Quick Answer
Cloud Build is the correct choice because it serves as a fully managed CI/CD platform that natively integrates with Cloud Source Repositories and App Engine Standard, enabling automatic deployment whenever code is pushed to the main branch. By configuring a Cloud Build trigger and a cloudbuild.yaml file that includes the `gcloud app deploy` command, the service handles the entire build and deploy pipeline without requiring external tools. On the Google Professional Cloud Developer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Cloud Build acts as the central orchestration service for serverless deployments, often appearing in questions that contrast it with Cloud Deploy (which targets GKE or Compute Engine) or Cloud Run triggers. A common trap is choosing Cloud Source Repositories itself, but remember that repositories only store code—they do not build or deploy. Memory tip: think of Cloud Build as the “builder” that takes code from the repo and deploys it to App Engine, making it the single service for both steps.
This PCD practice question tests your understanding of deploying applications. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 automatically deploy a new version of an application to App Engine Standard every time code is pushed to the main branch of a Cloud Source Repositories repository. Which service should be used?
Cloud Build
Cloud Build can automatically trigger on source repo pushes and deploy to App Engine.
Cloud Run
Why wrong: Cloud Run is a serverless compute platform, not a CI/CD service.
Cloud Scheduler
Why wrong: Cloud Scheduler triggers on schedule, not on code push.
Cloud Deploy
Why wrong: Cloud Deploy is for delivery to GKE, not App Engine.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Cloud Build
Cloud Build is the correct service because it is a fully managed CI/CD platform that integrates natively with Cloud Source Repositories and App Engine Standard. You can configure a Cloud Build trigger to automatically build and deploy your application whenever code is pushed to the main branch, using a cloudbuild.yaml file that specifies the build steps and the `gcloud app deploy` 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.
Cloud Build
Why this is correct
Cloud Build can automatically trigger on source repo pushes and deploy to App Engine.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Cloud Run
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Run is a serverless compute platform, not a CI/CD service.
Cloud Scheduler
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Scheduler triggers on schedule, not on code push.
Cloud Deploy
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Deploy is for delivery to GKE, not App Engine.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse Cloud Deploy (which is for GKE/Cloud Run delivery pipelines) with Cloud Build (the actual CI/CD service that can deploy to App Engine), or they mistakenly think Cloud Run can deploy to App Engine Standard when it is a separate compute platform.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, Cloud Build triggers use Pub/Sub notifications from Cloud Source Repositories to detect pushes, then execute a series of build steps defined in a cloudbuild.yaml file. For App Engine Standard, the build step typically runs `gcloud app deploy` with the `--promote` flag to route traffic to the new version. A real-world scenario is a team using Cloud Build to run unit tests, linting, and then deploy only if all checks pass, ensuring no broken code reaches production.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Deploying applications — This question tests Deploying applications — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Cloud Build — Cloud Build is the correct service because it is a fully managed CI/CD platform that integrates natively with Cloud Source Repositories and App Engine Standard. You can configure a Cloud Build trigger to automatically build and deploy your application whenever code is pushed to the main branch, using a cloudbuild.yaml file that specifies the build steps and the `gcloud app deploy` command.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
This PCD 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 PCD exam.
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