# AlloyDB for PostgreSQL
> [!NOTE]
> Currently in beta (pre-v1.0), and may see breaking changes until the first stable release (v1.0).
This repository packages [MCP Toolbox](https://github.com/googleapis/mcp-toolbox)'s prebuilt `alloydb-postgres` server as a plugin/extension to interact with [AlloyDB for PostgreSQL](https://cloud.google.com/alloydb) instances. It can be used with various AI agents, including [Antigravity](https://antigravity.google/), [Claude Code](https://claude.com/product/claude-code) and [Codex](https://developers.openai.com/codex), to manage your databases, execute queries, explore schemas, and troubleshoot issues using natural language prompts.
> [!IMPORTANT]
> **We Want Your Feedback!**
> Please share your thoughts with us by filling out our feedback [form][form].
> Your input is invaluable and helps us improve the project for everyone.
[form]: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfEGmLR46iipyNTgwTmIDJqzkAwDPXxbocpXpUbHXydiN1RTw/viewform?usp=pp_url&entry.157487=alloydb
## Table of Contents
- [Why Use AlloyDB for PostgreSQL?](#why-use-alloydb-for-postgresql)
- [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
- [Getting Started](#getting-started)
- [Configuration](#configuration)
- [Installation & Usage](#installation--usage)
- [Antigravity](#antigravity)
- [Claude Code](#claude-code)
- [Codex](#codex)
- [Installing via a compatible Agent Plugins client](#installing-via-a-compatible-agent-plugins-client)
- [Usage Examples](#usage-examples)
- [Available Tools](#available-tools)
- [Included Skills](#included-skills)
- [Generating Skills Instead](#generating-skills-instead)
- [Additional Agent Skills](#additional-agent-skills)
- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
## Why Use AlloyDB for PostgreSQL?
- **Seamless Workflow:** Integrates seamlessly into your AI agent's environment. No need to constantly switch contexts for common database tasks.
- **Natural Language Queries:** Stop wrestling with complex commands. Explore schemas and query data by describing what you want in plain English.
- **Full Lifecycle Control:** Manage the entire lifecycle of your database, from creating instances to exploring schemas and running queries.
- **Code Generation:** Accelerate development by asking your agent to generate data classes and other code snippets based on your table schemas.
## Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure you have the following:
- One of these AI agents installed
- Antigravity
- [Antigravity CLI](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli) version **v1.6.0** or higher
- [Antigravity 2.0](https://antigravity.google/product/antigravity-2) version **v2.0.0** or higher.
- [Claude Code](https://claude.com/product/claude-code) version **v2.1.94** or higher.
- [Codex](https://developers.openai.com/codex) **v0.117.0** or higher.
- [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) — the MCP server runs via `npx`.
- A Google Cloud project with the **AlloyDB API** enabled.
- Ensure [Application Default Credentials](https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/gcloud) are available in your environment.
- IAM Permissions:
- AlloyDB Client (`roles/alloydb.client`)
- AlloyDB Admin (`roles/alloydb.admin`)
## Getting Started
### Configuration
Please keep these env vars handy during the installation process:
- `ALLOYDB_POSTGRES_PROJECT`: The GCP project ID.
- `ALLOYDB_POSTGRES_REGION`: The region of your AlloyDB instance.
- `ALLOYDB_POSTGRES_CLUSTER`: The ID of your AlloyDB cluster.
- `ALLOYDB_POSTGRES_INSTANCE`: The ID of your AlloyDB instance.
- `ALLOYDB_POSTGRES_DATABASE`: The name of the database to connect to.
- `ALLOYDB_POSTGRES_USER`: (Optional) The database username.
- `ALLOYDB_POSTGRES_PASSWORD`: (Optional) The password for the database user.
- `ALLOYDB_POSTGRES_IP_TYPE`: (Optional) Type of the IP address: `PUBLIC`, `PRIVATE`, or `PSC`. Defaults to `PUBLIC`.
> [!NOTE]
>
> - Ensure [Application Default Credentials](https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/gcloud) are available in your environment.
> - If your AlloyDB instance uses private IPs, you must run your agent in the same Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) network.
### Installation & Usage
To start interacting with your database, install the extension for your preferred AI agent, then launch the agent and use natural language to ask questions or perform tasks.
For the latest version, check the [releases page][releases].
[releases]: https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/alloydb-plugin/releases
<details open>
<summary id="antigravity">Antigravity</summary>
You can use either of these two agents for Antigravity:
- [Antigravity CLI](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli) version **v1.6.0** or higher
- [Antigravity 2.0](https://antigravity.google/product/antigravity-2) version **v2.0.0** or higher.
<blockquote>
💡 <strong>Tip — Migrating from Gemini CLI?</strong><br>
If you previously installed this extension with <code>gemini extensions install</code>, you can convert it to an Antigravity plugin instead of reinstalling from scratch:
<ul>
<li><strong>On first launch of Antigravity CLI</strong>, accept the Migration Options prompt to automatically convert your installed Gemini CLI extensions to Antigravity plugins.</li>
<li><strong>Or, from your terminal</strong>, run:
<pre><code class="language-bash">agy plugin import gemini</code></pre>
</li>
</ul>
See <a href="https://antigravity.google/docs/gcli-migration">Migrating from Gemini CLI</a> for details on plugins, context files (<code>GEMINI.md</code> / <code>AGENTS.md</code>), and MCP server config differences.
</blockquote>
#### Antigravity 2.0 (IDE)
**1. Install the plugin:**
Install the plugin directly from the remote GitHub repository:
```bash
agy plugin install https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/alloydb-plugin
```
**2. Set env vars:**
Set your environment vars as described in the [configuration section](#configuration).
_(Tip: You can verify the MCP server is active by running the `/mcp` command in your active session.)_
#### Antigravity CLI
You can install plugins directly from a remote GitHub repository.
**1. Install the plugin:**
```bash
agy plugin install https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/alloydb-plugin
```
**2. Set env vars:**
Set your environment vars as described in the [configuration section](#configuration).
</details>
<details>
<summary id="claude-code">Claude Code</summary>
**1. Set env vars:**
In your terminal, set your environment vars as described in the [configuration section](#configuration).
**2. Start the agent:**
```bash
claude
```
**3. Install the plugin:**
```bash
/plugin install alloydb@claude-plugins-official
```
_(Tip: Run `/plugin list` inside Claude Code to verify the plugin is active, or `/reload-plugins` if you just installed it.)
</details>
<details>
<summary id="codex">Codex</summary>
**1. Install marketplace:**
```bash
codex plugin marketplace add GoogleCloudPlatform/data-cloud-plugins
```
**2. Install the plugin:**
```bash
codex plugin add alloydb@data-cloud-plugins
```
**3. Set env vars:**
Enter your environment vars as described in the [configuration section](#configuration).
**4. (Optional) Update the marketplace:**
```sh
codex plugin marketplace upgrade data-cloud-plugins
```
</details>
## Installing via a compatible Agent Plugins client
## Installing via a compatible Agent Plugins client
This repository is a valid [Agent Plugins](https://github.com/agentplugins/agent-plugins-spec) (v1) plugin. Any [Agent Plugins–compatible client](https://agent-plugins.org/compatible-clients) can install it directly using its own built-in plugin command — no extra tooling required — by pointing at this repository:
```
https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/alloydb-plugin
```
Beyond harnesses covered by the native install above, compatible clients include VS Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and Kiro. See your agent's documentation for its exact install command.
**Set env vars:**
Set your environment vars as described in the [configuration section](#configuration).
## Usage Examples
Interact with AlloyDB using natural language right from your agent:
- **Provision Infrastructure:**
- "Create a new AlloyDB cluster named 'e-commerce-prod' in project 'my-gcp-project'."
- "Add a read-only instance to my 'e-commerce-prod' cluster."
- **Explore Schemas and Data:**
- "Show me all tables in the 'orders' database."
- "What are the columns in the 'products' table?"
- "How many orders were placed in the last 30 days?"
- **Generate Code:**
- "Generate a Python dataclass to represent the 'customers' table."
## Available Tools
The tools come from MCP Toolbox's prebuilt `alloydb-postgres` server, grouped into toolsets:
- **admin** - Use these tools when you need to provision new AlloyDB clusters and instances, monitor their creation status, and retrieve high-level configuration or health data for the environment.
- **access-management** - Use these tools when you need to manage database users, inspect permissions and roles, and verify global configuration parameters related to security and access control.
- **data** - Use these tools when you need to explore the database schema, identify objects like views and triggers, and execute custom SQL queries to interact with your data.
- **monitor** - Use these tools when you need to troubleshoot slow performance, analyze query execution plans, identify resource-heavy processes, and monitor system-level PromQL metrics.
- **health** - Use these tools when you need to optimize storage, identify index issues, analyze table statistics, or manage autovacuum and tablespace configurations to maintain peak database health.
- **optimize** - Use these tools when you need to discover and manage PostgreSQL extensions or fine-tune engine-level settings such as memory allocation and server configuration parameters.
- **replication** - Use these tools when you need to monitor replication health, manage sync states between nodes, and ensure the high availability and data distribution of your AlloyDB cluster.
For the full, up-to-date list, see the [`alloydb-postgres` prebuilt config](https://github.com/googleapis/mcp-toolbox/blob/main/internal/prebuiltconfigs/tools/alloydb-postgres.yaml)
in the MCP Toolbox repository.
## Included Skills
This plugin ships the following agent skill in [`skills/`](./skills):
- **[alloydb-agent-mode-quickstart](./skills/alloydb-agent-mode-quickstart/SKILL.md)** - Provision an AlloyDB agent pool over Private Service Connect, then deploy a data agent or a multi-agent swarm on Vertex AI Agent Engine that queries the pool over MCP, and optionally publish it to Gemini Enterprise.
For example, prompt your agent:
```text
Use the alloydb-agent-mode-quickstart skill to create a new AlloyDB cluster with PostgreSQL for agents and an agent pool in my project PROJECT_ID in region REGION_NAME.
```
## Generating Skills Instead
The tool-backed skills this plugin used to ship were generated from the same prebuilt
toolsets. If your agent lacks deferred tool loading, or you prefer skills, regenerate
them with the script in this repository:
```bash
VERSION=<toolbox version> ./.github/scripts/generate_skills.sh
```
Use the toolbox version pinned in [`mcp.json`](./mcp.json). A single toolset, without
the script:
```bash
npx @toolbox-sdk/server@<toolbox version> --prebuilt alloydb-postgres skills-generate \
--name "<skill name>" \
--toolset "<toolset>" \
--description "<what it is for>"
```
The generated scripts call the toolbox through `npx`, so no binary download is needed.
See [Generate Agent Skills](https://github.com/googleapis/mcp-toolbox#generate-agent-skills)
in the MCP Toolbox repository.
## Additional Agent Skills
Find additional skills to support your entire software development lifecycle at [github.com/gemini-cli-extensions](https://github.com/gemini-cli-extensions), including:
* [Generic PostgreSQL extension](https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/postgres-plugin)
* [AlloyDB Observability extension](https://github.com/gemini-cli-extensions/alloydb-observability)
## Troubleshooting
Use the debug mode of your agent (e.g., `gemini --debug`) to enable debugging.
Common issues:
- "failed to find default credentials: google: could not find default credentials.": Ensure [Application Default Credentials](https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/gcloud) are available in your environment. See [Set up Application Default Credentials](https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/external/set-up-adc) for more information.
- "✖ Error during discovery for server: MCP error -32000: Connection closed": The database connection has not been established. Ensure your configuration is set via environment variables.
- "✖ MCP ERROR: Error: spawn npx ENOENT": Node.js is not installed, or `npx` is not on your `PATH`. Install Node.js, which provides `npx`.
- "cannot execute binary file": The Toolbox binary did not download correctly. Ensure the correct binary for your OS/Architecture has been downloaded. See [Installing the server](https://mcp-toolbox.dev/documentation/introduction/#install-toolbox) for more information.