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This page helps you find the right place to get started learning the
fundamentals you need to use GKE, whether you're an experienced
Kubernetes user or a complete beginner.
New to Google Cloud?
GKE relies on and can be used with many other Google Cloud
services, from IAM for access control to Cloud Billing for
managing your costs. To get started with Google Cloud basics, see the following:
Compare AWS and Azure services with
Google Cloud: If you're
familiar with other public cloud providers, this guide can help you
understand how Google Cloud services and features map to theirs.
Google Cloud CLI: Learn about the Google Cloud CLI command line
tool for creating and managing Google Cloud resources.
Cloud Quotas: Learn how Google Cloud uses quotas to monitor
and manage your Google Cloud resource usage, including when using GKE.
New to containers?
GKE is based on Kubernetes, and Kubernetes is a container
orchestration platform. If you're completely new to the world of containerized
applications, start here!
Tutorial: Introducing
containers: Learn about
containers and container orchestration with a simple example application
deployed on GKE
New to Kubernetes?
A lot of the documentation on this site assumes that you're already familiar
with basic Kubernetes concepts and terminology. If you're not, the following
resources can help you get started:
If you're already familiar with containers and Kubernetes (for example, if
you're familiar with another Kubernetes implementation), the following can help
you get started with GKE, including learning about key features,
options, and benefits.
GKE and
Cloud Run:
GKE isn't Google Cloud's only way to run containerized
applications. Learn about our serverless option Cloud Run and when
it's a good idea to use GKE, Cloud Run, or both
together.
Even if you're already familiar with GKE basics, you might want
to learn more about some of its more specialized features, as described in the
following guides:
Fleet
management:
Learn about managing multiple GKE clusters together with
fleets.
Team management:
For administrators, learn about managing teams of GKE users
and their access to Google Cloud resources.
Deploy AI/ML workloads:
Learn about running AI/ML workloads on GKE with specialized
hardware.
See also Explore GKE documentation for a guide to
where to find all the documentation for GKE features and
products.
What's next
If you'd like to deploy and explore a more complex application than our
quickstart, follow our Learning path: Scalable
applications. This multi-part
tutorial lets you learn about and explore core GKE features
with a sample online bank application.
When you're ready to start using GKE in real projects, see
our Cluster
lifecycle guide and
the other pages in our Get started section for all you need to know to
start planning, creating, managing, and working with clusters.
To learn how to diagnose issues and keep your services running smoothly, see
Introduction to GKE
for an introduction to common troubleshooting tools and techniques.
[[["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."],[],[],null,["# Start learning about GKE\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\nThis page helps you find the right place to get started learning the\nfundamentals you need to use GKE, whether you're an experienced\nKubernetes user or a complete beginner.\n\nNew to Google Cloud?\n--------------------\n\nGKE relies on and can be used with many other Google Cloud\nservices, from IAM for access control to Cloud Billing for\nmanaging your costs. To get started with Google Cloud basics, see the following:\n\n- [Google Cloud overview](/docs/overview)\n- [Compare AWS and Azure services with\n Google Cloud](/docs/get-started/aws-azure-gcp-service-comparison): If you're familiar with other public cloud providers, this guide can help you understand how Google Cloud services and features map to theirs.\n- [Google Cloud CLI](/sdk/gcloud): Learn about the Google Cloud CLI command line tool for creating and managing Google Cloud resources.\n- [Cloud Quotas](/docs/quotas/overview): Learn how Google Cloud uses *quotas* to monitor and manage your Google Cloud resource usage, including when using GKE.\n\nNew to containers?\n------------------\n\nGKE is based on Kubernetes, and Kubernetes is a container\norchestration platform. If you're completely new to the world of containerized\napplications, start here!\n\n- [Kubernetes comic](/kubernetes-engine/kubernetes-comic)\n- [What are containers?](https://cloud.google.com/learn/what-are-containers)\n- [Tutorial: Introducing\n containers](/kubernetes-engine/docs/learn/containers): Learn about containers and container orchestration with a simple example application deployed on GKE\n\nNew to Kubernetes?\n------------------\n\nA lot of the documentation on this site assumes that you're already familiar\nwith basic Kubernetes concepts and terminology. If you're not, the following\nresources can help you get started:\n\n- [Start learning about\n Kubernetes](/kubernetes-engine/docs/learn/get-started-with-kubernetes): A quick overview of Kubernetes fundamentals, with links to recommended reading.\n- [Kubernetes comic](/kubernetes-engine/kubernetes-comic)\n- [Kubernetes.io](https://kubernetes.io/): The official Kubernetes website, with tutorials, how-tos, reference docs, and more.\n- [Video playlist: Learn Kubernetes with Google](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxNYxgaZ8Rscf-XJ5VfXgbDAk1vL4xaMl)\n\nNew to GKE?\n-----------\n\nIf you're already familiar with containers and Kubernetes (for example, if\nyou're familiar with another Kubernetes implementation), the following can help\nyou get started with GKE, including learning about key features,\noptions, and benefits.\n\n- [GKE overview](/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/kubernetes-engine-overview)\n- See GKE in action with a simple example in one of our quickstarts:\n - [Create a cluster in the\n Google Cloud console](/kubernetes-engine/docs/quickstarts/create-cluster): The simplest way to see our \"hello world\" example.\n - [Create a cluster with\n Terraform](/kubernetes-engine/docs/quickstarts/create-cluster-using-terraform): A \"hello world\" example for users who prefer to use Terraform.\n- [GKE and\n Cloud Run](/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/gke-and-cloud-run): GKE isn't Google Cloud's only way to run containerized applications. Learn about our serverless option Cloud Run and when it's a good idea to use GKE, Cloud Run, or both together.\n- [GKE modes of\n operation](/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/choose-cluster-mode): Learn about GKE's Autopilot and Standard modes.\n- [GKE\n editions](/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/gke-editions): Choose GKE's standard tier of core functionality, or add advanced features with the enterprise tier.\n- [Video playlist: GKE essentials](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIivdWyY5sqLQ3m7WJDfBdMMqO12Q0vqg)\n\nWant to explore GKE further?\n----------------------------\n\nEven if you're already familiar with GKE basics, you might want\nto learn more about some of its more specialized features, as described in the\nfollowing guides:\n\n- [About security in\n GKE](/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/security-overview): Learn about GKE's security features.\n- [Network overview](/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/network-overview): Learn about GKE's networking features\n- [Fleet\n management](/kubernetes-engine/fleet-management/docs): Learn about managing multiple GKE clusters together with fleets.\n- [Team management](/kubernetes-engine/fleet-management/docs/team-management): For administrators, learn about managing teams of GKE users and their access to Google Cloud resources.\n- [Deploy AI/ML workloads](/kubernetes-engine/docs/integrations/ai-infra): Learn about running AI/ML workloads on GKE with specialized hardware.\n\nSee also [Explore GKE documentation](/kubernetes-engine/docs/about) for a guide to\nwhere to find all the documentation for GKE features and\nproducts.\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- If you'd like to deploy and explore a more complex application than our quickstart, follow our [Learning path: Scalable\n applications](/kubernetes-engine/docs/learn/scalable-apps). This multi-part tutorial lets you learn about and explore core GKE features with a sample online bank application.\n- When you're ready to start using GKE in real projects, see our [Cluster\n lifecycle](/kubernetes-engine/docs/get-started/cluster-lifecycle) guide and the other pages in our **Get started** section for all you need to know to start planning, creating, managing, and working with clusters.\n- To learn how to diagnose issues and keep your services running smoothly, see [Introduction to GKE](/kubernetes-engine/docs/troubleshooting/introduction) for an introduction to common troubleshooting tools and techniques."]]
