Prerequisites

bioAF runs on your own Google Cloud Platform (GCP) project. Before you start either the scripted installer or the manual install, you’ll need the three things below.

1. A Google account

You’ll sign in to Google Cloud with a regular Google account. If you don’t already have one, create a Google account.

2. A Google Cloud project

Google Cloud organizes resources into projects. bioAF is deployed into one project that you own.

  1. Go to cloud.google.com and click Get started for free (or sign in if you already have an account). New accounts get a free trial credit.
  2. In the GCP Console, open the project dropdown at the top → New Project → name it (e.g., bioaf-prod) and click Create.

Write down the Project ID (e.g., bioaf-prod-123456), both install paths will ask for it.

3. A billing account

Google requires a billing account with a payment method on file before it will provision infrastructure. If you don’t already have one:

Link the billing account to the project you created in step 2.

i Why do I need a credit card for free software?
bioAF is free and open source. But it runs on Google's servers, which aren't free. You pay Google directly for the compute, storage, and database resources bioAF uses. Google requires a payment method on file before they'll provision any infrastructure. See What to Expect on Your GCP Bill for a breakdown of typical costs.

Once you have all three, head back to the install path you picked: