How to Claim Your Free Cloud Server
A complete guide to the Google Cloud "Always Free" Tier.
Briefing: What is a Virtual Machine?
Before we click any buttons, let's understand the tool. A Virtual Machine (VM) is a computer that lives in the cloud.
Instead of buying a physical laptop, you are renting a slice of Google's massive supercomputer. It runs 24/7, has incredibly fast internet, and never sleeps.
Yes. It is isolated from your home computer. If you mess up the VM, you just delete it. Your personal data is 100% safe.
Deployment Protocol
Follow these exact steps. Do not skip anything.
1. Go to cloud.google.com.
2. Click the blue "Get Started for Free" button at the top right.
3. Sign in with your Gmail account.
Google needs to know you are a real person, not a bot.
- Credit/Debit Card: You can use Visa, Mastercard, or Amex. They may deduct ₹2 (or $1) just to check if the card works. This is refunded instantly.
- UPI Autopay (India): If you don't have a card, select UPI. Google will ask to set up an "Autopay" mandate. Don't worry. They will NOT charge you monthly fees as long as you stay within the free limits we show below.
- Cancel Anytime: You can go to your Google Pay app settings anytime and cancel the Autopay mandate if you stop using the server.
1. Once logged in, look at the top left corner. Click the Hamburger Menu (☰).
2. Hover over "Compute Engine" and click "VM Instances".
3. If you see a button saying "Enable API", click it and wait 2 minutes.
1. Click the blue "CREATE INSTANCE" button at the top.
2. Name: Give it any name (e.g., my-free-server).
This is where most people lose money. You MUST choose a free region.
1. Click the Region dropdown.
2. Scroll down to "Americas".
3. Select exactly: us-central1 (Iowa).
1. Scroll down to "Machine configuration".
2. Look for "Series". Change it to E2.
3. Look for "Machine type". Change it to e2-micro (2 vCPU, 1 GB memory).
You should see a message on the right saying "Your first 744 hours of e2-micro are free".
1. Scroll down to "Boot disk". Click the CHANGE button.
2. Operating System: Select Ubuntu.
3. Version: Select Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.
4. Size: Change 10 to 30.
5. Boot disk type: Ensure it says Standard persistent disk.
6. Click the blue SELECT button.
1. Scroll down to "Firewall".
2. Check Allow HTTP traffic.
3. Check Allow HTTPS traffic.
4. Click the blue CREATE button at the very bottom.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Wait 30 seconds. When you see a green checkmark, your server is live.
RETURN TO BASE