Label instances

This page explains labels. It describes how to create an instance with labels; how to add, update, and remove labels; and how to use labels in searches.

Labels are a lightweight way to group together instances that are related or associated with each other. For example, you could label your instances according to whether you are using them as test or production, or you could add your own billing code to an instance. You can use the labels to search for instances or to track instance charges.

You always add labels as key/value pairs:

{
 "userLabels": {
    "track": "production",
    "location": "western-division"
    "billing-code": "34802",...
 }

Modifying labels has no impact on Cloud SQL instance performance.

For more information, see What are labels? and Requirements for labels.

Restrictions

  • You can assign up to 64 labels to each instance.

  • Label keys and values must conform to the following restrictions:

    • Keys and values cannot be longer than 63 characters each.
    • Keys and values can only contain lowercase letters, numeric characters, underscores, and dashes. International characters are allowed.
    • Label keys must start with a lowercase letter.
    • Label keys cannot be empty.

Create instances with labels

When creating a new instance using the gcloud CLI or the API, you can apply labels to the instance.

gcloud

When creating your instance, include the `--labels` flag, followed by a comma-separated list of key value pairs of labels. You must use the beta version of the create command to include labels.

For example:

gcloud beta sql instances create ... --labels track=production,billing-code=34802

Terraform

When creating an instance with a label, use a Terraform resource: 

resource "google_sql_database_instance" "postgres_instance_labels" {
  name             = "postgres-instance-labels"
  region           = "us-central1"
  database_version = "POSTGRES_14"
  settings {
    tier = "db-custom-2-7680"
    user_labels = {
      track        = "production"
      billing-code = 34802
    }
  }
  # set `deletion_protection` to true, will ensure that one cannot accidentally delete this instance by
  # use of Terraform whereas `deletion_protection_enabled` flag protects this instance at the GCP level.
  deletion_protection = false
}

Apply the changes

To apply your Terraform configuration in a Google Cloud project, complete the steps in the following sections.

Prepare Cloud Shell

  1. Launch Cloud Shell.

  2. Set the default Google Cloud project where you want to apply your Terraform configurations.

    You only need to run this command once per project, and you can run it in any directory.

    export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=PROJECT_ID

    Environment variables are overridden if you set explicit values in the Terraform configuration file.

Prepare the directory

Each Terraform configuration file must have its own directory (also called a root module).

  1. In Cloud Shell, create a directory and a new file within that directory. The filename must have the .tf extension—for example main.tf. In this tutorial, the file is referred to as main.tf. 
    mkdir DIRECTORY && cd DIRECTORY && touch main.tf

  2. If you are following a tutorial, you can copy the sample code in each section or step.

    Copy the sample code into the newly created main.tf.

    Optionally, copy the code from GitHub. This is recommended when the Terraform snippet is part of an end-to-end solution.

  3. Review and modify the sample parameters to apply to your environment.
  4. Save your changes.
  5. Initialize Terraform. You only need to do this once per directory. 
    terraform init

    Optionally, to use the latest Google provider version, include the -upgrade option: 

    terraform init -upgrade

Apply the changes

  1. Review the configuration and verify that the resources that Terraform is going to create or update match your expectations: 
    terraform plan

    Make corrections to the configuration as necessary.

  2. Apply the Terraform configuration by running the following command and entering yes at the prompt: 
    terraform apply

    Wait until Terraform displays the "Apply complete!" message.

  3. Open your Google Cloud project to view the results. In the Google Cloud console, navigate to your resources in the UI to make sure that Terraform has created or updated them.

Delete the changes

To delete your changes, do the following:

  1. To disable deletion protection, in your Terraform configuration file set the deletion_protection argument to false. 
    deletion_protection =  "false"
  2. Apply the updated Terraform configuration by running the following command and entering yes at the prompt: 
    terraform apply

  1. Remove resources previously applied with your Terraform configuration by running the following command and entering yes at the prompt:

    terraform destroy

curl

In the API, during the `POST` request to add a new instance, add the `userLabels` property in the request body to apply labels to the new instance. For example, your request body for creating an instance has the following labels:

          "settings": {"tier":"db-custom-2-7680",
                       "userLabels": {"track": "production",
                                      "location": "western-division",
                                      "billing-code": "34802"},

Add or update labels on an existing instance

console

  1. Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud console.

    Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page

  2. Select the checkboxes next to the resources you want to label.

  3. Click Show Info Panel in the upper righthand corner to expand the labels column.

  4. Update or add new labels as desired.

  5. Save your changes.

gcloud

Use the patch subcommand (beta version) to update or add labels on an existing instance:

gcloud beta sql instances patch [INSTANCE_NAME] --update-labels [KEY1]=[VALUE1]...

For example:

gcloud beta sql instances patch my-instance --update-labels track=production,billing-code=34802

If you provide a label key that already exists, the tool updates the existing key with the new label value. If you provide a new key, the tool adds the new key to the list of labels. Only the labels you specify are affected; existing labels not included in the command remain unchanged.

rest v1

To add or update labels, use the PATCH method:

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • label-name-1: A label name
  • value-1: The value of label-name-1
  • label-name-2: A label name
  • value-2: The value of label-name-2

HTTP method and URL: 

PATCH https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id

Request JSON body: 

{
  "settings" :
    {
        "userLabels" :
         {
            "label-name-1" : "value-1",
            "label-name-2" : "value-2"
         }
    }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "kind": "sql#operation",
  "targetLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",
  "status": "PENDING",
  "user": "user@example.com",
  "insertTime": "2020-01-16T02:32:12.281Z",
  "operationType": "UPDATE",
  "name": "operation-id",
  "targetId": "instance-id",
  "selfLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",
  "targetProject": "project-id"
}

If you provide a label key that already exists, the tool updates the existing key with the new label value. If you provide a new key, the tool adds the new key to the list of labels. Only the labels you specify are affected; existing labels not included in the request remain unchanged.

rest v1beta4

To add or update labels, use the PATCH method:

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • label-name-1: A label name
  • value-1: The value of label-name-1
  • label-name-2: A label name
  • value-2: The value of label-name-2

HTTP method and URL: 

PATCH https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id

Request JSON body: 

{
  "settings" :
    {
        "userLabels" :
         {
            "label-name-1" : "value-1",
            "label-name-2" : "value-2"
         }
    }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "kind": "sql#operation",
  "targetLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",
  "status": "PENDING",
  "user": "user@example.com",
  "insertTime": "2020-01-16T02:32:12.281Z",
  "operationType": "UPDATE",
  "name": "operation-id",
  "targetId": "instance-id",
  "selfLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",
  "targetProject": "project-id"
}

If you provide a label key that already exists, the tool updates the existing key with the new label value. If you provide a new key, the tool adds the new key to the list of labels. Only the labels you specify are affected; existing labels not included in the request remain unchanged.

Remove a label

console

  1. Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud console.

    Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page

  2. Select the checkboxes next to the resources for which you want to remove labels.

  3. Click Show info panel to expand the labels column.

  4. Click the X next to all the labels you want to remove.

  5. Save your changes.

gcloud

Using the gcloud CLI, run the patch subcommand (beta version) with the --remove-labels flag:

gcloud beta sql instances patch [INSTANCE_NAME] --remove-labels [LABEL1],[LABEL2]

If you provide a label name that does not exist, no error is returned.

rest v1

You remove a label using the API by setting its value to null:

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • label-name: The label name

HTTP method and URL: 

PATCH https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id

Request JSON body: 

{
  "settings" :
    {
        "userLabels" :
         {
            "label-name" : null,
         }
    }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "kind": "sql#operation",
  "targetLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",
  "status": "PENDING",
  "user": "user@example.com",
  "insertTime": "2020-01-16T02:32:12.281Z",
  "operationType": "UPDATE",
  "name": "operation-id",
  "targetId": "instance-id",
  "selfLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",
  "targetProject": "project-id"
}

rest v1beta4

You remove a label using the API by setting its value to null:

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • label-name: The label name

HTTP method and URL: 

PATCH https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id

Request JSON body: 

{
  "settings" :
    {
        "userLabels" :
         {
            "label-name" : null,
         }
    }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "kind": "sql#operation",
  "targetLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",
  "status": "PENDING",
  "user": "user@example.com",
  "insertTime": "2020-01-16T02:32:12.281Z",
  "operationType": "UPDATE",
  "name": "operation-id",
  "targetId": "instance-id",
  "selfLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",
  "targetProject": "project-id"
}

Filter instance searches using labels

You can filter your instance list results by labels using the gcloud CLI or the API.

gcloud

In gcloud, make a list request and use the --filter flag. To filter on labels, use the syntax labels.[KEY]:[VALUE]. For example, if you wanted to filter on a label billing-code with a value of 34802, you can run this command:

gcloud beta sql instances list --filter='labels.billing-code:34802'

If you want to filter on whether a label exists, regardless of its value:

gcloud beta sql instances list --filter='labels:billing-code'

For complete documentation about the filter syntax in the gcloud CLI, see the gcloud topic filters documentation.

curl

In the API, make a list request with a URL encoded filter query parameter:

gcloud auth login
ACCESS_TOKEN="$(gcloud auth print-access-token)"
curl --header "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
     -X GET \
     https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/[PROJECT_ID]/instances/list?filter=userLabels.[KEY1_NAME]:[KEY1_VALUE]%20userLabels.[KEY2_NAME]:[KEY2_VALUE]

For example:

curl --header "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
     -X GET \
     https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/[PROJECT_ID]/instances/list?filter=userLabels.track:production%20userLabels.billing-code:34802

When two label values are included with an (encoded) space between them, they both must be true for an instance to be returned (an AND operation). You can also explicitly provide AND, OR, and NOT operators. For example:

curl --header "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
     -X GET \
     https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/[PROJECT_ID]/instances/list?filter=userLabels.track:production%20OR%20userLabels.billing-code:34802

What's next