This ACE practice question tests your understanding of setting up a cloud solution environment. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A developer wants to use Cloud Shell to create a Compute Engine VM but receives an error 'API not enabled'. What should the developer do first?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Switch to a different region
Why wrong: Region choice does not affect API enablement.
Enable the Compute Engine API
The Compute Engine API must be enabled before creating VMs.
Use gcloud auth login
Why wrong: gcloud auth login is for user authentication, not enabling APIs.
Increase project quota
Why wrong: Quota errors are different; 'API not enabled' indicates the API is not enabled.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Enable the Compute Engine API
The error 'API not enabled' indicates that the Compute Engine API has not been activated for the developer's Google Cloud project. Cloud Shell uses the gcloud CLI, which requires the Compute Engine API to be enabled before it can create VM instances. The correct first step is to enable the Compute Engine API via the Cloud Console or the `gcloud services enable compute.googleapis.com` command.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Switch to a different region
Why it's wrong here
Region choice does not affect API enablement.
Enable the Compute Engine API
Why this is correct
The Compute Engine API must be enabled before creating VMs.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Use gcloud auth login
Why it's wrong here
gcloud auth login is for user authentication, not enabling APIs.
Increase project quota
Why it's wrong here
Quota errors are different; 'API not enabled' indicates the API is not enabled.
Common exam traps
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between authentication (gcloud auth login) and API enablement, trapping candidates who confuse user-level permissions with project-level service activation.
Detailed technical explanation
Google Cloud APIs are enabled per project and must be explicitly activated before their services can be used. The Compute Engine API is a prerequisite for creating VMs, and the gcloud CLI checks for this via the `services.googleapis.com` endpoint. A common subtlety is that some APIs are enabled by default (e.g., Cloud Storage), but Compute Engine is not, leading to this error even for authenticated users with sufficient quotas.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Setting up a cloud solution environment — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Setting up a cloud solution environment practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All ACE questions
500 questions across all exam domains
Google Associate Cloud Engineer study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
ACE practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise ACE questions linked to Setting up a cloud solution environment.
Practise ACE questions linked to Planning and configuring a cloud solution.
Practise ACE questions linked to Deploying and implementing a cloud solution.
Practise ACE questions linked to Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution.
Practise ACE questions linked to Configuring access and security.
Practise ACE questions linked to ACE fundamentals.
Practise ACE questions linked to ACE scenario.
Practise ACE questions linked to ACE troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Setting up a cloud solution environment — This question tests Setting up a cloud solution environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Enable the Compute Engine API — The error 'API not enabled' indicates that the Compute Engine API has not been activated for the developer's Google Cloud project. Cloud Shell uses the gcloud CLI, which requires the Compute Engine API to be enabled before it can create VM instances. The correct first step is to enable the Compute Engine API via the Cloud Console or the `gcloud services enable compute.googleapis.com` command.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This ACE practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the ACE exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.