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Certification track: AI Tooling

AnythingLLM on Google Cloud Run

AnythingLLM on Google Cloud Run

AnythingLLM is a private AI workspace and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) platform that lets teams chat with documents, connect to any LLM provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, and others), and build AI-powered knowledge assistants — without sending data to third-party services. This module deploys AnythingLLM on Cloud Run v2 on top of the App_CloudRun foundation, which provisions and manages the shared Google Cloud infrastructure.

This guide focuses on the cloud services AnythingLLM uses and how to explore and operate them from the Google Cloud Console and the command line. For the mechanics common to every Cloud Run application — service identity, ingress and load balancing, scaling and concurrency, CI/CD, Cloud Armor, IAP, Binary Authorization, VPC Service Controls, backups, and the deployment lifecycle — refer to the App_CloudRun foundation guide rather than repeating them here.


What AnythingLLM costs on RAD, and how that compares​

AnythingLLM on RAD's Cloud Run module costs about US$102 a month in a project you own, with no licence fee for the software itself. RAD charges a one-off module fee of 110 credits (US$11 at the top-up price) in a project you own, and 99 credits (10% lower) in a project RAD manages. If AnythingLLM needs to run continuously across pods or beside other Kubernetes workloads, see the GKE guide instead. Figures are as at 8 October 2026; sources are listed at the end of this section.

If you only need it occasionally — studying for a certification, a demo, a seasonal need — a RAD-managed project can be deleted and restored within 30 days for a handful of credits, so that about US$102 a month becomes close to nothing instead. See Pause it for free, below.

What you pay on RAD​

You pay for three things:

In a Google Cloud project you ownIn a project RAD manages for you
Module fee, once per deployment110 credits (US$11 at the top-up price)99 credits (10% lower)
Build timeA few credits, metered per minute of build timeThe same
Google Cloud running costBilled by Google to your own billing account, about US$102 a month for the default configuration (table below)Metered hourly in credits; RAD publishes 32 credits a day, about 960 a month (about US$96 at the top-up price, US$77 at the Scale plan's rate)
Who owns whatYou own the project and its billing; RAD deploys and updates itRAD owns the project, with guardrails, quotas and budget alerts; you get console access, and a minimum purchased balance is held in reserve

10 credits cost US$1 on a one-off top-up, and less on a monthly plan. In a project RAD manages, the database and file/cache server are shared by every application in the project, so a second application does not add a second one.

Default running cost in your own project (us-central1, Google list prices):

Resource (module default)Per month
Cloud Run, 2x vCPU / 4 GiB (scaleToZero)US$31.53
Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL, 1 vCPU / 3.75 GB, zonal, 10 GB SSDUS$51.02
NFS/cache file server (small VM)US$13.43
Cloud NAT and networkingUS$5
Cloud Storage (add-ons, backups)US$1
Totalabout US$102

How it compares​

  • AnythingLLM's own hosted Cloud offering — the same software, run by its maker — charges $50/month (Basic, one private instance) or $99/month (Pro, priority resources and a support SLA). RAD runs the identical open-source app on infrastructure you or RAD controls, rather than a third party's shared tenancy.
  • RAD runs the open-source project itself, not a vendor's hosted tenancy. You get the same software, under your own (or RAD's) infrastructure, instead of a per-seat or per-usage subscription that grows independently of what you actually use.
  • Against a bare self-managed server: Running the same open-source software yourself, a Hetzner CPX22 (2 vCPU/4 GB, about $24/month) or a DigitalOcean 2 vCPU/4 GB Droplet (also $24/month) is roughly the same shape; a GCP Compute Engine e2-standard-2 (2 vCPU/8 GB) runs about $49/month. RAD is not cheaper than that in cash terms — the difference is the managed database, Secret Manager and monitoring that come with the module instead of being your own job.

Pause it for free: delete a RAD-managed project, restore it when you need it​

If AnythingLLM runs in a project RAD manages for you, you have an option that goes well beyond scaling to zero: delete the whole project, and restore it within 30 days for close to nothing. This suits occasional use — studying for a certification, a demo, a seasonal need — far better than running AnythingLLM continuously.

  • How it works. Deleting a RAD-managed project unlinks its billing first, then asks Google to delete the project outright. Google does not remove it immediately: it keeps the project, recoverable, for 30 days, and because billing is already unlinked nothing is charged while it waits. Unlike deleting one module, this does not tear down the database, any VM or the compute resource one by one — the whole project simply stops, and nothing is billed in the meantime.
  • Restoring costs a handful of credits, not a rebuild. Within 30 days, only the project's owner can restore it. RAD asks Google to undelete the project and reattaches its billing account, then asks you to run Update on each deployment to confirm everything came back. Because nothing was individually destroyed, that Update finds the same resources already there — it is a check, not a rebuild, and an Update never charges the module fee again. This costs only a handful of credits in total (under US$1), against paying the module fee and a full build again.
  • What this needs. You must own the project (not one RAD only manages billing for), you must restore it yourself within the 30 days — after that Google deletes it for good — and restoring is admitted like creating a new project, so your purchased credit balance must still clear the tier's floor (100 credits for the sandbox tier most study and demo use fits). Google says most services are fully working again within 36 hours of a restore.
  • One real gap: backups do not survive. Anything AnythingLLM writes to a backup bucket inside the project is very likely gone as soon as you delete the project, even though the project itself is recoverable for 30 days — that bucket has Cloud Storage's soft-delete explicitly turned off. Anyone who has customised the deployment and wants to keep that work should copy a backup out (to Google Drive, or a bucket outside the project) before deleting. For a default install with nothing irreplaceable in it, this does not matter.

Pay only while you use it, the other way: delete and redeploy​

This is the fallback for a project you own, or once the 30-day restore window above has passed: delete the deployment, and deploy it again when you next need it.

  • What a redeploy costs. The module fee again, plus the builds: roughly 115 credits (about US$11.50) in your own project, or 104 credits in a RAD-managed one, because RAD rebuilds the resources from scratch. Deleting saves money once AnythingLLM would otherwise sit unused long enough to clear that redeploy cost against its own running cost — roughly 3 days or more in your own project (US$3.40/day) or 3 days or more in a RAD-managed one (32 credits/day).
  • Most of the running cost is usually shared infrastructure. The database and file or cache VM stop only when nothing else in the project uses them, so deleting AnythingLLM while another application shares the project saves only AnythingLLM's own compute part.
  • Keep your data first. Anything AnythingLLM writes to a backup bucket inside the deployment is deleted with it — copy the latest backup out (to Google Drive, or a bucket you keep) before deleting if you want to keep it.
  • RAD does not recreate a deleted deployment for you. You enter the settings again when you redeploy.

Lab sessions and Managed Environments​

  • Lab sessions, for training. A trainer runs a session for a class. Each participant gets AnythingLLM in their own Google Cloud project for 15 minutes to 24 hours, within an allowance the trainer sets. Either the trainer funds every place, or each participant pays for their own. Everything is deleted when the session ends and unused credits go back to the trainer.
  • Managed Environments, for consultancies. A partner runs AnythingLLM for a client from a ring-fenced wallet it funds, and settles with the client directly. If the wallet runs low, billing pauses and the data is kept, so nobody receives an unexpected charge. At the end the partner hands the project over and the deployments become the client's own.

Credits can be bought in more than 20 currencies, including XAF, XOF, NGN, GHS, KES and ZAR, by card, bank transfer or mobile money.

Sources (8 October 2026): Google Cloud list prices from the Cloud Billing Catalog API; RAD's fees and daily-credit estimate from radmodules.dev/pricing; Delete and restore projects for the pause/restore mechanics; AnythingLLM Cloud pricing. Prices change; check each source before relying on a figure.

1. Overview​

AnythingLLM runs as a Node.js AI container on Cloud Run v2. The deployment wires together a focused set of Google Cloud services:

CapabilityGoogle Cloud serviceNotes
ComputeCloud Run v2Node.js service, 2 vCPU / 4 GiB by default, request-based autoscaling
DatabaseCloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15Required — AnythingLLM uses Prisma ORM and does not support MySQL
Object storageCloud StorageAuto-provisioned anythingllm-docs document bucket; optional additional buckets
Shared filesFilestore (NFS)Optional — for multi-instance persistent document/vector storage; requires gen2
SecretsSecret ManagerFour app secrets auto-generated (JWT_SECRET, AUTH_TOKEN, SIG_KEY, SIG_SALT) plus database password
IngressCloud Run URL / Cloud Load BalancingDefault run.app URL, optional Global HTTPS LB + Cloud Armor + custom domain
CacheRedisDisabled by default; optional for session or cache workloads

Sensible defaults worth knowing up front:

  • PostgreSQL 15 is mandatory. AnythingLLM's Prisma ORM requires PostgreSQL. Do not set database_type to a MySQL or SQL Server variant.
  • Four application secrets are auto-generated. JWT_SECRET, AUTH_TOKEN, SIG_KEY, and SIG_SALT are created in Secret Manager on first deploy; you never set them in plain text.
  • min_instance_count defaults to 0 (scale-to-zero). NFS keeps the LanceDB vector store safe across cold starts, so the trade-off is only a ~30–60 s cold start on the first query after idle; set min_instance_count = 1 to avoid it for latency-sensitive deployments.
  • Storage must be persistent, and NFS is on by default. All workspace documents, vector indices, and conversation data are written under STORAGE_DIR. enable_nfs defaults to true because AnythingLLM's LanceDB vector index otherwise lives on the container's ephemeral disk and is silently wiped on every cold start or redeploy.
  • Redis is disabled by default. It is not required for AnythingLLM's core functionality. If enabled, redis_host must be set explicitly.
  • Request-based billing by default. cpu_always_allocated = false — document embedding continues in a background worker after the upload request returns, and it was measured to complete on a throttled, idle instance for a small document. For bulky or continuous ingest, consider cpu_always_allocated = true.
  • execution_environment = gen2 is the default and is required when NFS or GCS Fuse mounts are enabled.
  • The GOOGLE_CLOUD_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME env var is set automatically from the provisioned anythingllm-docs GCS bucket.

2. Google Cloud Services & How to Explore Them​

All commands assume PROJECT and REGION are set. Service and resource names are reported in the deployment Outputs.

A. Cloud Run — the AnythingLLM service​

AnythingLLM runs as a Cloud Run v2 service that autoscales by request load between the minimum and maximum instance counts. Each deployment creates an immutable revision; traffic can be split across revisions for safe rollouts. AI embedding and inference operations require at least 2 vCPU and 4 GiB RAM; Startup CPU Boost is enabled.

  • Console: Cloud Run → select the service for revisions, traffic, logs, and metrics.
  • CLI:
    gcloud run services list --project "$PROJECT" --region "$REGION"
    gcloud run services describe <service-name> --project "$PROJECT" --region "$REGION"
    gcloud run revisions list --service <service-name> --project "$PROJECT" --region "$REGION"

See App_CloudRun for scaling, concurrency, execution environment, and traffic splitting.

B. Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15​

AnythingLLM stores all workspace metadata, user accounts, and conversation history in a managed Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15 instance. The service connects privately through the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy over a Unix socket (no public IP). On first deploy an initialization Job creates the application database and user. The DATABASE_URL Prisma connection string is assembled by the AnythingLLM entrypoint script from the DB_* environment variables injected by the foundation at container start time.

  • Console: SQL → select the instance for connections, backups, flags, metrics.
  • CLI:
    gcloud sql instances list --project "$PROJECT"
    gcloud sql instances describe <instance-name> --project "$PROJECT"
    gcloud sql connect <instance-name> --user=<db-user> --project "$PROJECT"

The instance name, database, user, and password secret are in the Outputs. See App_CloudRun for the connection model, backups, and password rotation.

C. Cloud Storage — document bucket​

AnythingLLM_Common automatically provisions a dedicated Cloud Storage bucket (anythingllm-docs) for document and vector storage. The workload service account is granted access automatically and the bucket name is injected as GOOGLE_CLOUD_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME. Additional buckets can be declared in storage_buckets.

  • Console: Cloud Storage → Buckets.
  • CLI:
    gcloud storage buckets list --project "$PROJECT"
    gcloud storage ls gs://<docs-bucket>/ # bucket name is in the Outputs

See App_CloudRun for GCS Fuse mounts and CMEK options.

D. Filestore (NFS) — optional shared storage​

For multi-instance deployments where all instances need access to the same documents and vector indices, enable Filestore (NFS). NFS is disabled by default and requires execution_environment = gen2.

  • Console: Filestore → Instances.
  • CLI:
    gcloud filestore instances list --project "$PROJECT"

See App_CloudRun for the NFS mount and CMEK options.

E. Secret Manager​

Four AnythingLLM application secrets are auto-generated and stored in Secret Manager — JWT_SECRET, AUTH_TOKEN, SIG_KEY, and SIG_SALT — plus the database password. None of these appear in plain text anywhere in the deployment.

  • Console: Security → Secret Manager.
  • CLI:
    gcloud secrets list --project "$PROJECT"
    gcloud secrets versions access latest --secret=<secret-name> --project "$PROJECT"

See App_CloudRun for injection and rotation details.

F. Networking & ingress​

The service is reachable at its run.app URL by default. A Global HTTPS load balancer with Cloud Armor, a custom domain, and Cloud CDN can be layered on. ingress_settings and vpc_egress_setting control which traffic sources can reach the service and how outbound traffic is routed through the VPC.

  • Console: Cloud Run (service URL); Network services → Load balancing.
  • CLI:
    gcloud run services describe <service-name> --region "$REGION" --format='value(status.url)'
    gcloud compute addresses list --project "$PROJECT"

See App_CloudRun.

G. Cloud Logging & Monitoring​

Container logs flow to Cloud Logging; Cloud Run and Cloud SQL metrics flow to Cloud Monitoring. An optional uptime check (disabled by default, targeting /) and alert policies can be enabled.

  • Console: Logging → Logs Explorer; Monitoring → Dashboards / Alerting.
  • CLI:
    gcloud run services logs read <service-name> --project "$PROJECT" --region "$REGION" --limit 50

3. AnythingLLM Application Behaviour​

  • First-deploy database setup. An initialization Job (db-init) uses the postgres:15-alpine image to create the AnythingLLM database and user before the service starts. It is idempotent and safe to re-run.
    gcloud run jobs list --project "$PROJECT" --region "$REGION"
    gcloud run jobs executions list --job <job-name> --project "$PROJECT" --region "$REGION"
  • Prisma migrations on start. The entrypoint script constructs the DATABASE_URL connection string from the platform-injected DB_* environment variables and runs Prisma migrations, so version upgrades apply schema changes automatically.
  • AI model loading. AnythingLLM loads embedding models into memory on first boot. The startup probe uses a 60-second initial delay and 30 failure periods (×10 seconds = 5 minutes total) to accommodate this.
  • Health path. Both startup and liveness probes target /api/ping using HTTP, which returns HTTP 200 only when the application is fully initialised. Unlike Mautic/Apache, AnythingLLM does not redirect HTTP health traffic, so HTTP probes work without adjustment on Cloud Run.
  • LLM provider configuration. Use environment_variables for non-sensitive provider settings (LLM_PROVIDER, EMBEDDING_ENGINE, VECTOR_DB) and secret_environment_variables to map env var names to Secret Manager secrets for API keys (OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, etc.).
  • Embedding engine consistency. Changing EMBEDDING_ENGINE after documents have been ingested makes existing vector indices incompatible. All documents must be re-ingested after any change to the embedding engine.
  • Fixed environment variables. SERVER_PORT=3001, UID=1000, and GID=1000 are set automatically by AnythingLLM_Common. Do not override them. AnythingLLM_Common also sets STORAGE_DIR=/app/server/storage as its own default, but AnythingLLM_CloudRun overrides it to the NFS mount path (nfs_mount_path, default /app/server/storage) whenever enable_nfs = true — the module default — so the knowledge base's vector index lands on the NFS share. With enable_nfs = false it falls back to the container's ephemeral disk and is lost on every cold start (see Group 11).

4. Configuration Variables​

Variables are grouped exactly as they appear on the deployment platform. Only settings specific to or notable for AnythingLLM are listed; every other input is inherited from App_CloudRun with its standard behaviour.

Group 1 — Project & Identity​

VariableDefaultDescription
project_id(required)Target Google Cloud project.
regionus-central1Region for the service and regional resources.

Group 2 — Deployment Environment​

VariableDefaultDescription
tenant_iddemoShort suffix that makes resource names unique per environment.
support_users[]Emails granted project access and monitoring alerts.
resource_labels{}Labels applied to all resources.

Group 3 — Application Identity​

VariableDefaultDescription
application_nameanythingllmBase name for resources. Do not change after first deploy.
application_display_nameAnythingLLMFriendly name shown in the Console.
application_description(set)Service description.
application_versionlatestImage version tag; pin to a release tag for production.

Group 4 — Runtime & Scaling​

VariableDefaultDescription
deploy_applicationtrueSet false to provision infrastructure only.
cpu_limit2000mCPU per instance. Minimum 2 vCPU for AI workloads.
memory_limit4GiMemory per instance. Minimum 4 GiB for embedding and inference.
min_instance_count0Minimum instances. Set ≥ 1 to avoid cold starts (NFS keeps the vector store safe either way).
max_instance_count1Maximum instances. Increase with NFS for shared document access.
container_port3001AnythingLLM's native HTTP port.
execution_environmentgen2Gen2 required for NFS mounts and GCS Fuse.
timeout_seconds300Max request duration. Increase for long document ingestion.
enable_cloudsql_volumetrueCloud SQL Auth Proxy sidecar for socket connections.
traffic_split[]Traffic allocation across revisions for staged rollouts.

Group 5 — Access & Ingress Control​

VariableDefaultDescription
ingress_settingsallWhich networks may reach the service (all / internal / internal-and-cloud-load-balancing).
vpc_egress_settingPRIVATE_RANGES_ONLYHow outbound traffic is routed through the VPC.
enable_iapfalseRequire Google sign-in via Identity-Aware Proxy. Recommended for production.
iap_authorized_users / iap_authorized_groups[]Who may access through IAP.

Group 6 — Environment Variables & Secrets​

VariableDefaultDescription
environment_variables{}Non-secret settings, e.g. LLM_PROVIDER, EMBEDDING_ENGINE, VECTOR_DB.
secret_environment_variables{}Map of env var → Secret Manager secret name for API keys.
secret_propagation_delay / secret_rotation_period(set)Replication wait / rotation cadence.

Group 7 — Backup & Restore​

VariableDefaultDescription
backup_schedule0 2 * * *Automated backup cron (UTC).
backup_retention_days7Retention; raise for production/compliance.
enable_backup_import / backup_source / backup_file / backup_formatrestore optionsRestore from a backup on deploy.

Group 8 — CI/CD & Binary Authorization​

Standard App_CloudRun Cloud Build / Cloud Deploy integration — see App_CloudRun. Key inputs: enable_cicd_trigger, github_repository_url, github_token, enable_cloud_deploy, enable_binary_authorization.

Group 9 — Custom SQL Scripts​

enable_custom_sql_scripts, custom_sql_scripts_bucket, custom_sql_scripts_path, custom_sql_scripts_use_root — run SQL from a GCS bucket after provisioning. See App_CloudRun.

Group 10 — Domain, CDN, Cloud Armor & Image Retention​

VariableDefaultDescription
enable_cloud_armorfalseProvision a Global HTTPS LB + Cloud Armor WAF.
admin_ip_ranges[]CIDRs exempted from WAF rules.
application_domains[]Custom hostnames for the external load balancer.
enable_cdnfalseEnable Cloud CDN on the LB backend (requires enable_cloud_armor).
max_images_to_retain / delete_untagged_images / image_retention_days(set)Artifact Registry cleanup policy.

Group 11 — Storage & Filesystem​

VariableDefaultDescription
create_cloud_storagetrueProvision the additional data bucket. The anythingllm-docs bucket is always created.
storage_buckets[{ name_suffix="data" }]Additional GCS buckets.
enable_nfstrueFilestore (NFS) for persistent document/vector storage — required, otherwise the LanceDB vector index lives on ephemeral disk and is wiped on every cold start/redeploy.
nfs_mount_path/app/server/storageMount path inside the container.
gcs_volumes[]GCS Fuse mounts (requires gen2).
manage_storage_kms_iam / enable_artifact_registry_cmekfalseCMEK options.

Group 12 — Database Backend​

VariableDefaultDescription
database_typePOSTGRES_15Fixed for AnythingLLM — do not change.
application_database_nameanythingllmdbPostgreSQL database name. Immutable after first deploy.
application_database_useranythingllmuserApplication user. Immutable after first deploy.
database_password_length32Generated password length (16–64).
enable_auto_password_rotation / rotation_propagation_delay_secoffDB password rotation.
db_host_env_var_name / db_name_env_var_name / db_user_env_var_name / db_port_env_var_name / service_url_env_var_name""Optional additional env var names for connection details.

Group 13 — Jobs & Scheduled Tasks​

VariableDefaultDescription
initialization_jobs[]Leave empty to use the built-in db-init job.
cron_jobs[]Recurring Cloud Run Jobs triggered by Cloud Scheduler.
additional_services[]Additional Cloud Run services alongside AnythingLLM.

Group 14 — Observability & Health​

VariableDefaultDescription
startup_probe / startup_probe_configHTTP /api/ping, 60 s initial delay, 30 failuresExtended startup window for AI model loading.
liveness_probe / health_check_configHTTP /api/ping, 30 s initial delayLiveness probe against AnythingLLM's health endpoint.
uptime_check_configdisabled, /Cloud Monitoring uptime check.
alert_policies[]Metric alert policies.

Group 21 — Redis Cache​

VariableDefaultDescription
enable_redisfalseNot required for AnythingLLM core functionality. Enable for optional cache workloads.
redis_hostnullRedis endpoint. Required when enable_redis = true.
redis_port6379Redis port.
redis_auth""Optional Redis auth password (sensitive).

Group 22 — VPC Service Controls & Audit Logging​

VariableDefaultDescription
enable_vpc_scfalseEnforce a VPC-SC perimeter (requires organization_id).
vpc_cidr_ranges / vpc_sc_dry_run(set)Access level CIDRs / dry-run mode.
enable_audit_loggingfalseDetailed Cloud Audit Logs.

5. Outputs​

Returned on a successful deployment — the quickest way to locate and explore the running resources.

OutputDescription
service_nameCloud Run service name.
service_urlDefault run.app URL of the service.
service_locationRegion the service runs in.
stage_servicesStage-specific service details (Cloud Deploy).
load_balancer_ip / load_balancer_urlExternal HTTPS load balancer IP / URL (when enabled).
database_instance_nameCloud SQL instance name.
database_name / database_userApplication database name / user.
database_password_secretSecret Manager secret holding the DB password.
database_host / database_portDB endpoint / port.
storage_bucketsCreated Cloud Storage buckets (includes the anythingllm-docs bucket).
network_name / network_exists / regionsVPC network, presence, regions.
container_image / container_registryDeployed image and Artifact Registry repo.
monitoring_enabled / monitoring_notification_channels / uptime_check_namesMonitoring status, channels, uptime checks.
initialization_jobsNames of the setup jobs.
deployment_id / tenant_id / resource_prefixNaming identifiers.
project_id / project_numberProject identifiers.
cicd_enabled / github_repository_url / github_repository_owner / github_repository_name / cicd_configurationCI/CD status and details.
artifact_registry_repository / cloudbuild_trigger_name / cloudbuild_trigger_idRegistry and build trigger.
vpc_sc_enabled / vpc_sc_perimeter_name / vpc_sc_dry_run_modeVPC-SC status.
audit_logging_enabled / artifact_registry_cmek_enabledAudit logging and CMEK status.

6. Configuration Pitfalls & Sensible Defaults​

Risk: Critical (data loss / outage / security) — High (service degraded) — Medium (cost or partial degradation) — Low (minor).

Inherited plan-time validation. This module passes its configuration through the App_CloudRun foundation engine, which validates values and combinations at plan time — a read replica without its primary, IAP with no authorized identities, a gen1 runtime with NFS/GCS mounts, a database_type that does not match an enabled extension, an out-of-range redis_port/backup_retention_days. Invalid configuration fails the plan with a clear, named error before any resource is created, so most mistakes below are caught up front rather than at apply or runtime.

SettingSensible valueRiskConsequence if wrong
database_typePOSTGRES_15CriticalAnythingLLM requires PostgreSQL; any other engine breaks Prisma ORM and crashes startup.
STORAGE_DIR persistenceNFS or GCS FuseCriticalWithout a persistent volume, all workspace documents, vector indices, and conversation data are lost on every instance restart.
secret_environment_variables (API keys)Use Secret Manager refsCriticalProvider API keys as plain environment_variables are visible in Cloud Run revision metadata.
application_database_name / _userset onceCriticalImmutable after first deploy; renaming recreates the DB/user and destroys data.
enable_backup_importfalse unless restoringCriticalEnabling without a valid backup_file fails the import job.
enable_cloudsql_volumetrueCriticalDisabling causes all database connections to fail at startup.
memory_limit4GiHighAnythingLLM's embedding pipeline requires 3–4 GiB RAM; OOM kills corrupt in-progress ingestion.
min_instance_count1HighScale-to-zero causes 30–60 s cold starts; in-flight AI operations during scale-down are lost.
timeout_seconds300 (raise for heavy workloads)HighLong document ingestion or slow LLM completions exceed the backend timeout, returning 504.
EMBEDDING_ENGINEset onceHighChanging the embedding engine after ingestion makes existing vectors incompatible; all documents must be re-ingested.
ingress_settings / enable_iapsecure for productionHighingress_settings = "all" with no IAP exposes the workspace publicly; only the login form protects it.
enable_nfs / GCS Fuseenable for multi-instanceHighWithout shared storage, instances > 1 each have an isolated storage view; cross-instance document access fails.
execution_environmentgen2 (default)HighNFS and GCS Fuse mounts require gen2; with gen1 the volume silently fails to mount.
enable_redisfalse (or set redis_host)MediumIf enable_redis = true and redis_host is not resolvable, the container fails to start.
application_versionpin to a release tagMediumlatest risks schema-breaking upgrades in production.
backup_retention_days7 (raise for prod)MediumToo short for compliance retention.

For the foundation behaviour referenced throughout — service identity, scaling and concurrency, ingress and load balancing, CI/CD, Cloud Armor, IAP, Binary Authorization, VPC-SC, backups, and image mirroring — see App_CloudRun. AnythingLLM-specific application configuration shared with the GKE variant is described in AnythingLLM_Common.

Need RAD to do something it does not do yet? Request it on the roadmap, or vote on what is already there.