Start, stop, and restart instances

MySQL  |  PostgreSQL  |  SQL Server

This page describes how to start an instance, stop an instance, and restart aninstance that is running.

Activation policy

When you start, stop, or restart an instance, you need to set an activationpolicy to use. The activation policy indicates if the instance is activated toaccept connection requests.

Activation policy options are:

  • ALWAYS - The instance is always up and running.
  • NEVER- The instance is not restarted.
Set your activation policy toALWAYS. If youare not using your instance, you can set its activation policy toNEVER to avoid instance charges.

Note:NEVER is not supported for read replica instances.

Start an instance

To start a stopped 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. ClickStart.
  4. In theStart database instance? dialog box, clickStart.
    The activation policy of the instance is set toAlways and the instance is started.

gcloud

UseALWAYS for the activation policy:

gcloudsqlinstancespatchINSTANCE_NAME\--activation-policy=ALWAYS

REST v1

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

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • activation-policy: The activation policy isALWAYS orNEVER

HTTP method and URL:

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

Request JSON body:

{  "settings": {    "activationPolicy": "activation-policy"  }}

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 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 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 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": "user@example.com",  "insertTime": "2020-01-20T21:30:35.667Z",  "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

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

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • activation-policy: The activation policy isALWAYS orNEVER

HTTP method and URL:

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

Request JSON body:

{  "settings": {    "activationPolicy": "activation-policy"  }}

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 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 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 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": "user@example.com",  "insertTime": "2020-01-20T21:30:35.667Z",  "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 see how theunderlying REST API requestis constructed for this task, see theAPIs Explorer on the instances:patch page.

Stop an instance

You can manually stop an instance when needed. When you stop an instance, itremains stopped, and does not respond to application connections, until youstart it again.

Stopping an instance suspends instance charges. The instance data is unaffected,and charges for storage and IP addresses continue to apply.

Note: When an instance is nearly out of storage capacity, it's stopped toprevent the loss of information. A red circle with an exclamation mark indicatesthis status. When you open the instance, a red banner suggests that youincrease the storage capacityandenable automatic storage increases.Click theEdit instance button on the banner to increase storage capacity.

As an alternative, you can restart the service to reduce storage requirements by deleting any data that you don't require (and also perform any other operations on the instance). After 24 hours, if the instance is still nearly out of storage capacity, it's again stopped with the same message.

Note: You cannotstop a read replica instance.

To stop 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. ClickStop.
  4. In theStop database instance? dialog box, clickStop.

    The activation policy of the instance is set toOff (Never) and the instance is stopped.

gcloud

gcloudsqlinstancespatchINSTANCE_NAME\--activation-policy=NEVER

REST v1

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

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • activation-policy: The activation policy isNEVER

HTTP method and URL:

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

Request JSON body:

{  "settings": {    "activationPolicy": "activation-policy"  }}

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 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 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 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": "user@example.com",  "insertTime": "2020-01-20T21:30:35.667Z",  "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

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

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • activation-policy: The activation policy isNEVER

HTTP method and URL:

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

Request JSON body:

{  "settings": {    "activationPolicy": "activation-policy"  }}

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 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 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 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": "user@example.com",  "insertTime": "2020-01-20T21:30:35.667Z",  "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 see how theunderlying REST API requestis constructed for this task, see theAPIs Explorer on the instances:patch page.

Restart an instance

Restarting an instance drains the connections from the instance and stops it.Next, the instance restarts and is ready to accept new connections.

Restarting an instance doesn't change the public or private IP addresses of theinstance.

Note: Restarting a running instance can resolve some problems with the instance. However, restarting an instance causes a disruption in service, and empties the instance cache, which results in a temporary reduction in performance. If you have restarted your instance recently, check the instance logs to ensure it has fully recovered before restarting it again.

After you restart the instance, the process and buffer caches are stopped and then refreshed.

To restart 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. ClickRestart.
  4. In theRestart database instance? dialog box, clickRestart.

gcloud

Restart the instance:

gcloudsqlinstancesrestartINSTANCE_NAME

REST v1

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

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • activation-policy: The activation policy isALWAYS orNEVER

HTTP method and URL:

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

Request JSON body:

{  "settings": {    "activationPolicy": "activation-policy"  }}

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/restart"

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/restart" | 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": "user@example.com",  "insertTime": "2020-01-20T21:30:35.667Z",  "operationType": "RESTART",  "name": "operation-id",  "targetId": "instance-id",  "selfLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",  "targetProject": "project-id"}

REST v1beta4

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

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID
  • activation-policy: The activation policy isALWAYS orNEVER

HTTP method and URL:

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

Request JSON body:

{  "settings": {    "activationPolicy": "activation-policy"  }}

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/restart"

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/restart" | 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": "user@example.com",  "insertTime": "2020-01-20T21:30:35.667Z",  "operationType": "RESTART",  "name": "operation-id",  "targetId": "instance-id",  "selfLink": "https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",  "targetProject": "project-id"}
To see how theunderlying REST API requestis constructed for this task, see theAPIs Explorer on the instances:restart page.

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Last updated 2025-07-14 UTC.