diff --git a/.gcloudignore b/.gcloudignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..83973d3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gcloudignore
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# This file specifies files that are *not* uploaded to Google Cloud Platform
+# using gcloud. It follows the same syntax as .gitignore, with the addition of
+# "#!include" directives (which insert the entries of the given .gitignore-style
+# file at that point).
+#
+# For more information, run:
+#   $ gcloud topic gcloudignore
+#
+.gcloudignore
+# If you would like to upload your .git directory, .gitignore file or files
+# from your .gitignore file, remove the corresponding line
+# below:
+
+.git
+.gitignore
+Dockerfile
+public/css
+
+# Node.js dependencies:
+node_modules/
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app.yaml b/app.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b6f72df7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+runtime: nodejs10
+instance_class: F4
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/bin/install_customizations b/bin/install_customizations
index 1b41777c..f1b9e30e 100755
--- a/bin/install_customizations
+++ b/bin/install_customizations
@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
+if [[ -f ./.env ]];
+  then
+    echo "sourcing env vars"
+    source ./.env
+fi
 
 echo "Checking for CUSTOMIZATION_GIT_REPO environment variable..."
-
 if ! [[ -z ${CUSTOMIZATION_GIT_REPO} ]];
   then
     echo "Cloning custom repo...";
diff --git a/bin/update_gae_pkg b/bin/update_gae_pkg
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..ffd715dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/update_gae_pkg
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+const fs = require('fs')
+const path = require('path')
+
+const pkgPath = path.join(__dirname, '../package.json')
+// load the custom pkg json
+let customPkg = { dependencies: {} }
+try {
+  customPkg = require('../custom/package.json')
+} catch (err) {
+  console.warn('Could not load custom Pkg, aborting', err)
+  process.exit(1)
+}
+// load the normal pkg json
+const pkg = require(pkgPath)
+
+const {dotenv} = pkg.devDependencies
+// update the start config to use .env, add as normal dep
+pkg.scripts.start = `node -r dotenv/config server/index`
+pkg.dependencies = Object.assign({}, pkg.dependencies, {dotenv}, customPkg.dependencies)
+
+fs.writeFileSync(pkgPath, JSON.stringify(pkg, null, 4))
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index e1bd2531..d7ec6a69 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@
     "watch": "concurrently \"nodemon --inspect=0.0.0.0 -r dotenv/config -e js,ejs server/index.js\" \"nodemon -e scss --watch styles --watch custom/styles -x npm run build\"",
     "test": "NODE_ENV=test mocha test/**/*.test.js -r ./test/utils/bootstrap.js --recursive --exit",
     "test:cover": "NODE_ENV=test nyc --include=server/** --reporter=html --reporter=text mocha test/**/*.test.js -r ./test/utils/bootstrap.js --recursive --exit",
-    "lint": "eslint ./server"
+    "lint": "eslint ./server",
+    "gcp-build": "./bin/install_customizations && npm run build && ./bin/update_gae_pkg"
   },
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",