---
title: GCE Virtual Machine discovery
description: Google Compute Engine VM discovery allows to use the google APIs to perform automatic discovery of seed hosts. Here is a simple sample configuration: 
url: https://www.elastic.co/docs/reference/elasticsearch/plugins/discovery-gce-usage
products:
  - Elasticsearch
---

# GCE Virtual Machine discovery
Google Compute Engine VM discovery allows to use the google APIs to perform automatic discovery of seed hosts. Here is a simple sample configuration:
```yaml
cloud:
  gce:
    project_id: <your-google-project-id>
    zone: <your-zone>
discovery:
  seed_providers: gce
```

The following gce settings (prefixed with `cloud.gce`) are supported:
<definitions>
  <definition term="project_id">
    Your Google project id. By default the project id will be derived from the instance metadata.
    <note>
      Deriving the project id from system properties or environment variables
      (`GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT` or `GCLOUD_PROJECT`) is not supported.
    </note>
  </definition>
  <definition term="zone">
    helps to retrieve instances running in a given zone. It should be one of the [GCE supported zones](https://developers.google.com/compute/docs/zones#available). By default the zone will be derived from the instance metadata. See also [Using GCE zones](https://www.elastic.co/docs/reference/elasticsearch/plugins/discovery-gce-usage-zones).
  </definition>
  <definition term="retry">
    If set to `true`, client will use [ExponentialBackOff](https://developers.google.com/api-client-library/java/google-http-java-client/backoff) policy to retry the failed http request. Defaults to `true`.
  </definition>
  <definition term="max_wait">
    The maximum elapsed time after the client instantiating retry. If the time elapsed goes past the `max_wait`, client stops to retry. A negative value means that it will wait indefinitely. Defaults to `0s` (retry indefinitely).
  </definition>
  <definition term="refresh_interval">
    How long the list of hosts is cached to prevent further requests to the GCE API. `0s` disables caching. A negative value will cause infinite caching. Defaults to `0s`.
  </definition>
</definitions>

<admonition title="Binding the network host">
  It’s important to define `network.host` as by default it’s bound to `localhost`.You can use [core network host settings](https://www.elastic.co/docs/reference/elasticsearch/configuration-reference/networking-settings) or [gce specific host settings](https://www.elastic.co/docs/reference/elasticsearch/plugins/discovery-gce-network-host):
</admonition>