Do I need to publish the change I made for GCF and account linking

[kevinchenjun]

I have a published google smart home action, If I update the google cloud function and action account linking, do I need to publish the change?  in the other word,  does this impact existing customers

[lunaserena151]

If you’re working with GCF (Google Cloud Functions) and account linking, yeah—you usually need to publish changes. That’s a fact, or else the updates won’t take effect. I think it’s easy to forget, but super important.

Publishing makes sure everything runs with the latest version you edited. Without it, your fixes or new settings won’t actually work. It’s like saving your work before closing it. Kind of like checking the latest Texas Roadhouse Menu—you want to see the updated items, not last week’s. Same thing here: publish the changes so everything’s up-to-date.

[kevinchenjun]

just want to confirm,  I change the account linking and deploy new code,  it does not impact existing user, right? I am wondering how google maintain the original code, it is gone after I deploy new code

[Suc1 · Accepted solution]

When updating Google Cloud Functions and account linking for a published smart home Action, you generally do not need to republish if you're only making backend changes. These updates won't impact existing users as long as your API endpoints and response formats remain consistent.

However, if you're changing how account linking works (OAuth flows, credentials, etc.), you should publish to ensure a smooth transition. Google maintains your service through versioning - when you deploy new code, existing requests are still handled properly.

For account linking specifically, visit the documentation at: https://developers.home.google.com/cloud-to-cloud/primer/account-linking

If you need information about publishing updates, the current documentation can be found at: https://developers.home.google.com/cloud-to-cloud/project/create