Connect using the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy

MySQL   |  PostgreSQL   |  SQL Server

This page describes how to connect to your Cloud SQL instance using the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy.

For more information about how the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy works, see About the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy.

Overview

Using the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy is the recommended method for connecting to a Cloud SQL instance. The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy:

• Works with both public and private IP endpoints
• Validates connections using credentials for a user or service account
• Wraps the connection in a SSL/TLS layer that's authorized for a Cloud SQL instance

Some Google Cloud services and applications use the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy to provide connections for public IP paths with encryption and authorization, including:

• App Engine standard environment
• App Engine flexible environment
• Cloud Functions
• Cloud Run

Applications running in Google Kubernetes Engine can connect using the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy.

Note: For connecting from Google Kubernetes Engine, we recommend running the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy in a sidecar pattern, as an additional container that shares a pod with your application. Also see the related quickstart.

See the Quickstart for using the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy for a basic introduction to its usage.

You can also connect, with or without the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy, using a sqlcmd client from a local machine or Compute Engine.

Before you begin

Before you can connect to a Cloud SQL instance, do the following:

1. • For a user or service account, make sure the account has the Cloud SQL Client role. This role contains the cloudsql.instances.connect permission, which authorizes a principal to connect to all Cloud SQL instances in a project.

     Go to the IAM page

   • You can optionally include an IAM condition in the IAM policy binding that grants the account permission to connect only to one specific Cloud SQL instance.

2. Enable the Cloud SQL Admin API.

   Enable the API

3. Install and initialize the gcloud CLI.
4. Optional. Install the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy Docker client.

Download the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy

Linux 64-bit

1. Download the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy:

   curl -o cloud-sql-proxy https://storage.googleapis.com/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy/v2.11.0/cloud-sql-proxy.linux.amd64
   

2. Make the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy executable:

   chmod +x cloud-sql-proxy
   

Linux 32-bit

1. Download the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy:

   curl -o cloud-sql-proxy https://storage.googleapis.com/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy/v2.11.0/cloud-sql-proxy.linux.386
   

2. If the curl command is not found, run sudo apt install curl and repeat the download command.
3. Make the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy executable:

   chmod +x cloud-sql-proxy
   

macOS 64-bit

1. Download the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy:

   curl -o cloud-sql-proxy https://storage.googleapis.com/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy/v2.11.0/cloud-sql-proxy.darwin.amd64
   

2. Make the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy executable:

   chmod +x cloud-sql-proxy
   

Mac M1

1. Download the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy:

     curl -o cloud-sql-proxy https://storage.googleapis.com/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy/v2.11.0/cloud-sql-proxy.darwin.arm64
     

2. Make the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy executable:

     chmod +x cloud-sql-proxy
     

Windows 64-bit

Right-click https://storage.googleapis.com/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy/v2.11.0/cloud-sql-proxy.x64.exe and select Save Link As to download the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy. Rename the file to cloud-sql-proxy.exe.

Windows 32-bit

Right-click https://storage.googleapis.com/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy/v2.11.0/cloud-sql-proxy.x86.exe and select Save Link As to download the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy. Rename the file to cloud-sql-proxy.exe.

Cloud SQL Auth Proxy Docker image

The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy has different container images, such as distroless, alpine, and buster. The default Cloud SQL Auth Proxy container image uses distroless, which contains no shell. If you need a shell or related tools, then download an image based on alpine or buster. For more information, see Cloud SQL Auth Proxy Container Images.

You can pull the latest image to your local machine using Docker by using the following command:

docker pull gcr.io/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy:2.11.0

Note: The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy uses a repository that supports the gcr.io domain but serves images from Artifact Registry. For more information, see Transition from Container Registry.

Other OS

For other operating systems not included here, you can compile the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy from source.

Start the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy

You can start the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy using TCP sockets or the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy Docker image. The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy binary connects to one or more Cloud SQL instances specified on the command line, and opens a local connection as a TCP socket. Other applications and services, such as your application code or database management client tools, can connect to Cloud SQL instances through that TCP socket connection.

Warning: Be careful when binding the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy to an external interface. Anyone with access to that interface/port will be authorized to connect to your instance.

TCP sockets

For TCP connections, the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy listens on localhost(127.0.0.1) by default. So, when you specify --port PORT_NUMBER for an instance, the local connection is at 127.0.0.1:PORT_NUMBER.

Alternatively, you can specify a different address for the local connection. For example, here's how to make the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy listen at 0.0.0.0:1234 for the local connection:

./cloud-sql-proxy --address 0.0.0.0 --port 1234 INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME

1. Copy your INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME. This can be found on the Overview page for your instance in the Google Cloud console. or by running the following command:

       gcloud sql instances describe INSTANCE_NAME --format='value(connectionName)'

   .

   For example: myproject:myregion:myinstance.

2. If the instance has both public and private IP configured, and you want the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy to use the private IP address, you must provide the following option when you start the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy:

   --private-ip

3. If you are using a service account to authenticate the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy, note the location on your client machine of the private key file that was created when you created the service account.
4. Start the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy.

   Some possible Cloud SQL Auth Proxy invocation strings:

   • Using Cloud SDK authentication:

     ./cloud-sql-proxy --port 1433 INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME
     

     The specified port must not already be in use, for example, by a local database server.
   • Using a service account and explicitly including the name of the instance connection (recommended for production environments):

     ./cloud-sql-proxy \
     --credentials-file PATH_TO_KEY_FILE INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME &
     
     

   For more information about Cloud SQL Auth Proxy options, see Options for authenticating the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy and Options for specifying instances.

Docker

To run the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy in a Docker container, use the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy Docker image available from the Google Container Registry.

You can start the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy using either TCP sockets or Unix sockets, with the commands shown below. The options use an INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME as the connection string to identify a Cloud SQL instance. You can find the INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME on the Overview page for your instance in the Google Cloud console. or by running the following command:

gcloud sql instances describe INSTANCE_NAME

.

For example: myproject:myregion:myinstance.

Note: The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy doesn't support listening on Unix domain sockets on Windows.

Depending on your language and environment, you can start the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy using either TCP sockets or Unix sockets. Unix sockets are not supported for applications written in the Java programming language or for the Windows environment.

Using TCP sockets

docker run -d \\
  -v PATH_TO_KEY_FILE:/path/to/service-account-key.json \\
  -p 127.0.0.1:1433:1433 \\
  gcr.io/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy:2.11.0 \\
  --address 0.0.0.0 --port 1433 \\
  --credentials-file /path/to/service-account-key.json INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME

If you're using the credentials provided by your Compute Engine instance, don't include the --credentials-file parameter and the -v PATH_TO_KEY_FILE:/path/to/service-account-key.json line.

Always specify 127.0.0.1 prefix in -p so that the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy is not exposed outside the local host. The "0.0.0.0" in the instances parameter is required to make the port accessible from outside of the Docker container.

Using Unix sockets

docker run -d -v /cloudsql:/cloudsql \\
  -v PATH_TO_KEY_FILE:/path/to/service-account-key.json \\
  gcr.io/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy:2.11.0 --unix-socket=/cloudsql \\
  --credentials-file /path/to/service-account-key.json INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME

If you're using the credentials provided by your Compute Engine instance, don't include the --credentials-file parameter and the -v PATH_TO_KEY_FILE:/path/to/service-account-key.json line.

If you are using a container optimized image, use a writeable directory in place of /cloudsql, for example:

-v /mnt/stateful_partition/cloudsql:/cloudsql

You can specify more than one instance, separated by commas. You can also use Compute Engine metadata to dynamically determine the instances to connect to. Learn more about the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy parameters.

Connect with the sqlcmd client

Debian/Ubuntu

For Debian/Ubuntu, install the applicable SQL Server command-line tools.

CentOS/RHEL

For CentOS/RHEL, install the applicable SQL Server command-line tools.

openSUSE

For openSUSE, install the applicable SQL Server command-line tools.

Other platforms

See the landing page for installing SQL Server, as well as the SQL Server downloads page.

The connection string you use depends on whether you started the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy using a TCP socket or Docker.

TCP sockets

1. Start the sqlcmd client:

   sqlcmd -S tcp:127.0.0.1,1433 -U USERNAME -P PASSWORD
   

   When you connect using TCP sockets, the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy is accessed through 127.0.0.1.

2. If prompted, enter the password.
3. The sqlcmd prompt appears.

Need help? For help troubleshooting the proxy, see Troubleshooting Cloud SQL Auth Proxy connections, or see our Cloud SQL Support page.

Connect with an application

You can connect to the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy from any language that enables you to connect to a TCP socket. Below are some code snippets from complete examples on GitHub to help you understand how they work together in your application.

Connecting with TCP

Cloud SQL Auth Proxy invocation statement:

./cloud-sql-proxy INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME &

Python

To see this snippet in the context of a web application, view the README on GitHub.

import os

import sqlalchemy


def connect_tcp_socket() -> sqlalchemy.engine.base.Engine:
    """Initializes a TCP connection pool for a Cloud SQL instance of SQL Server."""
    # Note: Saving credentials in environment variables is convenient, but not
    # secure - consider a more secure solution such as
    # Cloud Secret Manager (https://cloud.google.com/secret-manager) to help
    # keep secrets safe.
    db_host = os.environ[
        "INSTANCE_HOST"
    ]  # e.g. '127.0.0.1' ('172.17.0.1' if deployed to GAE Flex)
    db_user = os.environ["DB_USER"]  # e.g. 'my-db-user'
    db_pass = os.environ["DB_PASS"]  # e.g. 'my-db-password'
    db_name = os.environ["DB_NAME"]  # e.g. 'my-database'
    db_port = os.environ["DB_PORT"]  # e.g. 1433

    pool = sqlalchemy.create_engine(
        # Equivalent URL:
        # mssql+pytds://<db_user>:<db_pass>@<db_host>:<db_port>/<db_name>
        sqlalchemy.engine.url.URL.create(
            drivername="mssql+pytds",
            username=db_user,
            password=db_pass,
            database=db_name,
            host=db_host,
            port=db_port,
        ),
        # ...
    )

    return pool

Java

To see this snippet in the context of a web application, view the README on GitHub.

Note:

• CLOUD_SQL_CONNECTION_NAME should be represented as <MY-PROJECT>:<INSTANCE-REGION>:<INSTANCE-NAME>
• Using the argument ipTypes=PRIVATE will force the SocketFactory to connect with an instance's associated private IP
• See the JDBC socket factory version requirements for the pom.xml file here .

import com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariConfig;
import com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource;
import javax.sql.DataSource;

public class TcpConnectionPoolFactory extends ConnectionPoolFactory {

  // Note: Saving credentials in environment variables is convenient, but not
  // secure - consider a more secure solution such as
  // Cloud Secret Manager (https://cloud.google.com/secret-manager) to help
  // keep secrets safe.
  private static final String DB_USER = System.getenv("DB_USER");
  private static final String DB_PASS = System.getenv("DB_PASS");
  private static final String DB_NAME = System.getenv("DB_NAME");

  private static final String INSTANCE_HOST = System.getenv("INSTANCE_HOST");
  private static final String DB_PORT = System.getenv("DB_PORT");


  public static DataSource createConnectionPool() {
    // The configuration object specifies behaviors for the connection pool.
    HikariConfig config = new HikariConfig();

    // Configure which instance and what database user to connect with.
    config.setJdbcUrl(
        String.format("jdbc:sqlserver://%s:%s;databaseName=%s", INSTANCE_HOST, DB_PORT, DB_NAME));
    config.setUsername(DB_USER); // e.g. "root", "sqlserver"
    config.setPassword(DB_PASS); // e.g. "my-password"


    // ... Specify additional connection properties here.
    // ...

    // Initialize the connection pool using the configuration object.
    return new HikariDataSource(config);
  }
}

Node.js

To see this snippet in the context of a web application, view the README on GitHub.

const mssql = require('mssql');

// createTcpPool initializes a TCP connection pool for a Cloud SQL
// instance of SQL Server.
const createTcpPool = async config => {
  // Note: Saving credentials in environment variables is convenient, but not
  // secure - consider a more secure solution such as
  // Cloud Secret Manager (https://cloud.google.com/secret-manager) to help
  // keep secrets safe.
  const dbConfig = {
    server: process.env.INSTANCE_HOST, // e.g. '127.0.0.1'
    port: parseInt(process.env.DB_PORT), // e.g. 1433
    user: process.env.DB_USER, // e.g. 'my-db-user'
    password: process.env.DB_PASS, // e.g. 'my-db-password'
    database: process.env.DB_NAME, // e.g. 'my-database'
    options: {
      trustServerCertificate: true,
    },
    // ... Specify additional properties here.
    ...config,
  };
  // Establish a connection to the database.
  return mssql.connect(dbConfig);
};

Go

To see this snippet in the context of a web application, view the README on GitHub.

package cloudsql

import (
	"database/sql"
	"fmt"
	"log"
	"os"
	"strings"

	_ "github.com/denisenkom/go-mssqldb"
)

// connectTCPSocket initializes a TCP connection pool for a Cloud SQL
// instance of SQL Server.
func connectTCPSocket() (*sql.DB, error) {
	mustGetenv := func(k string) string {
		v := os.Getenv(k)
		if v == "" {
			log.Fatalf("Fatal Error in connect_tcp.go: %s environment variable not set.\n", k)
		}
		return v
	}
	// Note: Saving credentials in environment variables is convenient, but not
	// secure - consider a more secure solution such as
	// Cloud Secret Manager (https://cloud.google.com/secret-manager) to help
	// keep secrets safe.
	var (
		dbUser    = mustGetenv("DB_USER")       // e.g. 'my-db-user'
		dbPwd     = mustGetenv("DB_PASS")       // e.g. 'my-db-password'
		dbTCPHost = mustGetenv("INSTANCE_HOST") // e.g. '127.0.0.1' ('172.17.0.1' if deployed to GAE Flex)
		dbPort    = mustGetenv("DB_PORT")       // e.g. '1433'
		dbName    = mustGetenv("DB_NAME")       // e.g. 'my-database'
	)

	dbURI := fmt.Sprintf("server=%s;user id=%s;password=%s;port=%s;database=%s;",
		dbTCPHost, dbUser, dbPwd, dbPort, dbName)


	// dbPool is the pool of database connections.
	dbPool, err := sql.Open("sqlserver", dbURI)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("sql.Open: %w", err)
	}

	// ...

	return dbPool, nil
}

C#

To see this snippet in the context of a web application, view the README on GitHub.

using Microsoft.Data.SqlClient;
using System;

namespace CloudSql
{
    public class SqlServerTcp
    {
        public static SqlConnectionStringBuilder NewSqlServerTCPConnectionString()
        {
            // Equivalent connection string:
            // "User Id=<DB_USER>;Password=<DB_PASS>;Server=<INSTANCE_HOST>;Database=<DB_NAME>;"
            var connectionString = new SqlConnectionStringBuilder()
            {
                // Note: Saving credentials in environment variables is convenient, but not
                // secure - consider a more secure solution such as
                // Cloud Secret Manager (https://cloud.google.com/secret-manager) to help
                // keep secrets safe.
                DataSource = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("INSTANCE_HOST"), // e.g. '127.0.0.1'
                // Set Host to 'cloudsql' when deploying to App Engine Flexible environment
                UserID = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("DB_USER"),         // e.g. 'my-db-user'
                Password = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("DB_PASS"),       // e.g. 'my-db-password'
                InitialCatalog = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("DB_NAME"), // e.g. 'my-database'

                // The Cloud SQL proxy provides encryption between the proxy and instance
                Encrypt = false,
            };
            connectionString.Pooling = true;
            // Specify additional properties here.
            return connectionString;
        }
    }
}

Ruby

To see this snippet in the context of a web application, view the README on GitHub.

tcp: &tcp
  adapter: sqlserver
  # Configure additional properties here.
  # Note: Saving credentials in environment variables is convenient, but not
  # secure - consider a more secure solution such as
  # Cloud Secret Manager (https://cloud.google.com/secret-manager) to help
  # keep secrets safe.
  username: <%= ENV["DB_USER"] %>  # e.g. "my-database-user"
  password: <%= ENV["DB_PASS"] %> # e.g. "my-database-password"
  database: <%= ENV.fetch("DB_NAME") { "vote_development" } %>
  host: <%= ENV.fetch("INSTANCE_HOST") { "127.0.0.1" }%> # '172.17.0.1' if deployed to GAE Flex
  port: <%= ENV.fetch("DB_PORT") { 1433 }%> 

PHP

To see this snippet in the context of a web application, view the README on GitHub.

namespace Google\Cloud\Samples\CloudSQL\SQLServer;

use PDO;
use PDOException;
use RuntimeException;
use TypeError;

class DatabaseTcp
{
    public static function initTcpDatabaseConnection(): PDO
    {
        try {
            // Note: Saving credentials in environment variables is convenient, but not
            // secure - consider a more secure solution such as
            // Cloud Secret Manager (https://cloud.google.com/secret-manager) to help
            // keep secrets safe.
            $username = getenv('DB_USER'); // e.g. 'your_db_user'
            $password = getenv('DB_PASS'); // e.g. 'your_db_password'
            $dbName = getenv('DB_NAME'); // e.g. 'your_db_name'
            $instanceHost = getenv('INSTANCE_HOST'); // e.g. '127.0.0.1' ('172.17.0.1' for GAE Flex)

            // Connect using TCP
            $dsn = sprintf(
                'sqlsrv:server=%s;Database=%s',
                $instanceHost,
                $dbName
            );

            // Connect to the database
            $conn = new PDO(
                $dsn,
                $username,
                $password,
                # ...
            );
        } catch (TypeError $e) {
            throw new RuntimeException(
                sprintf(
                    'Invalid or missing configuration! Make sure you have set ' .
                        '$username, $password, $dbName, and $instanceHost (for TCP mode). ' .
                        'The PHP error was %s',
                    $e->getMessage()
                ),
                $e->getCode(),
                $e
            );
        } catch (PDOException $e) {
            throw new RuntimeException(
                sprintf(
                    'Could not connect to the Cloud SQL Database. Check that ' .
                        'your username and password are correct, that the Cloud SQL ' .
                        'proxy is running, and that the database exists and is ready ' .
                        'for use. For more assistance, refer to %s. The PDO error was %s',
                    'https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/sqlserver/connect-external-app',
                    $e->getMessage()
                ),
                (int) $e->getCode(),
                $e
            );
        }

        return $conn;
    }
}

Additional topics

Cloud SQL Auth Proxy command-line arguments

The examples above cover the most common use cases, but the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy also has other configuration options that can be set with command-line arguments. For help on command-line arguments, use the --help flag to view the latest documentation:

./cloud-sql-proxy --help

See the README on the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy GitHub repository for additional examples of how to use Cloud SQL Auth Proxy command-line options.

Options for authenticating the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy

When you authenticate the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy, you enable it to access Google Cloud on behalf of your application, using a set of Google credentials. This is separate from database user authentication.

All of these options use an INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME as the connection string to identify a Cloud SQL instance. You can find the INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME on the Overview page for your instance in the Google Cloud console. or by running the following command:

gcloud sql instances describe --project PROJECT_ID INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME.

For example: gcloud sql instances describe --project myproject myinstance .

Some of these options use a JSON credentials file that includes the RSA private key for the account. For instructions on creating a JSON credentials file for a service account, see Creating a service account.

The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy provides several alternatives for authentication, depending on your environment. The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy checks for each of the following items, in the following order, using the first one it finds to attempt to authenticate:

1. Credentials supplied by the credentials-file flag.

   Use a service account to create and download the associated JSON file, and set the --credentials-file flag to the path of the file when you start the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy. The service account must have the required permissions for the Cloud SQL instance.

   To use this option on the command-line, invoke the cloud-sql-proxy command with the --credentials-file flag set to the path and filename of a JSON credential file. The path can be absolute, or relative to the current working directory. For example:

   ./cloud-sql-proxy --credentials-file PATH_TO_KEY_FILE \
   INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME
     

   For detailed instructions about adding IAM roles to a service account, see Granting Roles to Service Accounts.

   For more information about the roles Cloud SQL supports, see IAM roles for Cloud SQL.

2. Credentials supplied by an access token.

   Create an access token and invoke the cloud-sql-proxy command with the --token flag set to an OAuth 2.0 access token. For example:

   ./cloud-sql-proxy --token ACCESS_TOKEN \
   INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME
     

3. Credentials supplied by an environment variable.

   This option is similar to using the --credentials-file flag, except you specify the JSON credential file you set in the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable instead of using the --credentials-file command-line argument.

4. Credentials from an authenticated gcloud CLI client.

   If you have installed the gcloud CLI and have authenticated with your personal account, the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy can use the same account credentials. This method is especially helpful for getting a development environment up and running.

   To enable the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy to use your gcloud CLI credentials, use the following command to authenticate the gcloud CLI:

   gcloud auth application-default login

5. Credentials associated with the Compute Engine instance.

   If you are connecting to Cloud SQL from a Compute Engine instance, the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy can use the service account associated with the Compute Engine instance. If the service account has the required permissions for the Cloud SQL instance, the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy authenticates successfully.

   If the Compute Engine instance is in the same project as the Cloud SQL instance, the default service account for the Compute Engine instance has the necessary permissions for authenticating the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy. If the two instances are in different projects, you must add the Compute Engine instance's service account to the project containing the Cloud SQL instance.

6. Environment's default service account

   If the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy cannot find credentials in any of the places covered earlier, it follows the logic documented in Setting Up Authentication for Server to Server Production Applications. Some environment (such as Compute Engine, App Engine, and others) provide a default service account that your application can use to authenticate by default. If you use a default service account, it must have the permissions outlined in roles and permissions For more information about Google Cloud's approach to authentication, see Authentication overview.

Create a service account

If you are connecting from Compute Engine, make sure your VM has the proper scope to connect using the Cloud SQL Admin API.

Configure the service account to have either of the following access scopes:

• https://www.googleapis.com/auth/sqlservice.admin
• https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Service accounts page.

   Go to Service accounts

2. Select the project that contains your Cloud SQL instance.
3. Click Create service account.
4. In the Service account name field, enter a descriptive name for the service account.
5. Change the Service account ID to a unique, recognizable value and then click Create and continue.
6. Click the Select a role field and select one of the following roles:
   • Cloud SQL > Cloud SQL Client
   • Cloud SQL > Cloud SQL Editor
   • Cloud SQL > Cloud SQL Admin
   Note: To create a service account with the required permissions, you must have resourcemanager.projects.setIamPolicy permission. This permission is included in the Project Owner, Project IAM Admin, and Organization Administrator roles.
   You must also have enabled the Cloud SQL Admin API. If you are using the legacy project roles (Viewer, Editor, Owner), the service account must have at least the Editor role.
7. Click Done to finish creating the service account.
8. Click the action menu for your new service account and then select Manage keys.
9. Click the Add key drop-down menu and then click Create new key.
10. Confirm that the key type is JSON and then click Create.

    The private key file is downloaded to your machine. You can move it to another location. Keep the key file secure.

Use the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy with private IP

To connect to a Cloud SQL instance using private IP, the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy must be on a resource with access to the same VPC network as the instance.

The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy uses IP to establish a connection with your Cloud SQL instance. By default, the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy attempts to connect using a public IPv4 address.

If your Cloud SQL instance has only private IP or the instance has both public and private IP configured, and you want the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy to use the private IP address, then you must provide the following option when you start the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy:

--private-ip

Use the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy with instances that have Private Service Connect enabled

You can use the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy to connect to a Cloud SQL instance with Private Service Connect enabled.

The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy is a connector that provides secure access to this instance without a need for authorized networks or for configuring SSL.

To allow Cloud SQL Auth Proxy client connections, you must set up a DNS record which matches the recommended DNS name that's provided for the instance. The DNS record is a mapping between a DNS resource and a domain name.

For more information about using the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy to connect to instances with Private Service Connect enabled, see Connect using the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy.

Run the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy in a separate process

Running the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy in a separate Cloud Shell terminal process can be useful, to avoid mixing its console output with output from other programs. Use the syntax shown below to invoke the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy in a separate process.

Linux

On Linux or macOS, use a trailing & on the command line to launch the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy in a separate process:

./cloud-sql-proxy INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME
  --credentials-file PATH_TO_KEY_FILE &

Windows

In Windows PowerShell, use the Start-Process command to launch the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy in a separate process:

Start-Process --filepath "cloud-sql-proxy.exe"
  --ArgumentList "
  --credentials-file PATH_TO_KEY_FILEINSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME"

Run the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy in a Docker container

To run the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy in a Docker container, use the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy Docker image available from the Google Container Registry. You can install the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy Docker image with this gcloud command:

docker pull gcr.io/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy:2.11.0

You can start the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy using either TCP sockets or Unix sockets, with the commands shown below.

Note: Unix sockets are not supported for applications written in the Java programming language or for the Windows environment.

TCP sockets

    docker run -d \
      -v PATH_TO_KEY_FILE:/path/to/service-account-key.json \
      -p 127.0.0.1:1433:1433 \
      gcr.io/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy:2.11.0 \
      --address 0.0.0.0 \
      --credentials-file /path/to/service-account-key.json \
      INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME

Unix sockets

    docker run -d \
      -v /PATH_TO_HOST_TARGET:/PATH_TO_GUEST_TARGET \
      -v PATH_TO_KEY_FILE:/path/to/service-account-key.json \
      gcr.io/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy:2.11.0 --unix-socket /cloudsql \
      --credentials-file /path/to/service-account-key.json/PATH_TO_KEY_FILE \
      INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME

If you are using a container optimized image, use a writeable directory in place of /cloudsql, for example:

v /mnt/stateful_partition/cloudsql:/cloudsql

If you are using the credentials provided by your Compute Engine instance, do not include the credential_file parameter and the -v PATH_TO_KEY_FILE:/path/to/service-account-key.json line.

Running the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy as a service

Running the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy as a background service is an option for local development and production workloads. In development, when you need to access your Cloud SQL instance, you can start the service in the background and stop it when you're finished.

For production workloads, the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy doesn't currently provide built-in support for running as a Windows service, but third-party service managers can be used to run it as a service. For example, you can use NSSM to configure the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy as a Windows service, and NSSM monitors the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy and restarts it automatically if it stops responding. See the NSSM documentation for more information.

Note: If you run the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy as a service, keep in mind that it uses a secure connection to communicate with Cloud SQL instances, but connections from your application to the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy are not encrypted. For this reason, ensure that only trusted users are able to access the address and port that the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy is listening on.

Connect when SSL is required

Note: If a SQL Server instance has Require SSL/TLS checked, even with Cloud SQL Auth Proxy or Cloud SQL Connectors, the client application needs to have TLS/SSL configured the same way as if Cloud SQL Auth Proxy or Cloud SQL Connectors aren't involved, otherwise a connection attempt might fail. For successful connections, Cloud SQL Auth Proxy or Cloud SQL Connectors add another layer of encryption besides SQL Server's native encryption. In other words, the connection between the Proxy Client/Cloud SQL Connectors and the Proxy Server would be double-encrypted.
Double encryption can negatively impact SQL Server performance. We suggest that customers consider carefully before requiring SSL and using Cloud SQL Auth Proxy or Cloud SQL Connectors at the same time.

Enforce the use of the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy

Enable the use of the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy in Cloud SQL using ConnectorEnforcement.

gcloud

The following command enforces the use of Cloud SQL connectors.

    gcloud sql instances patch INSTANCE_NAME \
    --connector-enforcement REQUIRED
  

To disable the enforcement, use the following line of code: --connector-enforcement NOT_REQUIRED The update doesn't trigger a restart.

REST v1

The following command enforces the use of Cloud SQL connectors

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

• project-id: The project ID.
• instance-id: The instance ID.

HTTP method and URL:

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

Request JSON body:

{
  "settings": {                     
    "connectorEnforcement": "REQUIRED"    
  }                                             
}   

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login , or by using Cloud Shell, which automatically logs you into the gcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file named request.json, and execute the following command:

curl -X PATCH \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
     -d @request.json \
     "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id"

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file named request.json, and execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method PATCH `
    -Headers $headers `
    -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
    -InFile request.json `
    -Uri "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id" | Select-Object -Expand Content

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": "[e-mail]",
  "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"
}

To disable the enforcement, use "connectorEnforcement": "NOT_REQUIRED" instead. The update does not trigger a restart.

REST v1beta4

The following command enforces the use of Cloud SQL connectors.

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

• project-id: The project ID.
• instance-id: The instance ID.

HTTP method and URL:

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

Request JSON body:

{
  "settings": {
    "connectorEnforcement": "REQUIRED"
  }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login , or by using Cloud Shell, which automatically logs you into the gcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file named request.json, and execute the following command:

curl -X PATCH \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
     -d @request.json \
     "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id"

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file named request.json, and execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method PATCH `
    -Headers $headers `
    -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
    -InFile request.json `
    -Uri "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id" | Select-Object -Expand Content

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": "[e-mail]",
  "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"
}

To disable the enforcement, use "connectorEnforcement": "NOT_REQUIRED" instead. The update does not trigger a restart.

Tips for working with Cloud SQL Auth Proxy

Use the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy to connect to multiple instances

You can use one local Cloud SQL Auth Proxy client to connect to multiple Cloud SQL instances. The way you do this depends on whether you are using Unix sockets or TCP.

TCP sockets

When you connect using TCP, you specify a port on your machine for the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy to listen on for each Cloud SQL instance. When connecting to multiple Cloud SQL instances, each port specified must be unique and available for use on your machine.

For example:

    # Start the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy to connect to two different Cloud SQL instances.
    # Give the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy a unique port on your machine to use for each Cloud SQL instance.

    ./cloud-sql-proxy "myProject:us-central1:myInstance?port=1433" \
    "myProject:us-central1:myInstance2?port=1234"

    # Connect to "myInstance" using port 1433 on your machine:
    sqlcmd -U myUser -S "127.0.0.1,1433"

    # Connect to "myInstance2" using port 1234 on your machine:
    sqlcmd -U myUser -S "127.0.0.1,1234"
  

Troubleshoot Cloud SQL Auth Proxy connections

The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy Docker image is based on a specific version of the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy. When a new version of the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy becomes available, pull the new version of the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy Docker image to keep your environment up to date. You can see the current version of the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy by checking the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy GitHub releases page.

If you are having trouble connecting to your Cloud SQL instance using the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy, here are a few things to try to find what's causing the problem.

• Check the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy output.

  Often, the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy output can help you determine the source of the problem and how to solve it. Pipe the output to a file, or watch the Cloud Shell terminal where you started the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy.

• If you are getting a 403 notAuthorized error, and you are using a service account to authenticate the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy, make sure the service account has the correct permissions.

  You can check the service account by searching for its ID on the IAM page. It must have the cloudsql.instances.connect permission. The Cloud SQL Admin, Client and Editor predefined roles have this permission.

• If you are connecting from App Engine and are getting a 403 notAuthorized error, check the app.yaml value cloud_sql_instances for a misspelled or incorrect instance connection name. Instance connection names are always in the format PROJECT:REGION:INSTANCE.

  Also, check that the App Engine service account (for example, $[e-mail]) has the Cloud SQL Client IAM role.

  If the App Engine service lives in one project (project A) and the database lives in another (project B), this error means the App Engine service account has not been given the Cloud SQL Client IAM role in the project with the database (project B).

• Make sure to enable the Cloud SQL Admin API.

  If it is not, you see output like Error 403: Access Not Configured in your Cloud SQL Auth Proxy logs.

• If you are including multiple instances in your instances list, make sure you are using a comma as a delimiter, with no spaces. If you are using TCP, make sure you are specifying different ports for each instance.

• If you are connecting using UNIX sockets, confirm that the sockets were created by listing the directory you provided when you started the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy.

• If you have an outbound firewall policy, make sure it allows connections to port 3307 on the target Cloud SQL instance.

  Note: The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy uses 3307 to connect to the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy server. Port 1433 is the default port for the SQL Server protocol over a direct TCP connection (not using the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy).

• You can confirm that the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy started correctly by looking in the logs under the Operations > Logging > Logs explorer section of the Google Cloud console. A successful operation looks like the following:

  2021/06/14 15:47:56 Listening on /cloudsql/$PROJECT_ID:$REGION:$INSTANCE_NAME/1433 for $PROJECT_ID:$REGION:$INSTANCE_NAME
  2021/06/14 15:47:56 Ready for new connections
  

• Quota issues: When the Cloud SQL Admin API quota is breached, the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy starts up with the following error message:

  There was a problem when parsing a instance configuration but ignoring due
  to the configuration. Error: googleapi: Error 429: Quota exceeded for quota
  metric 'Queries' and limit 'Queries per minute per user' of service
  'sqladmin.googleapis.com' for consumer 'project_number:$PROJECT_ID.,
  rateLimitExceeded
  

  Once an application connects to the proxy, the proxy reports the following error:

  failed to refresh the ephemeral certificate for $INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME:
  googleapi: Error 429: Quota exceeded for quota metric 'Queries' and limit
  'Queries per minute per user' of service 'sqladmin.googleapis.com' for
  consumer 'project_number:$PROJECT_ID., rateLimitExceeded
  

  Solution: Either identify the source of the quota problem, for example, an application is misusing the connector and unnecessarily creating new connections, or contact support to request an increase to the Cloud SQL Admin API quota. If the quota error appears on startup, you must re-deploy the application to restart the proxy. If the quota error appears after startup, a re-deploy is unnecessary.

What's next

• Learn more about the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy.
• Learn more about Identity and Access Management (IAM).
• Learn more about Service Accounts.
• Learn about the two levels of access control for Cloud SQL instances.
• Create users and databases.
• Learn about connecting to your instance from your application.
• Learn about options for support.