diff --git a/internal/utilities/utilities.go b/internal/utilities/utilities.go
index 05ca01d70..fbe03dd6e 100644
--- a/internal/utilities/utilities.go
+++ b/internal/utilities/utilities.go
@@ -213,6 +213,7 @@ func CreateClusterDefinitionRecordFromRaw(gitAuth apiTypes.GitAuth, cliFlags typ
 		if err != nil {
 			progress.Error("Unable to read GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS file")
 		}
+		defer jsonFile.Close()
 
 		jsonContent, _ := ioutil.ReadAll(jsonFile)