Database guides

Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL

Updated 2026-08-01 · 2 min read

Google-managed PostgreSQL. It is stock Postgres, so every AddisDB Postgres feature — Live Monitor included — works against it.

Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL is Google Cloud running stock PostgreSQL for you. There is nothing special about it from a client’s point of view, which is the point: AddisDB connects with the Postgres driver and every Postgres feature behaves exactly as it does against a database you run yourself.

Who it is for

It fits teams who want PostgreSQL without operating it — backups, patching, replication and failover handled — and who are already on Google Cloud. If you need the columnar accelerator for analytical work, AlloyDB is the sibling product to look at.

The one architectural thing to internalize is that you are not a superuser. Cloud SQL gives you cloudsqlsuperuser, which can do most of what you need and is deliberately stopped short of the rest.

Set up the instance

  1. Create a Cloud SQL instance with the PostgreSQL engine.
  2. Under Connections, either add your IP to the authorized networks or plan to use the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy.
  3. Create a database user, or set a password for the default postgres user.
  4. Enable the extensions you need through the cloudsql.enable_* flags — CREATE EXTENSION alone will not work for the gated ones.
# Run the Auth Proxy and point AddisDB at 127.0.0.1:5432
cloud-sql-proxy --port 5432 PROJECT:REGION:INSTANCE

Connect from AddisDB

  1. New Connection → Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL. Port prefills to 5432, database and username to postgres.
  2. Enter the instance’s public IP, or 127.0.0.1 if the Auth Proxy is running locally.
  3. Set SSL mode to require, or verify-full if you downloaded the server CA certificate.
  4. Test, then Save.

What AddisDB gives you

  • Everything the PostgreSQL support does — introspection, the foreign-key diagram, in-grid editing, mock data, AI querying and query repair.
  • The Live Monitor with real active queries, sessions, locks and connection stats.
  • Migrations and schema diff, the Chart view, notebooks and ⌘K search.