Google Cloud Platform for Developers

Compute Engine metadata server

Google Compute Engine provides a method for storing and retrieving metadata in the form of the metadata server. This service provides a central point to set metadata in the form of key-value pairs, which is then provided to virtual machines at runtime. Metadata can be configured through API calls, through the Cloud Console, or through the gcloud compute command group.

App Engine instances can leverage the metadata server to securely retrieve project-wide metadata in different ways depending on whether they are running in the standard or flexible environment. Services running in the App Engine flexible environment are backed Compute Engine VMs, making it possible to retrieve custom metadata through local API ...