Cloud SQL Basics

Cloud SQL is a fully managed relational database service for MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server. It automates time-consuming tasks like patches, updates, backups, and replicas, while providing high performance and availability for your applications.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the necessary IAM permissions to create and manage Cloud SQL instances. The Cloud SQL Admin (roles/cloudsql.admin) role provides full access to Cloud SQL resources.

Quick Start (PostgreSQL)

Enable the API:

bash

gcloud services enable sqladmin.googleapis.com --quiet

Create an Instance:

bash

gcloud sql instances create INSTANCE_NAME \
  --database-version=POSTGRES_18 \
  --cpu=2 \
  --memory=7680MiB \
  --region=REGION \
  --quiet

Set a password for the default user:

Because this is a Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL instance, the default admin user is postgres:

bash

gcloud sql users set-password postgres \
  --instance=INSTANCE_NAME --password=PASSWORD \
  --quiet

Create a database:

bash

gcloud sql databases create DATABASE_NAME \
  --instance=INSTANCE_NAME \
  --quiet

Get the instance connection name:

You need the instance connection name (which is formatted as PROJECT_ID:REGION:INSTANCE_NAME) to connect using the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy. Retrieve it with the following command:

bash

gcloud sql instances describe INSTANCE_NAME \
  --format="value(connectionName)" \
  --quiet

Connect to the instance:

The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy must be running to be able to connect to the instance. In a separate terminal, start the proxy using the connection name:

bash

./cloud-sql-proxy INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME

With the proxy running, connect using psql in another terminal:

bash

psql "host=127.0.0.1 port=5432 user=postgres dbname=DATABASE_NAME password=PASSWORD sslmode=disable"

Reference Directory

Core Concepts [blocked]: Cloud SQL editions (Enterprise & Enterprise Plus), instance architecture, read pools, high availability (HA), and supported database engines.
CLI Usage [blocked]: Essential gcloud sql commands for instance, database, and user management.
Client Libraries & Connectors [blocked]: Connecting to Cloud SQL using Python, Java, Node.js, and Go.
MCP Usage [blocked]: Using the Cloud SQL remote MCP server and Gemini CLI extension.
Infrastructure as Code [blocked]: Terraform configuration for instances, databases, and users.
IAM & Security [blocked]: Predefined roles, SSL/TLS certificates, and Auth Proxy configuration.
Disaster Recovery & Backups [blocked]: Backup types, Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR), replicas, read pools comparison, and Enterprise Plus Advanced DR.

If you need product information not found in these references, use the Developer Knowledge MCP server search_documents tool.

Cloud SQL Basics

Prerequisites

Quick Start (PostgreSQL)

Reference Directory

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