Create and manage databases

MySQL  |  PostgreSQL  |  SQL Server

This page contains information about creating, listing, and deleting PostgreSQLdatabases on a Cloud SQL instance.

A newly-created instance has apostgres database.

For more information about PostgreSQL databases, see thePostgreSQL documentation.

Before you begin

Before completing the tasks on this page, you must have:

If you plan to use the psql client to create or manage your databases,you must have:

Create a database on the Cloud SQL instance

Note: Thepostgres database is the defaultdatabaseyou connect to before you create any other databases. After you createanother database, switch to it to create tables and insert data. Don't use thepostgres database for your application's data because this database is used primarily for administrative purposes.

The maximum length of the database name is 64 characters. For more information on other criteria for this name, seeIdentifiers and Key Words.

If you don't specify a character set and collation when you create your database, the database will have the following default values:

  • Character set:UTF8
  • Collation:en_US.UTF8

Console

Note:You can't use the Google Cloud console to set values for the character set and collation. To set these values, use apsql client to create your database. For more information about using this client to create the database, refer to the contents in thepsql Client tab.

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to theCloud SQL Instances page.

    Go to Cloud SQL Instances

  2. To open theOverview page of an instance, click the instance name.
  3. SelectDatabases from the SQL navigation menu.
  4. ClickCreate database.
  5. In theNew database dialog, specify the name of the database.
  6. ClickCreate.

gcloud

Note:You can't usegcloud to set values for the character set and collation. To set these values, use apsql client to create your database. For more information about using this client to create the database, refer to the contents in thepsql Client tab.

For reference information, seegcloud sql databases create.

gcloudsqldatabasescreateDATABASE_NAME\--instance=INSTANCE_NAME

Terraform

Note:You can't use Terraform to set values for the character set and collation. To set these values, use apsql client to create your database. For more information about using this client to create the database, refer to the contents in thepsql Client tab.

To create a database, use aTerraform resource.

resource "google_sql_database" "database" {  name     = "my-database"  instance = google_sql_database_instance.instance.name}

Apply the changes

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

Prepare Cloud Shell

  1. LaunchCloud 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 (alsocalled aroot module).

  1. InCloud Shell, create a directory and a new file within that directory. The filename must have the.tf extension—for examplemain.tf. In this tutorial, the file is referred to asmain.tf.
    mkdirDIRECTORY && cdDIRECTORY && 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 createdmain.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 enteringyes 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.
Note: Terraform samples typically assume that the required APIs are enabled in your Google Cloud project.

Delete the changes

To delete your changes, do the following:

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

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

    terraform destroy

REST v1

Note:You can't use REST APIs to set values for the character set and collation. To set these values, use apsql client to create your database. For more information about using this client to create the database, refer to the contents in thepsql Client tab.

The following request uses thedatabases:insert method to create a new database on the specified instance.

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

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • database-name: The name of a database inside the Cloud SQL instance

HTTP method and URL:

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

Request JSON body:

{  "project": "project-id",  "instance": "instance-id",  "name": "database-name"}

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 thegcloud CLI with your user account by runninggcloud init orgcloud auth login , or by usingCloud Shell, which automatically logs you into thegcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by runninggcloud auth list.

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

curl -X POST \
     -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/databases"

PowerShell (Windows)

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

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

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

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

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

{  "kind": "sql#operation",  "targetLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",  "status": "PENDING",  "user": "user@example.com",  "insertTime": "2020-01-21T22:43:37.981Z",  "operationType": "CREATE_DATABASE",  "name": "operation-id",  "targetId": "instance-id",  "selfLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",  "targetProject": "project-id"}

REST v1beta4

Note:You can't use REST APIs to set values for the character set and collation. To set these values, use apsql client to create your database. For more information about using this client to create the database, refer to the contents in thepsql Client tab.

The following request uses thedatabases:insert method to create a new database on the specified instance.

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

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • database-name: The name of a database inside the Cloud SQL instance

HTTP method and URL:

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

Request JSON body:

{  "project": "project-id",  "instance": "instance-id",  "name": "database-name"}

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 thegcloud CLI with your user account by runninggcloud init orgcloud auth login , or by usingCloud Shell, which automatically logs you into thegcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by runninggcloud auth list.

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

curl -X POST \
     -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/databases"

PowerShell (Windows)

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

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

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

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

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

{  "kind": "sql#operation",  "targetLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",  "status": "PENDING",  "user": "user@example.com",  "insertTime": "2020-01-21T22:43:37.981Z",  "operationType": "CREATE_DATABASE",  "name": "operation-id",  "targetId": "instance-id",  "selfLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",  "targetProject": "project-id"}

psql Client

For reference information, seeCREATE DATABASE in the PostgreSQL documentation.

See the following topics in the PostgreSQL documentation for background and a list of supported character set values:

CREATEDATABASEdatabase_name[[ENCODINGencoding][LC_COLLATElc_collate]];

For example:
CREATE DATABASE "example_db" WITH OWNER "example_user" ENCODING 'UTF8' LC_COLLATE = 'pl_PL.utf8' LC_CTYPE = 'pl_PL.utf8' TEMPLATE template0;

Note: The default template istemplate1. However, psql usestemplate0 because it's the only template that accepts a specific encoding and character set. For more information, seeTemplate Databases.

List your databases

To list all databases on an instance:

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to theCloud SQL Instances page.

    Go to Cloud SQL Instances

  2. To open theOverview page of an instance, click the instance name.
  3. ClickDatabases from the left side menu. TheDatabases page lists databases along with their collation type, character set, and database type.

gcloud

For reference information, seegcloud sql databases list.

gcloudsqldatabaseslist\--instance=INSTANCE_NAME

REST v1

The following request uses thedatabases:list method to list the databases for an instance.

When you list the databases using the API, you seeadditional template databases and a system database that are not displayed bythe console. You cannot delete or manage the system database.

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:

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

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 thegcloud CLI with your user account by runninggcloud init orgcloud auth login , or by usingCloud Shell, which automatically logs you into thegcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by runninggcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:

curl -X GET \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/databases"

PowerShell (Windows)

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

Execute the following command:

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

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method GET `
    -Headers $headers `
    -Uri "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/databases" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

{  "kind": "sql#database",  "charset": "utf8",  "collation": "utf8_general_ci",  "etag": "etag",  "name": "sys",  "instance": "instance-id",  "selfLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/databases/sys",  "project": "project-id"}

Note: Thedatabases.list API supports only response payloads thatinclude up to 4 MB of text.

If you run a database list request on alarge instance, then you might receive an error. If this occurs, then to get thelist of databases, we recommend that you run the request directly from theinstance.

REST v1beta4

The following request uses thedatabases:list method to list the databases for an instance.

When you list the databases using the API, you seeadditional template databases and a system database that are not displayed bythe console. You cannot delete or manage the system database.

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:

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

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 thegcloud CLI with your user account by runninggcloud init orgcloud auth login , or by usingCloud Shell, which automatically logs you into thegcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by runninggcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:

curl -X GET \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/databases"

PowerShell (Windows)

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

Execute the following command:

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

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method GET `
    -Headers $headers `
    -Uri "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/databases" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

{  "kind": "sql#database",  "charset": "utf8",  "collation": "utf8_general_ci",  "etag": "etag",  "name": "sys",  "instance": "instance-id",  "selfLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/databases/sys",  "project": "project-id"}

Note: Thedatabases.list API supports only response payloads thatinclude up to 4 MB of text.

If you run a database list request on alarge instance, then you might receive an error. If this occurs, then to get thelist of databases, we recommend that you run the request directly from theinstance.

psql Client

For reference information, seelist.

When you list the databases using thepsql client, you seeadditional template databases and a system database that are not displayed bythe console. You cannot delete or manage the system database.

\l

Delete a database

To delete a database on the Cloud SQL instance:

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to theCloud SQL Instances page.

    Go to Cloud SQL Instances

  2. To open theOverview page of an instance, click the instance name.
  3. ClickDatabases from the left side menu.
  4. In the database list, find the database you want to delete and click the trash can icon.
  5. In theDelete database dialog, enter the name of the database and then clickDelete.

gcloud

For reference information, seegcloud sql databases delete.

gcloudsqldatabasesdeleteDATABASE_NAME\--instance=INSTANCE_NAME

REST v1

The following request uses thedatabases:delete method to delete the specified database.

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

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • database-name: The name of a database inside the Cloud SQL instance

HTTP method and URL:

DELETE https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/databases/database-name

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 thegcloud CLI with your user account by runninggcloud init orgcloud auth login , or by usingCloud Shell, which automatically logs you into thegcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by runninggcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:

curl -X DELETE \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/databases/database-name"

PowerShell (Windows)

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

Execute the following command:

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

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method DELETE `
    -Headers $headers `
    -Uri "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/databases/database-name" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

{  "kind": "sql#operation",  "targetLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",  "status": "PENDING",  "user": "user@example.com",  "insertTime": "2020-01-21T22:43:37.981Z",  "operationType": "DELETE_DATABASE",  "name": "operation-id",  "targetId": "instance-id",  "selfLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",  "targetProject": "project-id"}

REST v1beta4

The following request uses thedatabases:delete method to delete the specified database.

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

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • database-name: The name of a database inside the Cloud SQL instance

HTTP method and URL:

DELETE https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/databases/database-name

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 thegcloud CLI with your user account by runninggcloud init orgcloud auth login , or by usingCloud Shell, which automatically logs you into thegcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by runninggcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:

curl -X DELETE \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/databases/database-name"

PowerShell (Windows)

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

Execute the following command:

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

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method DELETE `
    -Headers $headers `
    -Uri "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/databases/database-name" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

{  "kind": "sql#operation",  "targetLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",  "status": "PENDING",  "user": "user@example.com",  "insertTime": "2020-01-21T22:43:37.981Z",  "operationType": "DELETE_DATABASE",  "name": "operation-id",  "targetId": "instance-id",  "selfLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",  "targetProject": "project-id"}

psql Client

For reference information, seeDROP DATABASEin the PostgreSQL documentation.

DROPDATABASE[database_name];

What's next

Try it for yourself

If you're new to Google Cloud, create an account to evaluate how Cloud SQL performs in real-world scenarios. New customers also get $300 in free credits to run, test, and deploy workloads.

Try Cloud SQL free

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Last updated 2025-07-16 UTC.