Hasura on Google Cloud Run

Hasura is an open-source, Apache 2.0-licensed engine that gives you an instant, realtime GraphQL (and REST) API over a PostgreSQL database, with fine-grained role-based authorization, event triggers, and a built-in admin console. This module deploys the Hasura GraphQL Engine (hasura/graphql-engine) on Cloud Run v2 on top of the App_CloudRun foundation, which provisions and manages the shared Google Cloud infrastructure.

This guide focuses on the cloud services Hasura uses and how to explore and operate them from the Google Cloud Console and the command line. For the mechanics common to every Cloud Run application — service identity, ingress and load balancing, scaling and concurrency, CI/CD, Cloud Armor, IAP, Binary Authorization, VPC Service Controls, backups, and the deployment lifecycle — refer to the App_CloudRun foundation guide rather than repeating them here.

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1. Overview

Hasura runs as a single Haskell container on Cloud Run v2. The deployment wires together a focused set of Google Cloud services:

Capability	Google Cloud service	Notes
Compute	Cloud Run v2	Haskell service, 1 vCPU / 512 MiB by default, serverless autoscaling; scale-to-zero supported
Database	Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15	Required — Hasura's metadata catalog and default data source both live in Postgres
Object storage	None	Hasura is stateless; no bucket is provisioned
Secrets	Secret Manager	Auto-generated HASURA_GRAPHQL_ADMIN_SECRET; database password
Ingress	Cloud Run URL / Cloud Load Balancing	Default run.app URL; optional external HTTPS load balancer + custom domain

Sensible defaults worth knowing up front:

• PostgreSQL 15 is mandatory. The database engine is fixed by the shared application layer; Hasura keeps its own metadata catalog in Postgres, so no other engine is supported.
• The admin secret gates everything sensitive. HASURA_GRAPHQL_ADMIN_SECRET is generated automatically and stored in Secret Manager. It protects the /console UI and the /v1/graphql and /v1/metadata APIs. /healthz stays public for health probes.
• Two connection URLs are assembled in-container. The custom image entrypoint builds HASURA_GRAPHQL_DATABASE_URL (default data source) and HASURA_GRAPHQL_METADATA_DATABASE_URL (Hasura's metadata store) from the injected DB_* variables at runtime — Cloud Run does not interpolate $(VAR) in env values, so this cannot be done at plan time.
• Scale-to-zero is enabled by default (min_instance_count = 0, cpu_always_allocated = false). Because all state is external in Postgres, a cold-started instance serves correctly; cold starts add a few seconds of latency to the first request after idle. Set min_instance_count = 1 for latency-sensitive APIs.
• Public ingress by default. ingress_settings = "all" so clients and the console can reach the service. Enabling IAP protects the whole service — including the API — behind Google identity.
• The console ships enabled. HASURA_GRAPHQL_ENABLE_CONSOLE = "true" serves the admin console at /console. Disable it in production if you manage metadata purely via CI (hasura CLI / migrations).
• No storage, no Redis, no NFS. storage_buckets = [], enable_redis = false, enable_nfs = false — everything lives in PostgreSQL.

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2. Google Cloud Services & How to Explore Them

All commands assume PROJECT and REGION are set. Service and resource names are reported in the deployment Outputs.

A. Cloud Run — the Hasura service

Hasura runs as a Cloud Run v2 service that autoscales by request load between the minimum and maximum instance counts. Each deployment creates an immutable revision; traffic can be split across revisions for safe rollouts.

• Console: Cloud Run → select the service for revisions, traffic, logs, and metrics.
• CLI:

  gcloud run services list --project "$PROJECT" --region "$REGION"
  gcloud run services describe <service-name> --project "$PROJECT" --region "$REGION"
  gcloud run revisions list --service <service-name> --project "$PROJECT" --region "$REGION"

See App_CloudRun for scaling, concurrency, execution environment, and traffic splitting.

B. Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15

Hasura stores its metadata catalog (tracked tables, relationships, permissions, event triggers) and your application data in a managed Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15 instance. The service connects privately through the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy over a Unix socket; no public IP is exposed. On first deploy an initialization Job creates the application database and user; Hasura installs its metadata schema on first boot.

• Console: SQL → select the instance for connections, backups, flags, metrics.
• CLI:

  gcloud sql instances list --project "$PROJECT"
  gcloud sql instances describe <instance-name> --project "$PROJECT"
  gcloud sql connect <instance-name> --user=<db-user> --database=<db-name> --project "$PROJECT"

The instance name, database, user, and password secret are in the Outputs. See App_CloudRun for the connection model, backups, and password rotation.

C. Secret Manager

One cryptographic secret is generated automatically and stored in Secret Manager: HASURA_GRAPHQL_ADMIN_SECRET (grants full access to the GraphQL/metadata APIs and the console). The database password is managed separately by the foundation.

• Console: Security → Secret Manager.
• CLI:

  gcloud secrets list --project "$PROJECT"
  # The admin secret — use it as the x-hasura-admin-secret header:
  gcloud secrets versions access latest --secret=<admin-secret-name> --project "$PROJECT"

See App_CloudRun for injection and rotation details.

D. Networking & ingress

The service is reachable at its run.app URL by default. An external HTTPS load balancer with a custom domain, Cloud CDN, and Cloud Armor can be layered on; ingress settings and VPC egress control connectivity.

• Console: Cloud Run (service URL); Network services → Load balancing.
• CLI:

  gcloud run services describe <service-name> --region "$REGION" --format='value(status.url)'
  gcloud compute addresses list --project "$PROJECT"

See App_CloudRun.

E. Cloud Logging & Monitoring

Container logs flow to Cloud Logging; Cloud Run and Cloud SQL metrics flow to Cloud Monitoring, with an optional uptime check (targeting /healthz) and alert policies.

• Console: Logging → Logs Explorer; Monitoring → Dashboards / Alerting.
• CLI:

  gcloud run services logs read <service-name> --project "$PROJECT" --region "$REGION" --limit 50

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3. Hasura Application Behaviour

• First-deploy database setup. An initialization Job runs create-db-and-user.sh using postgres:15-alpine. It connects through the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy and idempotently creates the application database and user and grants privileges. The job is safe to re-run.
• Metadata catalog on start. Hasura installs and migrates its own metadata catalog schema in Postgres on startup, so upgrading the image version applies catalog changes without a separate migration step. Your tracked-table metadata persists in the database across revisions.
• Two connection URLs, assembled in-container. The entrypoint builds both HASURA_GRAPHQL_DATABASE_URL and HASURA_GRAPHQL_METADATA_DATABASE_URL from the injected DB_* variables, URL-encoding the password and branching on DB_HOST (socket dir → libpq socket form; loopback → plain; private IP → sslmode=require).
• Admin secret is the security boundary. Send it as the x-hasura-admin-secret header. Retrieve it:

  gcloud secrets versions access latest --secret=<admin-secret-name> --project "$PROJECT"
  # Then, e.g.:
  curl -s "$SERVICE_URL/v1/graphql" \
    -H "x-hasura-admin-secret: <secret>" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{"query":"{ __schema { queryType { name } } }"}'

• Health path. Startup and liveness probes target /healthz — the public, unauthenticated endpoint that returns 200 once the engine is up and connected to Postgres. Do not repoint probes at /v1/graphql or /console (both 401 without the admin secret).
• Console access. Open $SERVICE_URL/console in a browser and paste the admin secret when prompted to track tables, define permissions, and run GraphQL queries.
• Inspect job execution:

  gcloud run jobs list --project "$PROJECT" --region "$REGION"
  gcloud run jobs executions list --job <job-name> --project "$PROJECT" --region "$REGION"

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4. Configuration Variables

Variables are grouped exactly as they appear on the deployment platform. Only settings specific to or notable for Hasura are listed; every other input is inherited from App_CloudRun with its standard behaviour.

Group 1 — Project & Identity

Variable	Default	Description
project_id	(required)	Target Google Cloud project.
region	us-central1	Region for the service and regional resources.

Group 2 — Deployment Environment

Variable	Default	Description
tenant_deployment_id	demo	Short suffix that makes resource names unique per environment.
support_users	[]	Emails granted project access and monitoring alerts.
resource_labels	{}	Labels applied to all resources.

Group 3 — Application Identity

Variable	Default	Description
application_name	hasura	Base name for resources. Do not change after first deploy.
application_display_name	Hasura	Human-readable name shown in the Console.
application_description	Hasura GraphQL Engine on Cloud Run	Service description.
application_version	v2.36.0	Hasura image tag; latest is remapped to a pinned v2.x tag at build time.
application_database_name	hasura	PostgreSQL database name. Immutable after first deploy.
application_database_user	hasura	Application database user. Password auto-generated in Secret Manager.

Group 4 — Runtime & Scaling

Variable	Default	Description
deploy_application	true	Set false to provision infrastructure only.
container_image_source	custom	custom builds a wrapper image that assembles the DSNs; prebuilt requires manual URL config.
cpu_limit	1000m	CPU per instance; 1 vCPU suits most workloads.
memory_limit	512Mi	Memory per instance; raise for high query concurrency.
min_instance_count	0	0 enables scale-to-zero (safe — all state is in Postgres).
max_instance_count	3	Autoscaling upper bound; Hasura scales horizontally.
container_port	8080	Hasura binds HASURA_GRAPHQL_SERVER_PORT = 8080.
cpu_always_allocated	false	Request-based billing — Hasura does no background work between requests.
execution_environment	gen2	Gen2 recommended.
timeout_seconds	300	Maximum request duration (raise for long subscriptions/streaming).
enable_cloudsql_volume	true	Cloud SQL Auth Proxy socket for the Postgres connection.
enable_image_mirroring	true	Mirror the Hasura image into Artifact Registry.
traffic_split	[]	Split traffic across revisions for staged rollouts.
max_revisions_to_retain	7	How many old revisions to keep.

Group 5 — Access & Ingress Control

Variable	Default	Description
ingress_settings	all	all allows external clients and the console to reach the service.
vpc_egress_setting	PRIVATE_RANGES_ONLY	Route only RFC 1918 traffic via VPC.
enable_iap	false	Require Google sign-in in front of the whole service (API included).
iap_authorized_users / iap_authorized_groups	[]	Who may access through IAP.

Group 6 — Environment Variables & Secrets

Variable	Default	Description
environment_variables	{}	Extra HASURA_GRAPHQL_* settings (e.g. HASURA_GRAPHQL_DEV_MODE, HASURA_GRAPHQL_CORS_DOMAIN). Do not set the two *_DATABASE_URL values or the admin secret here — they are managed automatically.
secret_environment_variables	{}	Map of env var → Secret Manager secret name.
secret_propagation_delay	30	Seconds to wait after secret creation before proceeding.
secret_rotation_period	2592000s	Secret Manager rotation notification frequency.

Group 7 — Backup & Restore

Variable	Default	Description
backup_schedule	0 2 * * *	Automated backup cron (UTC).
backup_retention_days	7	Retention; raise for production/compliance.
enable_backup_import / backup_source / backup_file / backup_format	restore options	Restore from a backup on deploy.

Group 8 — CI/CD & Binary Authorization

Standard App_CloudRun Cloud Build / Cloud Deploy integration — see App_CloudRun. Key inputs: enable_cicd_trigger, github_repository_url, github_token, enable_cloud_deploy, enable_binary_authorization.

Group 9 — Custom SQL Scripts

enable_custom_sql_scripts, custom_sql_scripts_bucket, custom_sql_scripts_path, custom_sql_scripts_use_root — run SQL from a GCS bucket after provisioning. See App_CloudRun.

Group 10 — Load Balancer, CDN & Image Retention

Variable	Default	Description
enable_cloud_armor	false	Provision Global HTTPS LB + Cloud Armor WAF.
admin_ip_ranges	[]	CIDR ranges exempted from WAF rules.
application_domains	[]	Custom domain names for the HTTPS LB.
enable_cdn	false	Enable Cloud CDN on the HTTPS LB backend.
max_images_to_retain / delete_untagged_images / image_retention_days	(set)	Artifact Registry cleanup policy.

Group 11 — Storage & Filesystem

Variable	Default	Description
create_cloud_storage	true	Create GCS buckets defined in storage_buckets.
storage_buckets	[]	Empty — Hasura requires no file storage.
enable_nfs	false	Not required for Hasura.
gcs_volumes	[]	GCS Fuse volume mounts (requires gen2).
manage_storage_kms_iam / enable_artifact_registry_cmek	false	CMEK options.

Group 12 — Database Backend

Variable	Default	Description
database_type	POSTGRES_15	Fixed — Hasura requires PostgreSQL.
database_password_length	32	Generated password length (16–64).
enable_auto_password_rotation / rotation_propagation_delay_sec	off	DB password rotation.
enable_postgres_extensions / postgres_extensions	off / []	Optional Postgres extensions.

Group 13 — Jobs & Scheduled Tasks

Variable	Default	Description
initialization_jobs	[]	Leave empty to use the built-in db-init job.
cron_jobs	[]	Recurring Cloud Scheduler + Cloud Run Jobs.
additional_services	[]	Extra Cloud Run services deployed alongside Hasura.

Group 14 — Observability & Health

Variable	Default	Description
startup_probe	HTTP /healthz	Application-level startup probe.
liveness_probe	HTTP /healthz	Application-level liveness probe.
startup_probe_config	HTTP /healthz	Cloud Run startup probe (foundation-level).
health_check_config	HTTP /healthz	Cloud Run liveness probe (foundation-level).
uptime_check_config	{ enabled=false, path="/healthz" }	Cloud Monitoring uptime check. Disabled by default; enable for production monitoring.
alert_policies	[]	Metric alert policies.

Group 16 — Redis

Variable	Default	Description
enable_redis	false	Hasura does not require Redis.
redis_host	""	Only used when enable_redis = true.
redis_port	6379	Redis port.

Group 22 — VPC Service Controls & Audit Logging

Variable	Default	Description
enable_vpc_sc	false	Enforce a VPC-SC perimeter (requires organization_id for folder-nested projects).
vpc_cidr_ranges / vpc_sc_dry_run	(set)	Access level CIDRs / dry-run mode.
enable_audit_logging	false	Detailed Cloud Audit Logs.

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5. Outputs

Returned on a successful deployment — the quickest way to locate and explore the running resources.

Output	Description
service_name	Cloud Run service name.
service_url	Default run.app URL of the service.
service_location	Region the service runs in.
stage_services	Stage-specific service URLs (Cloud Deploy).
load_balancer_ip / load_balancer_url	External HTTPS load balancer IP / URL (when enabled).
database_instance_name	Cloud SQL instance name.
database_name / database_user	Application database name / user.
database_password_secret	Secret Manager secret holding the DB password.
database_host / database_port	DB endpoint / port.
storage_buckets	Created Cloud Storage buckets (empty for Hasura).
network_name / network_exists / regions	VPC network, presence, regions.
container_image / container_registry	Deployed image and Artifact Registry repo.
monitoring_enabled / monitoring_notification_channels / uptime_check_names	Monitoring status, channels, uptime checks.
initialization_jobs	Names of the setup jobs.
deployment_id / tenant_id / resource_prefix	Naming identifiers.
project_id / project_number	Project identifiers.
cicd_enabled / github_repository_url / cicd_configuration	CI/CD status and details.
artifact_registry_repository / cloudbuild_trigger_name / cloudbuild_trigger_id	Registry and build trigger.
vpc_sc_enabled / vpc_sc_perimeter_name / vpc_sc_dry_run_mode	VPC-SC status.
audit_logging_enabled / artifact_registry_cmek_enabled	Audit logging and CMEK status.

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6. Configuration Pitfalls & Sensible Defaults

Risk: Critical (data loss / outage / security) — High (service degraded) — Medium (cost or partial degradation) — Low (minor).

Inherited plan-time validation. This module passes its configuration through the App_CloudRun foundation engine, which validates values and combinations at plan time — a read replica without its primary, IAP with no authorized identities, a gen1 runtime with NFS/GCS mounts, a database_type that does not match an enabled extension, an out-of-range redis_port/backup_retention_days. Invalid configuration fails the plan with a clear, named error before any resource is created, so most mistakes below are caught up front rather than at apply or runtime.

Setting	Sensible value	Risk	Consequence if wrong
HASURA_GRAPHQL_ADMIN_SECRET (auto-generated)	Keep in Secret Manager; rotate deliberately	Critical	It is the only guard on the GraphQL/metadata APIs and console — exposing it grants full read/write to every tracked table.
application_database_name / application_database_user	Set once	Critical	Immutable after first deploy; renaming recreates the DB/user and orphans the metadata catalog and all data.
enable_backup_import	false unless restoring	Critical	Enabling without a valid backup_file fails the import job.
startup_probe / liveness_probe path	/healthz	High	Pointing a probe at /v1/graphql or /console returns 401 — the revision never becomes Ready even though the engine booted.
HASURA_GRAPHQL_ENABLE_CONSOLE	false in production	High	Leaving the console on in production widens the attack surface; manage metadata via the hasura CLI/migrations instead.
ingress_settings + enable_iap	all; IAP only if the API can be identity-gated	High	IAP blocks all unauthenticated requests including programmatic API clients that authenticate with the admin/JWT header, not Google identity.
container_image_source	custom	High	prebuilt skips the entrypoint that assembles the two *_DATABASE_URL values — the engine starts with no database and every request fails.
memory_limit	512Mi+	Medium	Very large metadata or high query concurrency can OOM below 512 MiB; the gen2 environment floors memory at 512 MiB regardless.
min_instance_count	0 (or 1 for latency)	Medium	Scale-to-zero adds a few seconds of cold-start latency to the first request after idle; set 1 for latency-sensitive APIs.
backup_retention_days	7 (raise for prod)	Medium	Too short for compliance retention.
enable_cloud_armor	enable for production	Medium	The API and console are publicly reachable without WAF protection.

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For the foundation behaviour referenced throughout — service identity, scaling and concurrency, ingress and load balancing, CI/CD, Cloud Armor, IAP, Binary Authorization, VPC-SC, backups, and image mirroring — see App_CloudRun. Hasura-specific application configuration shared with the GKE variant is described in Hasura_Common.