Cloud Build Triggers & Config

Cloud Build triggers automate your CI/CD pipeline by starting builds in response to source code changes. When a developer pushes a commit, opens a pull request, or creates a tag, a trigger can automatically run your build pipeline — testing, building, and deploying your application without manual intervention.

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What Are Triggers?

A trigger is a Cloud Build configuration that watches a source repository for changes and starts a build when specific conditions are met. Triggers connect your source code to your build pipeline.

Trigger Components

Component	Description
Source	The repository to watch (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Cloud Source Repos)
Event	What triggers the build (push, pull request, tag)
Filter	Branch or tag patterns to match
Build config	The cloudbuild.yaml to execute (or inline steps)
Substitutions	Variables passed to the build
Service account	Identity used to run the build

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Creating Triggers

Push Trigger (Branch)

gcloud builds triggers create github \
  --name="deploy-on-push" \
  --repo-name=my-repo \
  --repo-owner=my-org \
  --branch-pattern="^main$" \
  --build-config=cloudbuild.yaml \
  --service-account=projects/my-project/serviceAccounts/cloud-build@my-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com

Pull Request Trigger