---
title: "AlloyDB for PostgreSQL Source"
linkTitle: "Source"
type: docs
weight: 1
description: >
  AlloyDB for PostgreSQL is a fully-managed, PostgreSQL-compatible database for
  demanding transactional workloads.
no_list: true
---

## About

[AlloyDB for PostgreSQL][alloydb-docs] is a fully-managed, PostgreSQL-compatible
database for demanding transactional workloads. It provides enterprise-grade
performance and availability while maintaining 100% compatibility with
open-source PostgreSQL.

If you are new to AlloyDB for PostgreSQL, you can [create a free trial
cluster][alloydb-free-trial].

[alloydb-docs]: https://cloud.google.com/alloydb/docs
[alloydb-free-trial]: https://cloud.google.com/alloydb/docs/create-free-trial-cluster

## Available Tools

{{< list-tools dirs="/integrations/postgres/tools" >}}

### Pre-built Configurations

- [AlloyDB using MCP](../../documentation/connect-to/ides/alloydb_pg_mcp.md)
Connect your IDE to AlloyDB using Toolbox.

- [AlloyDB Admin API using MCP](../../documentation/connect-to/ides/alloydb_pg_admin_mcp.md)
Create your AlloyDB database with MCP Toolbox.

## Requirements

### IAM Permissions

By default, AlloyDB for PostgreSQL source uses the [AlloyDB Go
Connector][alloydb-go-conn] to authorize and establish mTLS connections to your
AlloyDB instance. The Go connector uses your [Application Default Credentials
(ADC)][adc] to authorize your connection to AlloyDB.

In addition to [setting the ADC for your server][set-adc], you need to ensure
the IAM identity has been given the following IAM roles (or corresponding
permissions):

- `roles/alloydb.client`
- `roles/serviceusage.serviceUsageConsumer`

[alloydb-go-conn]: https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/alloydb-go-connector
[adc]: https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication#adc
[set-adc]: https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/provide-credentials-adc

### Networking

AlloyDB supports connecting over both from external networks via the internet
([public IP][public-ip]), and internal networks ([private IP][private-ip]).
For more information on choosing between the two options, see the AlloyDB page
[Connection overview][conn-overview].

You can configure the `ipType` parameter in your source configuration to
`public` or `private` to match your cluster's configuration. Regardless of which
you choose, all connections use IAM-based authorization and are encrypted with
mTLS.

[private-ip]: https://cloud.google.com/alloydb/docs/private-ip
[public-ip]: https://cloud.google.com/alloydb/docs/connect-public-ip
[conn-overview]: https://cloud.google.com/alloydb/docs/connection-overview

### Authentication

This source supports both password-based authentication and IAM
authentication (using your [Application Default Credentials][adc]).

#### Standard Authentication

To connect using user/password, [create
a PostgreSQL user][alloydb-users] and input your credentials in the `user` and
`password` fields.

```yaml
user: ${USER_NAME}
password: ${PASSWORD}
```

#### IAM Authentication

To connect using IAM authentication:

1. Prepare your database instance and user following this [guide][iam-guide].
2. You could choose one of the two ways to log in:
    - Specify your IAM email as the `user`.
    - Leave your `user` field blank. Toolbox will fetch the [ADC][adc]
      automatically and log in using the email associated with it.
3. Leave the `password` field blank.

[iam-guide]: https://cloud.google.com/alloydb/docs/database-users/manage-iam-auth
[alloydb-users]: https://cloud.google.com/alloydb/docs/database-users/about

## Example

```yaml
kind: source
name: my-alloydb-pg-source
type: alloydb-postgres
project: my-project-id
region: us-central1
cluster: my-cluster
instance: my-instance
database: my_db
user: ${USER_NAME}
password: ${PASSWORD}
# ipType: "public"
```

{{< notice tip >}}
Use environment variable replacement with the format ${ENV_NAME}
instead of hardcoding your secrets into the configuration file.
{{< /notice >}}

### Managed Connection Pooling

Toolbox automatically supports [Managed Connection Pooling][alloydb-mcp]. If your AlloyDB instance has Managed Connection Pooling enabled, the connection will immediately benefit from increased throughput and reduced latency.

The interface is identical, so there's no additional configuration required on the client. For more information on configuring your instance, see the [AlloyDB Managed Connection Pooling documentation][alloydb-mcp-docs].

[alloydb-mcp]: https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/databases/alloydb-managed-connection-pooling
[alloydb-mcp-docs]: https://cloud.google.com/alloydb/docs/configure-managed-connection-pooling

## Reference

| **field** | **type** | **required** | **description**                                                                                                          |
|-----------|:--------:|:------------:|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| type      |  string  |     true     | Must be "alloydb-postgres".                                                                                              |
| project   |  string  |     true     | Id of the GCP project that the cluster was created in (e.g. "my-project-id").                                            |
| region    |  string  |     true     | Name of the GCP region that the cluster was created in (e.g. "us-central1").                                             |
| cluster   |  string  |     true     | Name of the AlloyDB cluster (e.g. "my-cluster").                                                                         |
| instance  |  string  |     true     | Name of the AlloyDB instance within the cluster (e.g. "my-instance").                                                    |
| database  |  string  |     true     | Name of the Postgres database to connect to (e.g. "my_db").                                                              |
| user      |  string  |    false     | Name of the Postgres user to connect as (e.g. "my-pg-user"). Defaults to IAM auth using [ADC][adc] email if unspecified. |
| password  |  string  |    false     | Password of the Postgres user (e.g. "my-password"). Defaults to attempting IAM authentication if unspecified.            |
| ipType    |  string  |    false     | IP Type of the AlloyDB instance; must be one of `public` or `private`. Default: `public`.                                |
| sqlCommenter | boolean |  false     | Overrides the global `--sql-commenter` flag for this source. When set, it takes priority; when omitted, the global flag applies. |