Use Spanner with Cloud Run functions

---

Note: This content applies only to Cloud Run functions—formerly Cloud Functions (2nd gen).

For the 1st gen version of this document, see the Cloud Spanner tutorial (1st gen).

Objectives

Write, deploy, and trigger an HTTP Cloud Function that accesses Spanner.

Costs

This document uses Spanner and Cloud Run functions, which are billable components of Google Cloud.

• For information on the cost of using Spanner, see Spanner pricing.

• For information on the cost of using Cloud Run functions, including free invocations, see Cloud Run functions pricing.

Before you begin

1. This document assumes you have a Spanner instance named test-instance and a database named example-db that uses the music application schema. For instructions on creating an instance and database with the music application schema, see Quickstart using the console or the tutorials for Getting Started in Go, Java, Node.js, or Python.

   Note: After this step, you should have two tables, Singers and Albums, in your database with the sample data specified in the music application schema.

2. Enable the Cloud Run functions and Cloud Build APIs.

   Enable the APIs

3. Install and initialize the gcloud CLI.

   If you already have the gcloud CLI installed, update it by running the following command:

   gcloud components update
   

4. Prepare your development environment:

   Node.js

   Go to the Node.js setup guide

   Python

   Go to the Python setup guide

   Go

   Go to the Go setup guide

   Java

   Go to the Java setup guide

Prepare the application

1. Clone the sample app repository to your local machine:

   Node.js

   git clone https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/nodejs-docs-samples.git

   Alternatively, you can download the sample as a zip file and extract it.

   Python

   git clone https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/python-docs-samples.git

   Alternatively, you can download the sample as a zip file and extract it.

   Go

   git clone https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/golang-samples.git

   Alternatively, you can download the sample as a zip file and extract it.

   Java

   git clone https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/java-docs-samples.git

   Alternatively, you can download the sample as a zip file and extract it.

2. Change to the directory that contains the Cloud Run functions sample code for accessing Spanner:

   Node.js

   cd nodejs-docs-samples/functions/spanner/

   Python

   cd python-docs-samples/functions/spanner/

   Go

   cd golang-samples/functions/spanner/

   Java

   cd java-docs-samples/functions/spanner/

3. Take a look at the sample code:

   Node.js

   // Imports the Google Cloud client library
   const {Spanner} = require('@google-cloud/spanner');
   
   // Imports the functions framework to register your HTTP function
   const functions = require('@google-cloud/functions-framework');
   
   // Instantiates a client
   const spanner = new Spanner();
   
   // Your Cloud Spanner instance ID
   const instanceId = 'test-instance';
   
   // Your Cloud Spanner database ID
   const databaseId = 'example-db';
   
   /**
    * HTTP Cloud Function.
    *
    * @param {Object} req Cloud Function request context.
    * @param {Object} res Cloud Function response context.
    */
   functions.http('spannerQuickstart', async (req, res) => {
     // Gets a reference to a Cloud Spanner instance and database
     const instance = spanner.instance(instanceId);
     const database = instance.database(databaseId);
   
     // The query to execute
     const query = {
       sql: 'SELECT * FROM Albums',
     };
   
     // Execute the query
     try {
       const results = await database.run(query);
       const rows = results[0].map(row => row.toJSON());
       rows.forEach(row => {
         res.write(
           `SingerId: ${row.SingerId}, ` +
             `AlbumId: ${row.AlbumId}, ` +
             `AlbumTitle: ${row.AlbumTitle}\n`
         );
       });
       res.status(200).end();
     } catch (err) {
       res.status(500).send(`Error querying Spanner: ${err}`);
     }
   });

   Python

   import functions_framework
   from google.cloud import spanner
   
   instance_id = "test-instance"
   database_id = "example-db"
   
   client = spanner.Client()
   instance = client.instance(instance_id)
   database = instance.database(database_id)
   
   
   @functions_framework.http
   def spanner_read_data(request):
       query = "SELECT * FROM Albums"
   
       outputs = []
       with database.snapshot() as snapshot:
           results = snapshot.execute_sql(query)
   
           for row in results:
               output = "SingerId: {}, AlbumId: {}, AlbumTitle: {}".format(*row)
               outputs.append(output)
   
       return "\n".join(outputs)
   
   

   Go

   
   // Package spanner contains an example of using Spanner from a Cloud Function.
   package spanner
   
   import (
   	"context"
   	"fmt"
   	"log"
   	"net/http"
   	"sync"
   
   	"cloud.google.com/go/spanner"
   	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/functions-framework-go/functions"
   	"google.golang.org/api/iterator"
   )
   
   // client is a global Spanner client, to avoid initializing a new client for
   // every request.
   var client *spanner.Client
   var clientOnce sync.Once
   
   // db is the name of the database to query.
   var db = "projects/my-project/instances/my-instance/databases/example-db"
   
   func init() {
   	functions.HTTP("HelloSpanner", HelloSpanner)
   }
   
   // HelloSpanner is an example of querying Spanner from a Cloud Function.
   func HelloSpanner(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
   	clientOnce.Do(func() {
   		// Declare a separate err variable to avoid shadowing client.
   		var err error
   		client, err = spanner.NewClient(context.Background(), db)
   		if err != nil {
   			http.Error(w, "Error initializing database", http.StatusInternalServerError)
   			log.Printf("spanner.NewClient: %v", err)
   			return
   		}
   	})
   
   	fmt.Fprintln(w, "Albums:")
   	stmt := spanner.Statement{SQL: `SELECT SingerId, AlbumId, AlbumTitle FROM Albums`}
   	iter := client.Single().Query(r.Context(), stmt)
   	defer iter.Stop()
   	for {
   		row, err := iter.Next()
   		if err == iterator.Done {
   			return
   		}
   		if err != nil {
   			http.Error(w, "Error querying database", http.StatusInternalServerError)
   			log.Printf("iter.Next: %v", err)
   			return
   		}
   		var singerID, albumID int64
   		var albumTitle string
   		if err := row.Columns(&singerID, &albumID, &albumTitle); err != nil {
   			http.Error(w, "Error parsing database response", http.StatusInternalServerError)
   			log.Printf("row.Columns: %v", err)
   			return
   		}
   		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%d %d %s\n", singerID, albumID, albumTitle)
   	}
   }
   

   Java

   import com.google.api.client.http.HttpStatusCodes;
   import com.google.cloud.functions.HttpFunction;
   import com.google.cloud.functions.HttpRequest;
   import com.google.cloud.functions.HttpResponse;
   import com.google.cloud.spanner.DatabaseClient;
   import com.google.cloud.spanner.DatabaseId;
   import com.google.cloud.spanner.LazySpannerInitializer;
   import com.google.cloud.spanner.ResultSet;
   import com.google.cloud.spanner.SpannerException;
   import com.google.cloud.spanner.SpannerOptions;
   import com.google.cloud.spanner.Statement;
   import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
   import com.google.common.base.MoreObjects;
   import java.io.PrintWriter;
   import java.util.logging.Level;
   import java.util.logging.Logger;
   
   // HelloSpanner is an example of querying Spanner from a Cloud Function.
   public class HelloSpanner implements HttpFunction {
     private static final Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(HelloSpanner.class.getName());
   
     // TODO<developer>: Set these environment variables.
     private static final String SPANNER_INSTANCE_ID =
         MoreObjects.firstNonNull(System.getenv("SPANNER_INSTANCE"), "my-instance");
     private static final String SPANNER_DATABASE_ID =
         MoreObjects.firstNonNull(System.getenv("SPANNER_DATABASE"), "example-db");
   
     private static final DatabaseId databaseId =
         DatabaseId.of(
             SpannerOptions.getDefaultProjectId(),
             SPANNER_INSTANCE_ID,
             SPANNER_DATABASE_ID);
   
     // The LazySpannerInitializer instance is shared across all instances of the HelloSpanner class.
     // It will create a Spanner instance the first time one is requested, and continue to return that
     // instance for all subsequent requests.
     private static final LazySpannerInitializer SPANNER_INITIALIZER = new LazySpannerInitializer();
   
     @VisibleForTesting
     DatabaseClient getClient() throws Throwable {
       return SPANNER_INITIALIZER.get().getDatabaseClient(databaseId);
     }
   
     @Override
     public void service(HttpRequest request, HttpResponse response) throws Exception {
       var writer = new PrintWriter(response.getWriter());
       try {
         DatabaseClient client = getClient();
         try (ResultSet rs =
             client
                 .singleUse()
                 .executeQuery(Statement.of("SELECT SingerId, AlbumId, AlbumTitle FROM Albums"))) {
           writer.printf("Albums:%n");
           while (rs.next()) {
             writer.printf(
                 "%d %d %s%n",
                 rs.getLong("SingerId"), rs.getLong("AlbumId"), rs.getString("AlbumTitle"));
           }
         } catch (SpannerException e) {
           writer.printf("Error querying database: %s%n", e.getMessage());
           response.setStatusCode(HttpStatusCodes.STATUS_CODE_SERVER_ERROR, e.getMessage());
         }
       } catch (Throwable t) {
         logger.log(Level.SEVERE, "Spanner example failed", t);
         writer.printf("Error setting up Spanner: %s%n", t.getMessage());
         response.setStatusCode(HttpStatusCodes.STATUS_CODE_SERVER_ERROR, t.getMessage());
       }
     }
   }

   The function sends a SQL query to fetch all Albums data from your database. The function is executed when you make an HTTP request to the function's endpoint.

Deploy the function

To deploy the function with an HTTP trigger, run the following command in the spanner directory:

Node.js

gcloud functions deploy nodejs-spanner-function \
--gen2 \
--runtime=nodejs22 \
--region=REGION \
--source=. \
--entry-point=spannerQuickstart 
--trigger-http

Use the --runtime flag to specify the runtime ID of a supported Node.js version to run your function.

Python

gcloud functions deploy python-spanner-function \
--gen2 \
--runtime=python312 \
--region=REGION \
--source=. \
--entry-point=spanner_read_data 
--trigger-http

Use the --runtime flag to specify the runtime ID of a supported Python version to run your function.

Go

gcloud functions deploy go-spanner-function \
--gen2 \
--runtime=go122 \
--region=REGION \
--source=. \
--entry-point=HelloSpanner 
--trigger-http

Use the --runtime flag to specify the runtime ID of a supported Go version to run your function.

Java

gcloud functions deploy java-spanner-function \
--gen2 \
--runtime=java21 \
--region=REGION \
--source=. \
--entry-point=functions.HelloSpanner \
--memory=512MB 
--trigger-http

Use the --runtime flag to specify the runtime ID of a supported Java version to run your function.

Replace REGION with the name of the Google Cloud region where you want to deploy your function (for example, us-west1).

Function deployment might take up to two minutes.

Note the url value returned when your function finishes deploying. You will use it when you trigger the function.

You can view your deployed functions on the Cloud Run functions page in the Google Cloud console. You can also create and edit functions on that page, and get details and diagnostics for your functions.

Trigger the function

Make an HTTP request to your function:

curl URL

Replace URL with the URL value returned when your function finishes deploying.

You should see output that shows the results of the SQL query, assuming you worked through a Getting Started tutorial and populated the database:

SingerId: 2, AlbumId: 2, AlbumTitle: Forever Hold Your Peace
SingerId: 1, AlbumId: 2, AlbumTitle: Go, Go, Go
SingerId: 2, AlbumId: 1, AlbumTitle: Green
SingerId: 2, AlbumId: 3, AlbumTitle: Terrified
SingerId: 1, AlbumId: 1, AlbumTitle: Total Junk

You can also visit the function's URL in your browser to see the result of your SQL query.

Cleanup

To avoid incurring additional charges to your Google Cloud account for the Spanner and Cloud Run functions resources used in this document:

1. Delete the instance:

   gcloud spanner instances delete test-instance
   

2. Delete the function that you deployed:

   Node.js

   gcloud functions delete nodejs-spanner-function 

   Python

   gcloud functions delete python-spanner-function 

   Go

   gcloud functions delete go-spanner-function 

   Java

   gcloud functions delete java-spanner-function 

What's next

• Learn more about writing Cloud Run functions.
• Learn more about deploying Cloud Run functions.
• Learn more about calling Cloud Run functions.
• Learn more about monitoring Cloud Run functions.