Vertex AI Setup in C#

This repository provides a guide to set up and use Google Cloud's Vertex AI in a C# project. Follow the steps below to configure your environment and integrate Vertex AI functionality.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

1. Google Cloud Account: An active Google Cloud account is required.
2. Project: Create a project in the Google Cloud Console (e.g., ocrai-selfbill).
3. Billing: Enable billing for your Google Cloud project.
4. Visual Studio: Install any recent version (e.g., 2019 or 2022) with the .NET workload.

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Step 1: Enable Vertex AI API

1. Navigate to the Google Cloud Console.
2. Select your project (e.g., ocrai-selfbill).
3. Go to APIs & Services > Library.
4. Search for Vertex AI API.
5. Click Enable to activate the API for your project.

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Step 2: Set Up Authentication

Vertex AI requires authentication via a service account. Follow these steps:

1. Create a Service Account

• In the Google Cloud Console, go to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.
• Click Create Service Account.
• Name it (e.g., vertex-ai-service-account).
• Grant it the Vertex AI User role (or a custom role with appropriate permissions).
• Click Create and Continue, then Done.

2. Generate a Key

• From the Service Accounts list, click on your new service account.
• Go to the Keys tab, then click Add Key > Create New Key.
• Select JSON as the key type and download the file (e.g., ocrai-selfbill-123456789.json).

3. Set Environment Variable

• Place the JSON key file in a secure location on your machine.

• Set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to point to this file:

  Windows:

  set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=C:\path\to\your\service-account-key.json