Run Claude Code on Google Cloud: Use Your GCP Credits for AI Coding, Desktop Control, and More

Claude Code runs natively on Google Cloud's Vertex AI. Same models, same capabilities (coding, agents, MCP servers, even desktop control) but billed entirely through your GCP account.

If you're already on Google Cloud, you don't need a separate Anthropic subscription. Your existing credits, billing, and IAM setup just work. Here's exactly how to set it up.

What You Get

This isn't a watered-down version. Through Vertex AI, you get:

• All Claude models: Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.6, Haiku 4.5, and previous generations
• Full Claude Code features: file editing, code generation, terminal commands, MCP servers
• Desktop control: screenshots, mouse clicks, keyboard input, browser automation
• Your existing GCP billing: startup credits, free trial, enterprise spend, committed use discounts

	Anthropic Direct	Vertex AI
Billing	Separate Anthropic account	Your existing GCP billing
Credits	Pay as you go	Use GCP/startup credits
Auth	API key management	gcloud auth (already configured)
Compliance	Separate vendor	Same GCP governance
Models	All Claude models	All Claude models (same day availability)
Desktop Control	Built-in (requires Pro/Max)	Native macOS tools + MCP servers

Step 1: Enable Claude in the Model Garden

Go to Vertex AI Model Garden in your GCP console. Filter by Anthropic under Providers.

You'll see 8 Claude models available:

• Claude Opus 4.6: Most intelligent, industry leader for coding and agents
• Claude Sonnet 4.6: Frontier intelligence for high volume coding and research
• Claude Haiku 4.5: Fastest and most cost effective
• Plus previous generations (Opus 4.5, 4.1, 4, Sonnet 4)

Click any model to see its details and model ID:

Click "Open in Vertex AI Studio" to test the model directly in the console before setting up Claude Code.

Step 2: Configure Claude Code

Install Claude Code:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Add three environment variables to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:

# Route Claude Code through Vertex AI
export CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX=1

# Your GCP project ID (find it at console.cloud.google.com)
export ANTHROPIC_VERTEX_PROJECT_ID=my-gcp-project

# Region (us-east5, europe-west1, or global)
export CLOUD_ML_REGION=us-east5

That's it. No API keys to manage. Claude Code picks up your existing gcloud authentication automatically.

Make sure you're authenticated:

gcloud auth login
gcloud auth application-default login

Want to use Opus instead of Sonnet (the default)?

export ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-opus-4-6

Step 3: Run It

source ~/.zshrc
claude

Everything works exactly the same: file editing, code generation, terminal commands, MCP servers. The only difference? Billing goes to your GCP account.

Step 4: Desktop Control on Vertex AI

Here's where it gets interesting. Claude Code's built-in computer use requires a claude.ai Pro/Max subscription. But on Vertex AI, you can get the same capabilities using native macOS tools:

# Take a screenshot (Claude Code is multimodal and can read images)
screencapture -x /tmp/screenshot.png

# Mouse and keyboard control
brew install cliclick

# Click at coordinates
cliclick c:500,300

# Type text
cliclick t:"Hello World"

For browser automation, add an MCP server to ~/.claude/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chrome-devtools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["chrome-devtools-mcp@latest", "--autoConnect"]
    }
  }
}

Now Claude Code can control Chrome, navigate pages, fill forms, and take screenshots. All running through Vertex AI on your GCP credits.

I used this exact setup to take the screenshots in this post. Claude Code navigated the GCP console, filtered the Model Garden by Anthropic, and captured everything automatically.

Pro Tips

Use the global Region

export CLOUD_ML_REGION=global

The global endpoint gets the latest models first and avoids the 10% regional price premium on older model versions.

Switch Between Vertex and Direct

# Quick alias for direct Anthropic API when needed
cc() {
  CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX=0 claude "$@"
}

Check Your Quotas

Vertex AI has per region quotas for Claude models:

Console > IAM & Admin > Quotas > Filter: "anthropic"

If you hit rate limits, request a quota increase or switch regions.

TL;DR

What	How
Enable Claude	Model Garden > Anthropic > Click model
Configure	CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX=1 + project ID + region
Auth	gcloud auth login (you already did this)
Billing	Your existing GCP credits
Desktop control	screencapture + cliclick + MCP servers
Models	All Claude models (Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.6, Haiku 4.5)

If you're on GCP, your credits are sitting there. Use them.