Veo Setup

This skill configures Google Cloud Platform for Veo video generation. Handles project creation, API enablement, service account setup, and environment variable configuration.

Prerequisites Check

Before starting, verify gcloud CLI is installed:

gcloud --version

If not installed, direct user to: https://cloud.google.com/sdk/docs/install

Setup Flow

Step 1: Determine Project Strategy

Ask the user:

1. Use existing project - They have a GCP project ready
2. Create new project - Need to create one from scratch

Step 2: Project Configuration

Option A: Existing Project

# List available projects
gcloud projects list

# Set the project
gcloud config set project PROJECT_ID

Verify billing is enabled:

gcloud billing accounts list
gcloud billing projects describe PROJECT_ID

If billing not enabled, instruct user to enable at: https://console.cloud.google.com/billing/linkedaccount?project=PROJECT_ID

Option B: New Project

# Create project (project IDs must be globally unique)
gcloud projects create PROJECT_ID --name="PROJECT_NAME"

# Set as active project
gcloud config set project PROJECT_ID

Link billing account:

# List billing accounts
gcloud billing accounts list

# Link billing (required for Vertex AI)
gcloud billing projects link PROJECT_ID --billing-account=BILLING_ACCOUNT_ID

Step 3: Enable Required APIs

# Enable Vertex AI API (required)
gcloud services enable aiplatform.googleapis.com

# Verify enablement
gcloud services list --enabled --filter="name:aiplatform"

Step 4: Create Service Account

# Create service account for Veo
gcloud iam service-accounts create veo-generator \
  --display-name="Veo Video Generator" \
  --description="Service account for Veo AI video generation via Vertex AI"

# Verify creation
gcloud iam service-accounts list --filter="email:veo-generator"

Step 5: Grant IAM Permissions

# Get the full service account email
SA_EMAIL="veo-generator@PROJECT_ID.iam.gserviceaccount.com"

# Grant Vertex AI User role (required for video generation)
gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding PROJECT_ID \
  --member="serviceAccount:$SA_EMAIL" \
  --role="roles/aiplatform.user"

# Verify role assignment
gcloud projects get-iam-policy PROJECT_ID \
  --flatten="bindings[].members" \
  --filter="bindings.members:$SA_EMAIL" \
  --format="table(bindings.role)"

Step 6: Create Service Account Key

# Create key file in user's home directory
gcloud iam service-accounts keys create ~/veo-service-account.json \
  --iam-account=veo-generator@PROJECT_ID.iam.gserviceaccount.com

# Verify key was created
ls -la ~/veo-service-account.json

Security note: This key file grants access to your GCP project. Keep it secure and never commit to version control.

Step 7: Configure Environment Variables

Detect user's shell and update appropriate config file.

For zsh (default on macOS):

# Check if variables already exist
grep -q "GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT" ~/.zshrc && echo "Already configured" || echo "Not configured"

# Add environment variables
cat >> ~/.zshrc > ~/.bashrc  /dev/null 2>&1; then
  echo "✓ Authentication working"
else
  echo "✗ Authentication FAILED"
fi

# Verify API is enabled
if gcloud services list --enabled --filter="name:aiplatform" --format="value(name)" | grep -q aiplatform; then
  echo "✓ Vertex AI API enabled"
else
  echo "✗ Vertex AI API NOT enabled"
fi

# Verify service account exists
if gcloud iam service-accounts list --filter="email:veo-generator" --format="value(email)" | grep -q veo-generator; then
  echo "✓ Service account exists"
else
  echo "✗ Service account NOT FOUND"
fi

echo "=== Setup Complete ==="

Quick Setup (All Steps)

For users who want to run everything at once with a new project:

# Variables - user must set these
PROJECT_ID="veo-video-gen"  # Must be globally unique
PROJECT_NAME="Veo Video Generation"
BILLING_ACCOUNT=""  # Get from: gcloud billing accounts list

# Execute setup
gcloud projects create $PROJECT_ID --name="$PROJECT_NAME"
gcloud config set project $PROJECT_ID
gcloud billing projects link $PROJECT_ID --billing-account=$BILLING_ACCOUNT
gcloud services enable aiplatform.googleapis.com
gcloud iam service-accounts create veo-generator --display-name="Veo Video Generator"
gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding $PROJECT_ID \
  --member="serviceAccount:veo-generator@$PROJECT_ID.iam.gserviceaccount.com" \
  --role="roles/aiplatform.user"
gcloud iam service-accounts keys create ~/veo-service-account.json \
  --iam-account=veo-generator@$PROJECT_ID.iam.gserviceaccount.com

# Add to shell config
echo "" >> ~/.zshrc
echo "# Veo - Google Cloud Configuration" >> ~/.zshrc
echo "export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=\"$PROJECT_ID\"" >> ~/.zshrc
echo "export GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION=\"us-central1\"" >> ~/.zshrc
echo "export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=\"\$HOME/veo-service-account.json\"" >> ~/.zshrc

source ~/.zshrc
gcloud auth application-default login

Troubleshooting

"Project ID already exists"

Project IDs are globally unique. Try adding a random suffix:

PROJECT_ID="veo-video-gen-$(date +%s)"

"Billing account not found"

List available billing accounts:

gcloud billing accounts list

If none listed, create one at: https://console.cloud.google.com/billing

"Permission denied creating service account"

Ensure you have Owner or Editor role on the project:

gcloud projects get-iam-policy PROJECT_ID \
  --flatten="bindings[].members" \
  --filter="bindings.members:user:YOUR_EMAIL"

"API not accessible"

Wait a few minutes after enabling API. If still failing:

gcloud services disable aiplatform.googleapis.com
gcloud services enable aiplatform.googleapis.com

Cleanup (If Needed)

To remove the setup:

# Delete service account key
rm ~/veo-service-account.json

# Delete service account
gcloud iam service-accounts delete veo-generator@PROJECT_ID.iam.gserviceaccount.com

# Remove from shell config (manual edit required)
# Edit ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc and remove the Veo configuration block

# Optionally delete project entirely
gcloud projects delete PROJECT_ID

Output

After successful setup, confirm to user:

1. Project ID: The configured GCP project
2. Service Account: veo-generator@PROJECT_ID.iam.gserviceaccount.com
3. Credentials File: ~/veo-service-account.json
4. Environment Variables: Set in shell config
5. Ready to use: The veo skill for video generation

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: kdowswell
• Source: kdowswell/veo-tools
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.