GCP Services Reference Guide

This document provides a comprehensive list of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) services used in the project, including their API keys, functionality, and billing information.

Services Summary

# Service Name API Key Functionality Payment Required
1 Cloud Run run.googleapis.com Deploy and manage containerized applications in a fully managed serverless environment. Automatically scales based on traffic. Yes - Pay per use (CPU/Memory/Requests)
2 Cloud Pub/Sub pubsub.googleapis.com Asynchronous messaging service for event-driven systems. Create and manage topics and subscriptions for reliable message delivery. Yes - Pay per message volume
3 Secret Manager secretmanager.googleapis.com Securely store, manage, and access sensitive data like API keys, passwords, certificates, and configuration values. Yes - Pay per secret version & access
4 Firebase Management firebase.googleapis.com Programmatically register Android/iOS apps, manage Firebase projects, and configure Firebase resources. Mixed - Core features free, advanced features paid
5 API Keys apikeys.googleapis.com Generate, restrict, and manage API keys for Google Cloud services with granular access controls. No - Free service
6 Artifact Registry artifactregistry.googleapis.com Store and manage container images, language packages (npm, Maven, Python), and other artifacts. Replacement for Container Registry. Yes - Pay per storage & bandwidth
7 Identity Toolkit identitytoolkit.googleapis.com Backend services for Firebase Authentication. Enables user authentication via email, phone, OAuth providers, and anonymous auth. Mixed - Free tier available, then pay per MAU
8 Service Usage serviceusage.googleapis.com Enable/disable services, check API quotas, and monitor service status programmatically. No - Free service
9 IAM iam.googleapis.com Identity and Access Management for controlling who has what access to which resources. Manage service accounts, roles, and permissions. No - Free service
10 Maps Backend maps-backend.googleapis.com Backend infrastructure for Google Maps services including geocoding, routing, and map rendering. Yes - Pay per API call after free tier
11 Places Backend places-backend.googleapis.com Access detailed information about physical locations, including place details, photos, and reviews. Yes - Pay per API call after free tier
12 Cloud APIs cloudapis.googleapis.com Core infrastructure service that provides foundational API functionality for all Google Cloud services. No - Free service

Detailed Service Information

1. Cloud Run Admin API
  • API Key: run.googleapis.com
  • Purpose: Deploy and manage Cloud Run services
  • Key Features:
    • Serverless container execution
    • Automatic scaling (0 to N instances)
    • Built-in traffic management
    • HTTPS endpoints with SSL certificates
  • Billing: Pay-per-use model
    • Charged for CPU, Memory, and Request volume
    • Free tier: 2 million requests/month
    • Pricing beyond free tier applies
2. Cloud Pub/Sub API
  • API Key: pubsub.googleapis.com
  • Purpose: Create and manage topics and subscriptions
  • Key Features:
    • Asynchronous message delivery
    • At-least-once delivery guarantee
    • Global message routing
    • Push and pull subscriptions
  • Billing: Pay per message
    • Free tier: 10 GB/month
    • Pricing based on message volume and data transfer
3. Secret Manager API
  • API Key: secretmanager.googleapis.com
  • Purpose: Store and retrieve sensitive configuration and keys
  • Key Features:
    • Encrypted at rest and in transit
    • Version management
    • Access audit logging
    • IAM-based access control
  • Billing: Pay per active secret version and access operations
    • Pricing based on number of secrets and access frequency
4. Firebase Management API
  • API Key: firebase.googleapis.com
  • Purpose: Programmatically register Android/iOS apps and manage Firebase resources
  • Key Features:
    • App registration automation
    • Project configuration management
    • Resource provisioning
    • Multi-platform support
  • Billing: Mixed model
    • Core features free
    • Advanced features (Analytics, Performance) on Blaze plan
5. API Keys API
  • API Key: apikeys.googleapis.com
  • Purpose: Generate, restrict, and manage Google Maps and other API keys
  • Key Features:
    • Key creation and deletion
    • API restrictions (limit to specific APIs)
    • Application restrictions (HTTP referrers, IP addresses, apps)
    • Usage monitoring
  • Billing: Free service
6. Artifact Registry API
  • API Key: artifactregistry.googleapis.com
  • Purpose: Store and retrieve container images for Cloud Run
  • Key Features:
    • Multi-format support (Docker, Maven, npm, Python)
    • Regional and multi-regional repositories
    • Vulnerability scanning
    • Access control via IAM
  • Billing: Pay for storage and network egress
    • Free tier: 0.5 GB storage
    • Pricing based on storage size and bandwidth
7. Identity Toolkit API
  • API Key: identitytoolkit.googleapis.com
  • Purpose: Configure Firebase Authentication (e.g., Anonymous Auth)
  • Key Features:
    • Multiple auth providers (Email, Phone, OAuth)
    • Anonymous authentication
    • User management
    • Token-based authentication

  • Billing: Mixed model

    • Free tier: 50,000 MAU (Monthly Active Users)
    • Pay per MAU beyond free tier
8. Service Usage API
  • API Key: serviceusage.googleapis.com
  • Purpose: Enable services and check quotas/status
  • Key Features:
    • Programmatic service enablement
    • Quota monitoring
    • Service status checks
    • Usage reporting
  • Billing: Free service
9. Identity and Access Management (IAM) API
  • API Key: iam.googleapis.com
  • Purpose: Manage access control and service accounts
  • Key Features:
    • Fine-grained access control
    • Service account management
    • Custom role creation
    • Policy management
  • Billing: Free service
10. Maps JavaScript API (Backend)
  • API Key: maps-backend.googleapis.com
  • Purpose: Power Google Maps functionality for geolocation and mapping
  • Key Features:
    • Interactive maps
    • Geocoding and reverse geocoding
    • Directions and routing
    • Street View
  • Billing: Pay per API call
    • Free tier: $200 monthly credit (~28,500 map loads)
    • Pricing beyond credit applies
11. Places API (Backend)
  • API Key: places-backend.googleapis.com
  • Purpose: Access place details, photos, and reviews
  • Key Features:
    • Place search and autocomplete
    • Place details and photos
    • Place reviews and ratings
    • Nearby search
  • Billing: Pay per API call
    • Free tier: $200 monthly credit
    • Different pricing for different request types
12. Cloud APIs
  • API Key: cloudapis.googleapis.com
  • Purpose: Core infrastructure for Google Cloud services
  • Key Features:
    • Foundational API infrastructure
    • Service discovery
    • Common authentication
    • Request routing
Billing: Free service

Cost Optimization Tips

Free Services (No Cost)
  • API Keys API
  • Service Usage API
  • IAM API
  • Cloud APIs
Services with Free Tiers
  • Cloud Run: 2M requests/month
  • Cloud Pub/Sub: 10 GB/month
  • Maps/Places: $200 monthly credit
  • Identity Toolkit: 50,000 MAU
  • Artifact Registry: 0.5 GB storage
Cost Management Best Practices
  1. Set up billing alerts to monitor spending
  2. Use quotas to limit API usage
  3. Enable only required services to avoid unnecessary charges
  4. Leverage free tiers for development and testing
  5. Clean up unused resources regularly
  6. Use Cloud Run min-instances: 0 to scale to zero when idle
Implement caching to reduce API calls to Maps/Places APIs

Service Enablement

To enable these services in your GCP project, use the following command:
gcloud services enable \
 run.googleapis.com \
 pubsub.googleapis.com \
 secretmanager.googleapis.com \
 firebase.googleapis.com \
 apikeys.googleapis.com \
 artifactregistry.googleapis.com \
 identitytoolkit.googleapis.com \
 serviceusage.googleapis.com \
 iam.googleapis.com \
 maps-backend.googleapis.com \
 places-backend.googleapis.com \
 cloudapis.googleapis.com

Additional Notes

  • Billing Account Required: Most paid services require an active billing account
  • Free Trial: New GCP users get $300 credit valid for 90 days
  • Always Free: Some services have "Always Free" quotas even after trial ends
  • Regional Pricing: Costs may vary by region for some services
  • API Quotas: Each API has default quotas that can be increased upon request