Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL features

This page describes the major features and capabilities of Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL. Cloud SQL is also available for MySQL and SQL Server .

PostgreSQL features by Cloud SQL editions

For more information about the features for each edition of Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL, see Introduction to Cloud SQL editions .

PostgreSQL feature support for Cloud SQL

  • Fully managed PostgreSQL databases in the cloud.
  • Instances available in the Americas, EU, Asia, and Australia. See all locations where you can create Cloud SQL instances .
  • Supports migration from source databases to Cloud SQL destination databases using Database Migration Service (DMS) .
  • Customer data encrypted on Google's internal networks and in database tables, temporary files, and backups.
  • Support for secure external connections with the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy or with the SSL/TLS protocol.
  • Data replication between multiple zones with automatic failover.
  • Import and export databases using SQL dump files.
  • Support for PostgreSQL client-server protocol and standard PostgreSQL connectors.
  • Automated backups, on-demand backups, and point-in-time recovery.
  • Instance cloning.
  • Integration with Google Cloud Observability logging and monitoring.
  • Support for multiple PostgreSQL versions .
  • Logical replication

Supported PostgreSQL extensions for Cloud SQL

Cloud SQL supports many PostgreSQL extensions. For a complete list of these extensions, see Configure PostgreSQL extensions .

Supported PostgreSQL procedural languages for Cloud SQL

Cloud SQL supports the PL/pgSQL SQL procedural language .

Supported languages for Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL

You can use Cloud SQL with App Engine applications running in the flexible environment that are written in:

  • C#
  • Go
  • Java
  • Node.js
  • PHP
  • Python
  • Ruby

You can also use Cloud SQL with external applications using the standard PostgreSQL client-server protocol.

How you can connect to Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL instances

You can connect to a Cloud SQL instance from:

  • A psql client. Learn more .
  • Third-party tools that use the standard PostgreSQL client-server protocol.
  • External applications. Learn more .
  • App Engine applications. Learn more .
  • Applications running on Compute Engine. Learn more .
  • Applications running on Google Kubernetes Engine. Learn more .
  • Cloud Run functions. Learn more .

Connecting to Cloud SQL with Private Google access isn't supported.

Differences between standard PostgreSQL and Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL

In general, the PostgreSQL functionality provided by a Cloud SQL instance is the same as the functionality provided by a locally-hosted PostgreSQL instance. However, there are a few differences between a standard PostgreSQL instance and a Cloud SQL instance.

Unsupported features for Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL

  • Any feature that requires SUPERUSER privileges with the following exceptions:

  • The WITHOUT FUNCTION cast method.

  • Custom background workers.

  • The psql client in Cloud Shell doesn't support operations that require a reconnection, such as connecting to a different database using the \c command.

  • Low-Level Virtual Machine (LLVM) Just-in-Time (JIT) compilation.

Notable differences between PostgreSQL and Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL

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