Local GCP Lab with Floci on WSL

A hands-on local Google Cloud lab built with Floci GCP, Docker Desktop, WSL Ubuntu, and the gcloud CLI.

This repository documents a reproducible setup for practicing cloud workflows locally without using a real GCP account. The goal is to make it easy to explore service behavior, emulator wiring, CLI troubleshooting, and small end-to-end experiments from a developer workstation.

What this repo covers

• Local GCP emulation with Floci GCP
• WSL-based development workflow on Windows
• Environment activation and validation scripts
• Practical labs for common services
• Troubleshooting notes and lessons learned
• A portfolio-friendly record of cloud practice

Current status

Completed:

• Cloud Storage local flow
• Pub/Sub local flow
• Activation and health-check scripts

Planned:

• Secret Manager lab
• Firestore lab
• Cloud Run experiment
• Cloud SQL experiment
• Screenshots of successful flows

Stack

• Floci GCP local emulator
• Docker Desktop
• WSL Ubuntu
• Google Cloud CLI (gcloud)
• Bash
• VS Code with WSL integration

Repository structure

floci-gcp-local-lab/
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
├── .gitignore
├── activate-gcp-local.sh
├── check-gcp-local.sh
├── labs/
│   ├── 01-storage.md
│   ├── 02-pubsub.md
│   ├── 03-secret-manager.md
│   ├── 04-firestore.md
│   ├── 05-cloud-run.md
│   └── 06-cloud-sql.md
├── docs/
│   └── lessons-learned/
│       ├── 01-endpoint-routing.md
│       ├── 02-wsl-vscode-nano-notes.md
│       └── 03-floci-image-version-warning.md
├── examples/
│   └── commands.sh
└── screenshots/
    └── .gitkeep

Quick start

1. Start the local lab

source ./activate-gcp-local.sh

2. Verify the environment

./check-gcp-local.sh

3. Try a simple Pub/Sub flow

gcloud pubsub topics create my-topic
gcloud pubsub subscriptions create my-sub --topic=my-topic
gcloud pubsub topics publish my-topic --message="hello from floci-gcp"
gcloud pubsub subscriptions pull my-sub --auto-ack

Scripts

activate-gcp-local.sh

Starts Floci GCP if needed and exports the local emulator environment variables.

check-gcp-local.sh

Runs a quick audit of:

• Floci container status
• Emulator environment variables
• Docker container visibility
• Floci doctor output
• Enabled services
• Active gcloud project

Labs

Each lab is intentionally short and repeatable.

• 01-storage.md - Buckets, uploads, downloads
• 02-pubsub.md - Topics, subscriptions, publish, pull
• 03-secret-manager.md - Create, add version, access secret
• 04-firestore.md - Basic document operations
• 05-cloud-run.md - Local experiment notes
• 06-cloud-sql.md - Local experiment notes

Screenshots

Screenshots are helpful, but not mandatory on day one.

A strong technical repo can still be useful with:

• clean documentation,
• reproducible commands,
• lessons learned,
• and successful command output examples.

The screenshots/ folder is included now so visual evidence can be added later.

Suggested screenshots to add later:

• successful Pub/Sub publish and pull
• successful Storage upload/download
• floci gcp status
• floci gcp services
• one screenshot of the WSL + VS Code workflow

Lessons learned

The docs/lessons-learned/ folder is intentional.

It is not a diary of mistakes. It is a technical notes section that captures issues, root causes, and fixes in a reusable way. That makes the repo more credible, not less.

Good lessons-learned notes usually document:

• symptom,
• likely cause,
• actual fix,
• verification step,
• and takeaway.

Publishing advice

If you have never published a project before, create a new GitHub repository for this lab.

Suggested repository names:

• floci-gcp-local-lab
• local-gcp-lab-wsl
• gcp-local-emulator-lab

A dedicated repository is better than mixing this into unrelated work because it gives the lab a clear story and makes it easier to share in interviews or on your resume.

Next milestones

1. Add the Secret Manager lab.
2. Add the Firestore lab.
3. Capture 3-5 screenshots.
4. Add Cloud Run experiment notes.
5. Add Cloud SQL experiment notes.
6. Polish the README with outcomes and screenshots.

Acknowledgment

This repository documents local practice built around Floci GCP and related local development tooling.