation command and run it on your GCP VM. 6. Wait for the tunnel to connect. Once the connection is established, select **Continue**. ## 3\. Connect using a public hostname [Published applications](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/routing-to-tunnel/) allow anyone on the Internet to connect to HTTP resources hosted on your virtual private cloud (VPC). To add a published application for your Cloudflare Tunnel: 1. On the **Routes** tab, select **Add route**, then select **Published application**. 2. Enter a hostname for the application (for example, `hellocloudflare..com`). 3. Under **Service**, enter `http://localhost:80`. 4. Select **Add route**. 5. To test, open a browser and go to `http://hellocloudflare..com`. You should see the **Hello Cloudflare!** test page. You can optionally [create an Access application](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/access-controls/applications/http-apps/self-hosted-public-app/) to control who can access the service. ## 4\. Connect using a private IP [Private network routes](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/private-net/cloudflared/) allow users to connect to your VPC network using the Cloudflare One Client. To add a private network route for your Cloudflare Tunnel: 1. In the Cloudflare dashboard, go to **Networking** \> **Routes**. [ Go to **Routes** ](https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/magic-networks/routes) 2. Select **Create route** \> **Tunnel CIDR**. Select the tunnel you just created, enter the **Private IP address** of your GCP VM (for example, `10.0.0.4`), and select **Create route**. You can expand the IP range later if necessary. 3. In your [Split Tunnel configuration](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/team-and-resources/devices/cloudflare-one-client/configure/route-traffic/split-tunnels/#add-a-route), make sure the private IP is routing through the Cloudflare One Client. For example, if you are using Split Tunnels in **Exclude** mode, delete `10.0.0.0/8`. We recommend re-adding the IPs that are not explicitly used by your GCP VM. To determine which IP addresses to re-add, subtract your GCP VM IPs from `10.0.0.0/8`: **Base CIDR:** **Subtracted CIDRs:** Calculate Add the results back to your Split Tunnel Exclude mode list. 4. To test on a user device: 1. [Log in to the Cloudflare One Client](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/team-and-resources/devices/cloudflare-one-client/deployment/manual-deployment/). 2. Open a terminal window and connect to the service using its private IP: Terminal window ``` curl 10.0.0.4 ``` ```

Hello Cloudflare!

This page was created for a Cloudflare demo.

``` You can optionally [create Gateway network policies](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/private-net/cloudflared/#4-recommended-filter-network-traffic-with-gateway) to control who can access the GCP VM via its private IP. ## Firewall configuration To secure your VM instance, you can [configure your VPC firewall rules ↗](https://cloud.google.com/firewall/docs/using-firewalls) to deny all ingress traffic and allow only egress traffic to the [Cloudflare Tunnel IP addresses](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/configure-tunnels/tunnel-with-firewall/#required-for-tunnel-operation). Since GCP denies ingress traffic by [default ↗](https://cloud.google.com/firewall/docs/firewalls#default%5Ffirewall%5Frules), you can delete all ingress rules and leave only the relevant egress rules. Note If you delete the default `allow-ssh` rule, you will be unable to SSH back into the VM. After configuring your VPC firewall rules, verify that you can still access the service through Cloudflare Tunnel via its [public hostname](#3-connect-using-a-public-hostname) or [private IP](#4-connect-using-a-private-ip). The service should no longer be accessible from outside Cloudflare Tunnel -- for example, if you go to `http://` the test page should no longer load. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","@id":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/deployment-guides/google-cloud-platform/#page","headline":"GCP · Cloudflare One docs","description":"GCP in Zero Trust networking.","url":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/deployment-guides/google-cloud-platform/","inLanguage":"en","image":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/zt-preview.png","dateModified":"2026-04-17","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Cloudflare","url":"https://www.cloudflare.com/"},"isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/#website","name":"Cloudflare Docs","url":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/"},"keywords":["GCP"]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/directory/","name":"Directory"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/cloudflare-one/","name":"Cloudflare One"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"/cloudflare-one/networks/","name":"Networks"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@id":"/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/","name":"Connectors"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@id":"/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/","name":"Cloudflare Tunnel"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":6,"item":{"@id":"/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/deployment-guides/","name":"Environments"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":7,"item":{"@id":"/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/deployment-guides/google-cloud-platform/","name":"GCP"}}]} ```