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To publish Reg-suit visual-regression snapshots and reports to Google Cloud Storage, install the separate reg-publish-gcs-plugin, add its bucket settings to the project’s regconfig.json, make Google Application Default Credentials (ADC) available to the process running Reg-suit, and run reg-suit run. The bucket name is required; the plugin uses ADC to authenticate.
Install and prepare the GCS publisher
- From your project directory, install the publisher as a development dependency:
npm i reg-publish-gcs-plugin -D - Register it with Reg-suit:
reg-suit prepare -p publish-gcs
The GCS publisher is a separate package from Reg-suit. Its README documents its configuration and ADC requirement. Reg-suit reads project settings from regconfig.json in the project root; its project README describes plugin settings under plugins and environment-variable substitution.
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Configure the bucket in regconfig.json
Set bucketName to the existing target bucket. For example, configure the plugin in the project-root regconfig.json like this:
{
"core": {
"workingDir": ".reg",
"actualDir": "images",
"thresholdRate": 0.05
},
"plugins": {
"reg-publish-gcs-plugin": {
"bucketName": "$REG_SUIT_GCS_BUCKET",
"pathPrefix": "visual-regression"
}
}
}Set REG_SUIT_GCS_BUCKET in the environment before running Reg-suit. If you prefer a literal value for a bucket that is safe to commit, replace the placeholder with the bucket name. Use the documented package key for the installed plugin version; the general Reg-suit configuration supports plugin settings keyed by package name.
What the plugin settings do
bucketNameis required and identifies the destination bucket.pathPrefixis optional. It prefixes published object paths, which can help group the visual-regression output. The README’s example URL is illustrative; check the report path produced by your installed plugin version.customUriis optional. Its documented default ishttps://storage.googleapis.com/${bucketName}. Set it when the report HTML is served through an HTTP proxy or needs a different URI prefix. It does not configure the bucket or provide credentials.
For example, the plugin-specific settings can include both optional values:
{
"reg-publish-gcs-plugin": {
"bucketName": "$REG_SUIT_GCS_BUCKET",
"customUri": "https://storage.googleapis.com/$REG_SUIT_GCS_BUCKET",
"pathPrefix": "visual-regression"
}
}Use the URI pattern expected by your report-serving setup. The plugin documentation describes the default and the purpose of customUri, but does not define a minimum IAM role or bucket policy.
Make Google credentials available to Reg-suit
The plugin authenticates with Google Application Default Credentials. Google’s Cloud Storage authentication guide describes different ways for client libraries to obtain ADC; the right method depends on where the command runs.
| Where Reg-suit runs | Credential approach | Practical consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Local development | Create user ADC with the gcloud CLI. | Verify ADC in the same account and environment used for reg-suit run. A gcloud CLI login and ADC are not interchangeable in every situation. |
| Google Cloud-hosted workload | Use the workload’s attached service account. | Google identifies the attached service account as the preferred method for workloads running on Google Cloud. |
| External CI or another workload outside Google Cloud | Use workload identity federation where supported and appropriate. | Google documents federation as the preferred approach for workloads outside Google Cloud, avoiding the need to distribute long-lived service-account keys. |
| CI using a service account | Provide credentials so ADC can discover them in the CI job environment. | The plugin README recommends a service account for CI. Apply your organization’s credential policy and grant only the required access. |
The plugin documentation does not specify an exact IAM role, bucket policy, or required object permissions. Confirm the access needed for the plugin’s reads and writes with your cloud administrator rather than assuming a role name. The identity must have access to the target bucket.
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Run the visual-regression workflow
- Confirm the bucket value and ADC are available to the shell, job, or runner that will execute Reg-suit.
- Run the project workflow:
reg-suit run - Inspect the command result and the configured bucket to confirm that the run published the expected snapshots and report.
Reg-suit’s run workflow performs visual comparison, publishing, and configured notifications. Publisher plugins fetch expected snapshot images and publish current images and reports; this plugin uses GCS as its storage backend.
Troubleshoot common setup failures
- Reg-suit cannot find or load the publisher: confirm
reg-publish-gcs-pluginis installed in the project and rerunreg-suit prepare -p publish-gcs. - The plugin reports a missing bucket: check that the plugin settings contain
bucketName, and thatREG_SUIT_GCS_BUCKETis set in the environment where the command runs. A variable set only in a local shell will not automatically exist in CI. - Authentication fails: check ADC from the same user, container, runner, and environment that executes
reg-suit run. Do not infer ADC availability merely from a successful gcloud CLI login; Google documents cases where user ADC can fail. - Authentication succeeds but publishing is denied: the authenticated identity may lack access to the destination bucket. Ask the bucket administrator to verify its permissions against the operations the plugin needs; the plugin README does not prescribe a minimum role.
- Published report links do not work behind a proxy: review whether the serving environment requires a different
customUri. Changing the URI prefix does not change where the bucket is or how the publishing process authenticates. - Output is not under the expected directory-like prefix: check
pathPrefixand inspect the actual object and report paths produced by the installed plugin version. Do not assume the README’s illustrative URL is the exact report path.
Version and operational considerations
The npm listing for reg-publish-gcs-plugin reported version 0.14.4 and a last-published age of roughly two years when it was crawled; that relative age is not a current release date or a guarantee that the version remains latest. Check npm and the project repository for current package metadata before pinning a version or relying on version-specific behavior.
Keep bucket selection and credentials environment-specific when local, staging, and production runs should publish separately. Treat the bucket and report access policy as part of the deployment design: the plugin documentation does not establish retention settings, access controls, or a CI-provider-specific setup recipe.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does customUri replace bucketName or ADC?
No. It changes the report URI prefix; the plugin still needs a configured bucket and ADC credentials.
Can I use this setup from CI outside Google Cloud?
Yes. Make ADC available to the CI process; Google documents workload identity federation as the preferred approach for external workloads, while the plugin README recommends a service account for CI.
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