Connecting to a cluster from the Google Cloud console
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With Connect, you can use the Google Cloud console to manage your
user clusters for Google Distributed Cloud.
Cluster registration
When you create a user cluster, you provide registration information in the
gkeConnect section of the cluster configuration file. Google Distributed Cloud
uses that information to register your cluster to a fleet—a unified way
to view and manage multiple clusters and their workloads as part of
GKE Enterprise. You can find out more about fleets and the functionality that
they enable in the Fleets guide.
If you do not fill in the gkeConnect field of your cluster configuration file,
the cluster is created, but not registered. To register a cluster after it has
been created, fill in the gkeConnect section of the configuration file, and
run gkectl update cluster.
Google Distributed Cloud does not support using gcloud to manually change the
registration of a cluster.
Logging into your cluster
To manage a registered Google Distributed Cloud cluster from the
Google Cloud console, you need to log in to the cluster from the
Google Cloud console.
Follow the instructions in
logging into clusters to
create the necessary roles and accounts and log in to your cluster.
What's next
Learn about multi-cluster management with
Connect.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-29 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eConnect enables managing user clusters for Google Distributed Cloud through the Google Cloud console.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eCluster registration occurs via the \u003ccode\u003egkeConnect\u003c/code\u003e section in the cluster configuration file, linking the cluster to a fleet for unified management.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eRegistered clusters are visible in the connect project on the GKE Enterprise Clusters page in the Google Cloud console.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eClusters created without the \u003ccode\u003egkeConnect\u003c/code\u003e field can be registered later by updating the configuration file and running \u003ccode\u003egkectl update cluster\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eManaging registered clusters from the Google Cloud console requires logging into the cluster following specific instructions to create the necessary roles and accounts.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Connecting to a cluster from the Google Cloud console\n\nWith Connect, you can use the Google Cloud console to manage your\nuser clusters for Google Distributed Cloud.\n\nCluster registration\n--------------------\n\nWhen you create a user cluster, you provide registration information in the\n`gkeConnect` section of the cluster configuration file. Google Distributed Cloud\nuses that information to register your cluster to a fleet---a unified way\nto view and manage multiple clusters and their workloads as part of\nGKE Enterprise. You can find out more about fleets and the functionality that\nthey enable in the [Fleets guide](/anthos/multicluster-management/fleets).\n\nRegistered clusters are visible in your\n[connect project](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.8/how-to/multiple-gcp-projects#connect_project)\non the\n[GKE Enterprise Clusters page](https://console.cloud.google.com/anthos/clusters/) in the\nGoogle Cloud console.\n\nIf you do not fill in the `gkeConnect` field of your cluster configuration file,\nthe cluster is created, but not registered. To register a cluster after it has\nbeen created, fill in the `gkeConnect` section of the configuration file, and\nrun `gkectl update cluster`.\n\nGoogle Distributed Cloud does not support using `gcloud` to manually change the\nregistration of a cluster.\n\nLogging into your cluster\n-------------------------\n\nTo manage a registered Google Distributed Cloud cluster from the\nGoogle Cloud console, you need to log in to the cluster from the\nGoogle Cloud console.\n\nFollow the instructions in\n[logging into clusters](/anthos/multicluster-management/console/logging-in) to\ncreate the necessary roles and accounts and log in to your cluster.\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- Learn about multi-cluster management with\n [Connect](/anthos/multicluster-management/connect/overview).\n\n- Learn about cluster authentication with [OpenID Connect (OIDC)](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.8/concepts/authentication)."]]
