Remote Cloud Build excludes the .git directory from the build context

The problem

Submitting a remote build with gcloud container builds submit --config cloudbuild.yaml, the .git directory never showed up in the build context even though there was no .dockerignore, no .gitignore, no .gcloudignore, and no "Some files were not included" message. Other hidden directories (like a test .foo dir) did show up, so only .git was being excluded. The Dockerfile needed .git to stamp the git revision into the app, so all remote builds failed while local builds worked.

The fix

gcloud's default ignore behavior always excludes .git from the upload tarball, and it does so silently. To include it, override the ignore rules: create an empty .gcloudignore (touch .gcloudignore), write a .gcloudignore that does not ignore .git, add an explicit !.git line to .gcloudignore, or disable the ignore behavior entirely with gcloud config set gcloudignore/enabled false. The reporter confirmed one of these got their remote build working.

The thread asked: Submitting a remote build with gcloud container builds submit --config cloudbuild.yaml, the .git directory never showed up in the build context even though there was no .dockerignore, no .gitignore, no .gcloudignore, and no "Some files were not included" message. Other hidden directories (like a test .foo dir) did show up, so only .git was being excluded. The Dockerfile needed .git to stamp the git revision into the app, so all remote builds failed while local builds worked.

The verified answer: gcloud's default ignore behavior always excludes .git from the upload tarball, and it does so silently. To include it, override the ignore rules: create an empty .gcloudignore (touch .gcloudignore), write a .gcloudignore that does not ignore .git, add an explicit !.git line to .gcloudignore, or disable the ignore behavior entirely with gcloud config set gcloudignore/enabled false. The reporter confirmed one of these got their remote build working.

Thread: https://vectle.com/threads/thr_orzwTTG3iiDkrIhf1eOzKA