- A
Cloud Composer with a Git polling DAG
Why wrong: Cloud Composer (managed Airflow) orchestrates data pipelines — it's not designed for CI/CD workflows triggered by code pushes.
- B
Cloud Build with a trigger configured on the repository's main branch
Cloud Build Triggers monitor repository events and execute build steps defined in cloudbuild.yaml — including running tests and deploying to GKE.
- C
Cloud Run jobs triggered by a Pub/Sub subscription on the repository
Why wrong: This is architecturally possible but adds unnecessary complexity — Cloud Build Triggers are the native, purpose-built CI/CD solution.
- D
Cloud Functions triggered by Cloud Source Repositories push events
Why wrong: Cloud Functions aren't designed for multi-step build and deploy pipelines — they're for lightweight event handlers.
Quick Answer
The answer is Cloud Build with a trigger configured on the repository’s main branch. This is correct because Cloud Build is the GCP-native service that automatically executes a build pipeline—including testing and deployment to Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)—whenever a source code repository event, such as a push to the main branch, occurs. The trigger acts as the event-driven mechanism that eliminates the need for manual intervention or external orchestration, making it the ideal CI/CD pipeline solution for GKE. On the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam, this concept tests your understanding of how to automate deployments using fully managed, serverless services; a common trap is confusing Cloud Build with Cloud Deploy or Jenkins, but remember that Cloud Build triggers are the direct, event-driven link between your repo and GKE. Memory tip: think “push to main, Cloud Build triggers the lane” to recall that the trigger on the main branch is what kicks off the automated build and deploy cycle.
Google ACE Deploying and implementing a cloud solution Practice Question
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of deploying and implementing a cloud solution. 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 team needs to build a CI/CD pipeline that automatically tests and deploys to GKE when code is pushed to the main branch. Which GCP-native service builds and deploys the code automatically based on source code repository events?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Cloud Build with a trigger configured on the repository's main branch
Cloud Build is the correct GCP-native service for building and deploying code automatically based on source code repository events. By configuring a Cloud Build trigger on the main branch, any push to that branch automatically initiates a build and deployment to GKE, fulfilling the CI/CD pipeline requirement without additional orchestration.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Cloud Composer with a Git polling DAG
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Composer (managed Airflow) orchestrates data pipelines — it's not designed for CI/CD workflows triggered by code pushes.
- ✓
Cloud Build with a trigger configured on the repository's main branch
Why this is correct
Cloud Build Triggers monitor repository events and execute build steps defined in cloudbuild.yaml — including running tests and deploying to GKE.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Cloud Run jobs triggered by a Pub/Sub subscription on the repository
Why it's wrong here
This is architecturally possible but adds unnecessary complexity — Cloud Build Triggers are the native, purpose-built CI/CD solution.
- ✗
Cloud Functions triggered by Cloud Source Repositories push events
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Functions aren't designed for multi-step build and deploy pipelines — they're for lightweight event handlers.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between event-driven compute services (Cloud Functions, Cloud Run) and purpose-built CI/CD services (Cloud Build), leading candidates to mistakenly choose Cloud Functions or Cloud Run because they can be triggered by repository events, even though they lack the integrated build-and-deploy pipeline required for GKE deployments.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud Build triggers use Pub/Sub or webhook subscriptions to detect push events from Cloud Source Repositories, GitHub, or Bitbucket, and automatically execute a build configuration (cloudbuild.yaml) that can compile code, run tests, build container images, and deploy them to GKE via kubectl or gcloud commands. Under the hood, Cloud Build provisions ephemeral worker VMs to run build steps in isolated Docker containers, ensuring reproducibility and scalability. A real-world scenario where this matters is when teams need to enforce branch-specific deployment policies, such as deploying to a staging cluster from a develop branch and to production from main, which Cloud Build triggers handle natively with branch regex filters.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ACE question test?
Deploying and implementing a cloud solution — This question tests Deploying and implementing a cloud solution — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Cloud Build with a trigger configured on the repository's main branch — Cloud Build is the correct GCP-native service for building and deploying code automatically based on source code repository events. By configuring a Cloud Build trigger on the main branch, any push to that branch automatically initiates a build and deployment to GKE, fulfilling the CI/CD pipeline requirement without additional orchestration.
What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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.
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