google-agents-cli-publish

A running agent is not yet something your colleagues can find. This registers it with Gemini Enterprise or lists it in Google's catalogue, so other people — and other agents — can call on it by name.

WHEN TO USE

SCOPE

USE FOR

Register a deployed Agent Runtime, Cloud Run, or Google Kubernetes Engine agent with a Gemini Enterprise app.
Decide whether to register a deployed agent through its Agent Development Kit app or the agent-to-agent protocol.
Set up non-interactive publish flags or env vars for a CI/CD pipeline.
Register an external MCP server in the Agent Registry fleet catalog.
Fix a Session not found error that shows up after registering an Agent Runtime agent.

NOT FOR

Deploying the agent — that has to happen first, via google-agents-cli-deploy.

This is a saved copy of the skill's SKILL.md instructions. It may differ from the upstream file or the version you install.

In this document (12)

Gemini Enterprise Registration

Requires: A deployed agent. For Agent Runtime, deployment_metadata.json (created by agents-cli deploy) enables auto-detection. For Cloud Run or GKE, provide the agent card URL and flags directly.

Prerequisites

Agent must be deployed — the agent must be running and reachable
Gemini Enterprise app must exist — Create one in Google Cloud Console → Gemini Enterprise → Apps before registering
deployment_metadata.json (Agent Runtime only) — Created automatically by agents-cli deploy; contains the agent runtime ID, deployment target, the A2A flag, and the agent directory

Required Permissions for A2A on Cloud Run

roles/run.servicesInvoker granted to the Discovery Engine service account (service-<PROJECT_NUMBER>@gcp-sa-discoveryengine.iam.gserviceaccount.com) on the Cloud Run service.

Registration Modes

A2A Registration

Every scaffolded agent serves the Agent-to-Agent protocol. A2A is the default — and only — registration type on Cloud Run and GKE (no reasoning engine to invoke natively). It also works on Agent Runtime via --registration-type a2a. For an ADK agent there the CLI warns against it, because Gemini Enterprise can invoke Agent Runtime natively via :streamQuery — prefer ADK registration in that case. For an agent built on another framework there is no ADK app to invoke natively, so A2A is the right mode on every target and the warning is expected. Pass the agent card URL and the command fetches the card and registers it; display name and description default to the card's name/description.

# A2A on Cloud Run / GKE
agents-cli publish gemini-enterprise \
  --agent-card-url https://my-service-abc123.us-east1.run.app/a2a/app/.well-known/agent-card.json \
  --gemini-enterprise-app-id projects/123456/locations/global/collections/default_collection/engines/my-app

Pass --display-name / --description to override the card defaults. On Agent Runtime, the card URL auto-builds from deployment_metadata.json if you omit --agent-card-url.

ADK Registration (default on Agent Runtime)

ADK projects only. The agent must be deployed to Agent Runtime as an ADK app, since registration invokes it through :streamQuery. An agent on another framework registers over A2A, so deploy it to Cloud Run or GKE and publish from there.

This is the default and recommended registration for ADK agents on Agent Runtime: Gemini Enterprise invokes the agent natively via :streamQuery on its reasoning engine resource, authenticating end-to-end. Under the hood, :streamQuery dispatches to the AdkApp's streaming_agent_run_with_events method — when debugging an ADK invocation, search the runtime's reasoning_engine_stderr logs for that method name to trace the failure. It's also the path to use when the agent needs an OAuth authorization (--authorization-id). The agent is registered directly via its reasoning engine resource name; no agent card URL is needed.

agents-cli publish gemini-enterprise \
  --registration-type adk \
  --agent-runtime-id projects/123456/locations/us-east1/reasoningEngines/789 \
  --gemini-enterprise-app-id projects/123456/locations/global/collections/default_collection/engines/my-app \
  --display-name "My Agent" \
  --description "Handles customer queries" \
  --tool-description "Answers questions about products"

Programmatic Mode (CI/CD)

The command is non-interactive by default — pass all required values via flags or environment variables. This makes it safe for CI/CD pipelines.

Via flags

agents-cli publish gemini-enterprise \
  --agent-runtime-id "$AGENT_RUNTIME_ID" \
  --gemini-enterprise-app-id "$GEMINI_ENTERPRISE_APP_ID" \
  --display-name "Production Agent" \
  --registration-type adk

Via environment variables

Most flags have an env var alternative (--metadata-file, --interactive, and --list do not):

export AGENT_RUNTIME_ID="projects/123456/locations/us-east1/reasoningEngines/789"
export GEMINI_ENTERPRISE_APP_ID="projects/123456/locations/global/collections/default_collection/engines/my-app"
export GEMINI_DISPLAY_NAME="Production Agent"
export GEMINI_DESCRIPTION="Handles customer queries"

agents-cli publish gemini-enterprise

Interactive Mode (`--interactive`)

Pass --interactive (or -i) to be guided through any missing values with interactive prompts. The command will list available Gemini Enterprise apps, offer to auto-detect the agent runtime ID from metadata, and prompt for display name and description.

agents-cli publish gemini-enterprise --interactive

Complete Flag Reference

Flag	Env Var	Description
`--agent-runtime-id`	`AGENT_RUNTIME_ID`	Agent Runtime resource name (auto-detected from `deployment_metadata.json`)
`--gemini-enterprise-app-id`	`ID` or `GEMINI_ENTERPRISE_APP_ID`	Gemini Enterprise app full resource name
`--display-name`	`GEMINI_DISPLAY_NAME`	Display name in Gemini Enterprise
`--description`	`GEMINI_DESCRIPTION`	Agent description
`--tool-description`	`GEMINI_TOOL_DESCRIPTION`	Tool description (ADK mode only, defaults to description)
`--registration-type`	`REGISTRATION_TYPE`	`adk` or `a2a` (defaults to `adk` for an ADK agent on Agent Runtime, `a2a` everywhere else, including any non-ADK framework)
`--agent-card-url`	`AGENT_CARD_URL`	Agent card URL for A2A registration
`--deployment-target`	`DEPLOYMENT_TARGET`	`agent_runtime`, `cloud_run`, or `gke` (sets the default registration type — ADK on Agent Runtime, A2A on Cloud Run / GKE — and the A2A auth method)
`--project-id`	`GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT`	GCP project ID for billing
`--project-number`	`PROJECT_NUMBER`	GCP project number (used for Gemini Enterprise lookup)
`--authorization-id`	`GEMINI_AUTHORIZATION_ID`	OAuth authorization resource name
`--metadata-file`	—	Path to deployment metadata (default: `deployment_metadata.json`)
`--interactive` / `-i`	—	Enable interactive prompts
`--list`	—	List Gemini Enterprise apps in the current project and exit

Auto-Detection from Metadata

When deployment_metadata.json exists, the command automatically:

Reads the agent runtime ID (remote_agent_runtime_id)
Determines the registration type: defaults to ADK (native :streamQuery) on Agent Runtime, and A2A on Cloud Run / GKE (which have no reasoning engine). A project scaffolded with another framework serves no ADK app, so it defaults to A2A on every target. Override with --registration-type.
Determines the deployment target for authentication

This means that for the simplest case (an ADK agent on Agent Runtime, registered as ADK), you only need to provide the Gemini Enterprise app ID:

agents-cli publish gemini-enterprise \
  --gemini-enterprise-app-id projects/123456/locations/global/collections/default_collection/engines/my-app

SDK Compatibility

Agent Runtime deployments may encounter "Session not found" errors with google-cloud-aiplatform versions <= 1.128.0. In interactive mode (--interactive), the command checks the SDK version from uv.lock and offers to upgrade. In programmatic mode, ensure your SDK is up to date before registering.

Agent Registry (agents and MCP servers)

Agent Registry (Preview) is the Google Cloud fleet-wide catalog of agents and MCP servers, separate from a Gemini Enterprise app. Agents deployed to a managed runtime (Agent Runtime on Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform) are auto-registered — no extra step after agents-cli deploy. Manage them with gcloud (requires roles/agentregistry.editor):

# List / inspect agents
gcloud agent-registry agents list --project PROJECT --location LOCATION
gcloud agent-registry agents describe AGENT_NAME

# Update endpoint/metadata — edit the Service resource, not the Agent
gcloud agent-registry services update AGENT_NAME \
  --display-name "..." --description "..." \
  --interfaces "url=ENDPOINT_URL,protocolBinding=http-json"

# Register an external MCP server: not auto-introspected, so upload a
# toolspec.json (its tools/list response, max 10 KB). No us/eu multi-region.
gcloud agent-registry services create SERVER_NAME --location=LOCATION \
  --mcp-server-spec-type=tool-spec --mcp-server-spec-content=toolspec.json \
  --interfaces="url=SERVER_URL,protocolBinding=jsonrpc"  # or http-json, grpc

# Remove: delete the underlying runtime agent (auto-registered) OR, for
# manually registered agents/servers, delete the Service resource
gcloud agent-registry services delete NAME

Terraform: google_agent_registry_service with an mcp_server_spec block.

Docs: https://docs.cloud.google.com/agent-registry/manage-agents · https://docs.cloud.google.com/agent-registry/register-mcp-servers

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
"Session not found" after registration	SDK version issue — upgrade `google-cloud-aiplatform` (see SDK Compatibility above), redeploy, then re-register
`--registration-type is required`	Non-interactive mode needs `--registration-type` when no `deployment_metadata.json` exists
"Gemini Enterprise App ID is required"	Provide `--gemini-enterprise-app-id` or set the `ID` / `GEMINI_ENTERPRISE_APP_ID` env var
Re-publishing the same agent	Registration is idempotent — re-running updates the existing registration in place instead of creating a duplicate
HTTP 403 on registration	Check that your account has Discovery Engine Editor permissions on the Gemini Enterprise project
Debugging ADK invocation failures on Agent Runtime	Gemini Enterprise calls the agent via the `AdkApp`'s `streaming_agent_run_with_events` method (the native `:streamQuery` contract). Grep the runtime's `reasoning_engine_stderr` logs for `streaming_agent_run_with_events` to find the underlying error
"Could not fetch agent card"	Verify the agent is running and the URL is correct; for Cloud Run, ensure `gcloud auth login` is done

Related Skills

/google-agents-cli-deploy — Deployment targets, CI/CD pipelines, and production workflows (also covers Agent Gateway governed ingress/egress and Semantic Governance awareness)
/google-agents-cli-workflow — Development workflow, coding guidelines, and operational rules
/google-agents-cli-scaffold — Project creation and enhancement with agents-cli scaffold create / scaffold enhance

Account or credentials required

2 FOR YOU · 1 FOR THE AGENT

Items without a tag are required.

01
Deploy the agent first
The agent must already be deployed and reachable (Agent Runtime, Cloud Run, or GKE) before it can be registered.
02
Create a Gemini Enterprise app
Create a Gemini Enterprise app in Google Cloud Console → Gemini Enterprise → Apps before running agents-cli publish gemini-enterprise.
03
Optional Grant the Discovery Engine service account access
For A2A registration on Cloud Run, grant roles/run.servicesInvoker to the Discovery Engine service account (service-<PROJECT_NUMBER>@gcp-sa-discoveryengine.iam.gserviceaccount.com) on the Cloud Run service.

Listed as free: Connected services may require an account or charge fees.
Setup details: The README mentions source builds, cloning, containers, hosting, OAuth, service accounts, or cloud projects.

This skill ships inside the Google Agents CLI plugin.

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npx skills add google/agents-cli --skill "google-agents-cli-publish" --full-depth

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What's inside

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Same repository

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This skill should be used when the user wants to "write agent code", "build an agent with ADK", "add a tool", "create a callback", "define an agent", "use state management", or needs ADK (Agent Development Kit) Python API patterns and code examples. Part of the Google ADK skills suite. It provides a quick reference for agent types, tool definitions, orchestration patterns, callbacks, state management, and reference recipes to study. Do NOT use for scaffolding (use google-agents-cli-scaffold) or deployment (use google-agents-cli-deploy).Read full description
google-agents-cli-deploy
This skill should be used when the user wants to "deploy an agent", "deploy my ADK agent", "set up CI/CD", "configure secrets", "troubleshoot a deployment", or needs guidance on Agent Runtime, Cloud Run, or GKE deployment targets, or binding an agent to an Agent Gateway. Covers deployment workflows, service accounts, rollback, and production infrastructure. Applies to any framework agents-cli deploys (ADK, LangChain, ...). Part of the agents-cli skills suite. Do NOT use for agent API code patterns (ADK: use google-agents-cli-adk-code), evaluation (use google-agents-cli-eval), or project scaffolding (use google-agents-cli-scaffold).Read full description
google-agents-cli-eval
This skill should be used when the user wants to "run an evaluation", "evaluate my agent", "evaluate my ADK agent", "write an eval dataset", "analyze eval failures", "compare eval results", "optimize agent", or needs guidance on the Agent Platform eval methodology and the Quality Flywheel. Covers eval metrics, dataset schema, LLM-as-judge scoring, and common failure causes. Applies to any agents-cli project, whatever framework the agent is written in. Do NOT use for agent API code patterns (ADK: use google-agents-cli-adk-code), deployment (use google-agents-cli-deploy), or project scaffolding (use google-agents-cli-scaffold).Read full description
google-agents-cli-observability
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google-agents-cli-scaffold
This skill should be used when the user wants to "create an agent project", "start a new ADK project", "build me a new agent", "add CI/CD to my project", "add deployment", "enhance my project", or "upgrade my project". Part of the agents-cli skills suite. Covers agents-cli scaffold create, scaffold enhance, and scaffold upgrade commands, template options, deployment targets, and the prototype-first workflow. Do NOT use for writing agent code (ADK projects: use google-agents-cli-adk-code) or deployment operations (use google-agents-cli-deploy).Read full description
google-agents-cli-workflow
This skill should be used when the user wants to "develop an agent", "build an agent using ADK", "run the agent locally", "debug agent code", "test an agent", "deploy an agent", "publish an agent", "monitor an agent", or needs the ADK (Agent Development Kit) development lifecycle and coding guidelines. Entrypoint for building ADK agents. Always active — provides the full workflow (scaffold, build, evaluate, deploy, publish, observe), code preservation rules, model selection guidance, and troubleshooting steps for ADK or any agent development.Read full description

Gemini Enterprise Registration

Prerequisites

Required Permissions for A2A on Cloud Run

Registration Modes

A2A Registration

ADK Registration (default on Agent Runtime)

Programmatic Mode (CI/CD)

Via flags

Via environment variables

Interactive Mode (--interactive)

Complete Flag Reference

Auto-Detection from Metadata

SDK Compatibility

Agent Registry (agents and MCP servers)

Troubleshooting

Related Skills

Account or credentials required

What's inside

More skills

google-agents-cli-adk-code

google-agents-cli-deploy

google-agents-cli-eval

google-agents-cli-observability

google-agents-cli-scaffold

google-agents-cli-workflow

Interactive Mode (`--interactive`)