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+# Plan: GCP HTTP wire logging at V(5)
+
+**Created:** 2026-08-11 18:38
+
+## Context
+
+The GCP provider logs curated call summaries at V(1)/V(2), but when debugging
+against the real API the user wants ground truth: the actual HTTP requests and
+responses ("gory details") — visible at `--zap-log-level=5`, in the same log
+stream as everything else. The compute SDK already produces exactly this:
+`cloud.google.com/go/compute@v1.65.0/apiv1/helpers.go:60,70` logs
+`"api request"`/`"api response"` (method, URL, headers, full JSON payloads,
+lazily via `internallog.HTTPRequest/HTTPResponse`) to an injectable
+`*slog.Logger` at slog Debug level. We inject one bridged to the operator's
+zap sink, level-shifted so those Debug records surface only at V(5).
+
+Level scheme after this change: V(1) call outcomes, V(2) curated detail,
+V(5) raw HTTP traffic. V(3)/V(4) reserved.
+
+## Mechanism (verified in module sources)
+
+- `option.WithLogger(*slog.Logger)` exists in `google.golang.org/api@v0.292.0`
+  (option.go:529) and **takes precedence over `GOOGLE_SDK_GO_LOGGING_LEVEL`**
+  — after this change, V(5) is the single knob for this client; document that.
+- `logr.ToSlogHandler` (go-logr/logr v1.4.3, already a direct dep) maps
+  slog Debug → logr V(4), plus the base logger's V-bias. logr's own docs
+  (sloghandler.go:180-184): `slog.New(ToSlogHandler(logrV2)).Debug()` ≈ V(6).
+  So a base of `.V(1)` lands Debug at exactly V(5).
+- Gating is cheap: the slog handler's `Enabled()` consults the zap sink, so
+  below level 5 the SDK's lazy `LogValuer`s are never evaluated.
+
+## Implementation
+
+**`internal/provider/gcp/gcp.go`** (only production file):
+
+1. New pure function:
+   ```go
+   // wireLogger returns the slog logger handed to the SDK: its Debug-level
+   // "api request"/"api response" records (slog Debug = +4 on the logr
+   // scale) land at V(5) on top of the base's V(1) shift.
+   func wireLogger(base logr.Logger) *slog.Logger {
+       return slog.New(logr.ToSlogHandler(base.V(1)))
+   }
+   ```
+2. In `New` (gcp.go:96): pass it to the client —
+   `compute.NewInstancesRESTClient(ctx, option.WithLogger(wireLogger(logf.Log.WithName("gcp").WithName("http"))))`.
+   Base is the process-root `logf.Log` (client is built once at startup;
+   `ctrl.SetLogger` runs before `registry.Build` in cmd/main.go, so it
+   resolves to the real zap logger).
+3. One-time notice in `New`: if `logf.Log.V(5).Enabled()`, log at Info:
+   `"GCP HTTP wire logging active — request payloads include cloud-init user-data"`
+   (the secret-leak warning our curated V(2) logging exists to avoid; at V(5)
+   the user has explicitly opted into raw payloads).
+4. New imports: `log/slog`, `google.golang.org/api/option` (module already in
+   go.mod as a direct dep; `option` package is a first-time import in the repo).
+
+**`internal/provider/gcp/gcp_test.go`**:
+
+- `TestWireLogger_gatesAtV5`: table over funcr sink verbosities
+  (`funcr.Options{Verbosity: N}`, pattern already used by `captureContext`):
+  at 5 a `Debug("api request", ...)` through `wireLogger` emits (message and
+  attrs present); at 4 it emits nothing; an `Info` record through the same
+  logger lands at V(1) (sanity-check of the shift).
+- `New` itself stays untested by design (dials real Google endpoints —
+  existing convention, gcp.go:86-87).
+
+No changes to manifests, Makefile, other providers, or the reconciler.
+CHANGELOG entry after the user confirms it works (house convention) — this
+plus the two earlier pending entries (GCP V-logging, version stamp).
+
+## Verification
+
+```bash
+go test -race ./internal/provider/gcp/
+go build ./... && go test ./...
+```
+
+Live (the real proof, needs the cluster):
+
+```bash
+# rebuild + load image, set --zap-log-level=5, restart, then:
+kubectl -n egress-proxies-operator-system logs deploy/egress-proxies-operator-controller-manager -f \
+  | grep -m2 'api request\|api response'   # full URL/headers/payload visible
+# and at --zap-log-level=2: the same grep stays silent while V(2) lines still appear
+```