NocoDB on GKE Autopilot

NocoDB is an open-source Airtable alternative that transforms any database into a smart spreadsheet with a no-code interface, REST and GraphQL APIs, and built-in automations. This module deploys NocoDB on GKE Autopilot on top of the App_GKE foundation, which provisions and manages the shared Google Cloud and Kubernetes infrastructure.

This guide focuses on the cloud services NocoDB uses and how to explore and operate them from the Google Cloud Console and the command line. For the mechanics that are common to every GKE application — Workload Identity, ingress, autoscaling, CI/CD, Cloud Armor, IAP, Binary Authorization, VPC Service Controls, backups, and the deployment lifecycle — refer to the App_GKE foundation guide rather than repeating them here.

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1. Overview

NocoDB runs as a Node.js workload. The deployment wires together a focused set of Google Cloud services:

Capability	Google Cloud service	Notes
Compute	GKE Autopilot	Node.js pods, 1 vCPU / 1 GiB by default, horizontally autoscaled
Database	Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15	Default engine; MySQL 8.0 also supported
Object storage	Cloud Storage	A dedicated uploads bucket for file attachments
Cache (optional)	Redis	Disabled by default; required when running multiple replicas
Secrets	Secret Manager	Auto-generated JWT secret (NC_AUTH_JWT_SECRET) and database password
Ingress	Cloud Load Balancing	External LoadBalancer, optional custom domain + managed certificate

Sensible defaults worth knowing up front:

• PostgreSQL 15 is the default. MySQL 8.0 is also supported; set database_type before first deploy.
• NocoDB connects via private IP TCP, not the Auth Proxy socket. The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy sidecar is enabled by default in the GKE variant (enable_cloudsql_volume = true), but NocoDB's internal URL constructor requires a TCP host — the private IP is used, not the Unix socket path.
• NFS is disabled by default. NocoDB stores file attachments in Cloud Storage, not on a shared filesystem.
• Redis is disabled by default. A single replica runs without Redis; enable it before scaling beyond one pod.
• The JWT secret is generated automatically and stored in Secret Manager. Do not rotate it after the first deploy — all existing sessions and API tokens would be immediately invalidated.
• NocoDB handles its own database migrations on first start. No external init job is required, though a db-init job is still provided to create the database and user.
• Health probes target /api/v1/health, the dedicated health endpoint NocoDB exposes.

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2. Google Cloud Services & How to Explore Them

All commands assume you have run gcloud container clusters get-credentials <cluster> --region <region> --project <project> and that PROJECT, REGION, and NAMESPACE are set. The namespace and other identifiers are reported in the deployment Outputs.

A. GKE Autopilot — the NocoDB workload

NocoDB pods are scheduled on Autopilot, which bills for the CPU/memory the pods actually request. Horizontal Pod Autoscaling sizes the deployment between the minimum and maximum replica counts.

• Console: Kubernetes Engine → Workloads → select the NocoDB workload to see pods, revisions, and events. Kubernetes Engine → Services & Ingress shows the external IP.
• CLI:

  kubectl get pods,svc,hpa -n "$NAMESPACE"
  kubectl logs -n "$NAMESPACE" deploy/<service-name> --tail=100
  kubectl describe hpa -n "$NAMESPACE"          # current vs target utilisation

See App_GKE for how Autopilot, scaling, and the workload type (Deployment vs StatefulSet) are managed.

B. Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15

NocoDB stores all application data (tables, views, automations, row data) in a managed Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15 instance. Pods reach it over a private IP TCP connection. On first deploy an initialization Job creates the application database and user; NocoDB then runs its own schema migrations on startup.

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

  gcloud sql instances list --project "$PROJECT"
  gcloud sql instances describe <instance-name> --project "$PROJECT"
  # Open an interactive shell to inspect schema/data:
  gcloud sql connect <instance-name> --user=<db-user> --project "$PROJECT"

The instance name, database name, user, and the Secret Manager secret holding the password are all surfaced in the Outputs. For the connection model, automated backups, and password rotation, see App_GKE.

C. Cloud Storage — file uploads

NocoDB stores file attachments in a dedicated Cloud Storage bucket. The bucket name is injected into the container as GCS_BUCKET_NAME automatically. The workload service account is granted access via Workload Identity.

• Console: Cloud Storage → Buckets → select the uploads bucket.
• CLI:

  gcloud storage buckets list --project "$PROJECT"
  gcloud storage ls gs://<uploads-bucket>/      # bucket name is in the Outputs

See App_GKE for CMEK and additional bucket options.

D. Redis cache (optional)

Redis backs NocoDB's caching layer and, in multi-replica deployments, keeps cache state consistent across pods. Redis is disabled by default; a redis_host must be supplied when it is enabled.

• Console: Memorystore → Redis (if using a managed instance).
• CLI:

  redis-cli -h <redis-host> ping
  redis-cli -h <redis-host> info keyspace

E. Secret Manager

The NocoDB JWT secret (NC_AUTH_JWT_SECRET) and the database password are stored as Secret Manager secrets and injected into pods at runtime; plaintext never appears in configuration.

• Console: Security → Secret Manager.
• CLI:

  gcloud secrets list --project "$PROJECT"
  gcloud secrets versions access latest --secret=<secret-name> --project "$PROJECT"

The database password secret name is in the Outputs. See App_GKE for the Secret Store CSI integration and rotation.

F. Networking & ingress

By default the workload is exposed through an external Cloud Load Balancing IP. A custom domain with a Google-managed certificate can be enabled, and a static IP can be reserved so the address survives redeploys.

• Console: Network services → Load balancing; VPC network → IP addresses.
• CLI:

  kubectl get ingress,svc -n "$NAMESPACE"
  gcloud compute addresses list --project "$PROJECT"

See App_GKE for custom domains, Cloud CDN, and static IP details.

G. Cloud Logging & Monitoring

Pod stdout/stderr flow to Cloud Logging; GKE and Cloud SQL metrics flow to Cloud Monitoring. Optional uptime checks against /api/v1/health and alert policies are available.

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

  gcloud logging read 'resource.type="k8s_container" AND resource.labels.namespace_name="'"$NAMESPACE"'"' \
    --project "$PROJECT" --limit 50

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3. NocoDB Application Behaviour

• First-deploy database setup. An initialization Job (db-init) creates the NocoDB database and user before the application starts. It is idempotent and safe to re-run.
• Self-managed migrations. NocoDB runs its own database schema migrations on first startup — there is no need to configure external migration jobs.
• JWT secret. NC_AUTH_JWT_SECRET is generated automatically and stored in Secret Manager. Do not rotate it after the first deploy; all existing sessions and API tokens are immediately invalidated if the secret changes.
• GCS uploads. The uploads bucket name (GCS_BUCKET_NAME) is injected automatically. NocoDB stores all file attachments there; the Service Account is granted object-level access via Workload Identity.
• NC_DB_ environment variables.* The custom Dockerfile in NocoDB_Common maps the standard DB_* connection variables (injected by the foundation) to the NC_DB_* names NocoDB expects. When container_image_source = "prebuilt" the mapping is not applied — configure NC_DB_* variables manually via environment_variables.
• Health path. Readiness and liveness probes target /api/v1/health, which returns HTTP 200 when NocoDB is ready to accept requests.
• Multi-replica sessions. With more than one pod and no Redis, NocoDB cannot share session or cache state; users may be logged out when requests route to a different pod. Enable Redis and set redis_host before scaling above one replica.

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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 NocoDB are listed; every other input is inherited from App_GKE with its standard behaviour and defaults.

Group 1 — Project & Identity

Variable	Default	Description
project_id	(required)	Target Google Cloud project.
region	us-central1	Region for the workload 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 for cost/ownership tracking.

Group 3 — Application Identity

Variable	Default	Description
application_name	nocodb	Base name for resources. Do not change after first deploy.
application_display_name	NocoDB	Friendly name shown in the Console.
application_description	(set)	Workload description annotation.
application_version	latest	NocoDB image version tag; pin to a specific version for production.

Group 4 — Runtime & Scaling

Variable	Default	Description
deploy_application	true	Set false to provision infrastructure only.
container_resources	{ cpu_limit = "1000m", memory_limit = "1Gi" }	CPU and memory limits for the NocoDB pod; minimum 1Gi memory.
min_instance_count	1	Minimum replicas. Keep ≥ 1 to avoid cold-start delays.
max_instance_count	10	Maximum replicas (autoscaler ceiling).
container_port	8080	NocoDB listens on port 8080.
enable_cloudsql_volume	true	Cloud SQL Auth Proxy sidecar (connects via private IP, not socket).
enable_vertical_pod_autoscaling	false	Let Autopilot tune resource requests automatically.
container_image_source	custom	custom builds via Cloud Build with NC_DB_* mapping; prebuilt deploys an existing image.

Group 5 — Environment Variables & Secrets

Variable	Default	Description
environment_variables	{}	Extra non-secret settings injected into the container.
secret_environment_variables	{}	Map of env var → Secret Manager secret name for additional secrets.

Group 6 — GKE Backend & Cluster

Variable	Default	Description
service_type	LoadBalancer	How the Service is exposed.
session_affinity	ClientIP	Sticky routing; recommended for consistent NocoDB session behaviour.
workload_type	null	Auto-resolves to Deployment; set StatefulSet only if per-pod storage is needed.
network_tags	["nfsserver"]	Node/pod tags; nfsserver is required if NFS is ever enabled.

Group 7 — StatefulSet

StatefulSet options (PVC templates, headless service, pod management, update strategy, fsGroup) — see App_GKE. Not normally needed for NocoDB, which stores state in PostgreSQL and GCS.

Group 8 — Resource Quota

Variable	Default	Description
enable_resource_quota	false	Cap namespace CPU/memory/object counts.
quota_memory_requests / quota_memory_limits	""	Must use binary units (4Gi, 8192Mi) — bare integers are read as bytes and block all scheduling.

Group 9 — Reliability Policies

Variable	Default	Description
enable_pod_disruption_budget	true	Protect availability during node upgrades.
pdb_min_available	1	Minimum pods available during voluntary disruptions.
enable_topology_spread	false	Spread pods across zones.

Group 10 — Observability & Health

Variable	Default	Description
startup_probe_config / startup_probe	/api/v1/health	HTTP probe, 30 s initial delay, 30 failures allowed.
health_check_config / liveness_probe	/api/v1/health	HTTP liveness probe.
uptime_check_config	disabled	Optional Cloud Monitoring uptime check against /api/v1/health.
alert_policies	[]	Optional metric alert policies.

Group 11 — Jobs & Scheduled Tasks

Variable	Default	Description
initialization_jobs	[]	Leave empty to use the built-in db-init job.
cron_jobs	[]	Recurring Kubernetes CronJobs (e.g., custom data-sync tasks).

Group 12 — CI/CD & GitHub Integration

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

Group 13 — Filesystem (NFS)

Variable	Default	Description
enable_nfs	false	NFS is not required for NocoDB — files go to Cloud Storage.
nfs_mount_path	/mnt/nfs	Mount path if NFS is enabled.

Group 14 — Cloud Storage & Artifact Registry

Variable	Default	Description
create_cloud_storage	true	Provision the uploads bucket.
storage_buckets	[{ name_suffix = "data" }]	Additional GCS buckets.
gcs_volumes	[]	GCS Fuse mounts.
manage_storage_kms_iam / enable_artifact_registry_cmek	false	CMEK options.

Group 15 — Redis Cache

Variable	Default	Description
enable_redis	false	Enable Redis. Required when running more than one replica.
redis_host	""	Redis host. Required when enable_redis = true.
redis_port	6379	Redis port.
redis_auth	""	Optional Redis auth password (sensitive).

Group 16 — Database Backend

Variable	Default	Description
database_type	POSTGRES	Default PostgreSQL; MYSQL_8_0 also supported. Set before first deploy.
application_database_name	nocodb	Database name. Immutable after first deploy.
application_database_user	nocodb	Application user. Immutable after first deploy.
database_password_length	32	Generated password length (16–64).
enable_auto_password_rotation	false	Zero-downtime DB password rotation.
enable_postgres_extensions / postgres_extensions	false / []	Optional PostgreSQL extensions to install.

Group 17 — Backup & Maintenance

Variable	Default	Description
backup_schedule	0 2 * * *	Automated backup cron (UTC).
backup_retention_days	7	Retention; raise to 30–90 for production/compliance.
enable_backup_import / backup_source / backup_file / backup_format	restore options	Restore from a backup on deploy.

Group 18 — 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_GKE.

Group 19 — Custom Domain, Static IP & Networking

Variable	Default	Description
enable_custom_domain	true	Provision Ingress for custom hostnames + managed certificate.
application_domains	[]	Hostnames to serve.
reserve_static_ip	true	Stable external IP across redeploys.

Group 20 — Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP)

Variable	Default	Description
enable_iap	false	Require Google sign-in in front of NocoDB. Recommended for internal workspaces.
iap_authorized_users / iap_authorized_groups	[]	Who may access.
iap_oauth_client_id / iap_oauth_client_secret	""	Required when IAP is enabled (sensitive).
iap_support_email	""	Shown on the OAuth consent screen.

Group 21 — Cloud Armor

Variable	Default	Description
enable_cloud_armor	false	Attach a Cloud Armor (WAF) policy to the Ingress backend.
admin_ip_ranges	[]	CIDRs allowed privileged access.
cloud_armor_policy_name	default-waf-policy	Policy name.

Group 22 — VPC Service Controls & Audit Logging

Variable	Default	Description
enable_vpc_sc	false	Enforce a VPC-SC perimeter (requires organization_id).
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

These values are returned on a successful deployment and are the quickest way to locate and explore the running resources.

Output	Description
service_name	Kubernetes Service name.
namespace	Namespace the workload runs in.
service_cluster_ip	In-cluster ClusterIP.
stage_service_cluster_ips	Map of ClusterIPs for stage-specific services (Cloud Deploy).
service_external_ip	External LoadBalancer IP (when a static IP is reserved).
service_url	URL to reach NocoDB.
database_instance_name	Cloud SQL instance name.
database_name	Application database name.
database_user	Application database user.
database_password_secret	Secret Manager secret holding the DB password.
database_host / database_port	DB endpoint (private IP) / port.
storage_buckets	Created Cloud Storage buckets (includes the uploads bucket).
network_name / network_exists / regions	VPC network, presence, available regions.
container_image / container_registry	Deployed image and Artifact Registry repo.
monitoring_enabled / monitoring_notification_channels	Monitoring status and channels.
initialization_jobs / db_import_job	Names of the setup and (optional) import jobs.
deployment_id / tenant_id / resource_prefix	Naming identifiers.
project_id / project_number	Project identifiers.
cicd_enabled / github_repository_url / github_repository_owner / github_repository_name / cicd_configuration	CI/CD status and details.
artifact_registry_repository / cloudbuild_trigger_name / cloudbuild_trigger_id	Registry and build trigger.
kubernetes_ready	Whether the cluster/workload is ready.
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).

Setting	Sensible value	Risk	Consequence if wrong
NC_AUTH_JWT_SECRET	auto-generated (immutable)	Critical	Rotating after first deploy immediately invalidates all sessions and API tokens.
application_database_name / _user	set once	Critical	Immutable after first deploy; renaming recreates the DB/user and destroys data.
enable_backup_import	false unless restoring	Critical	Enabling without a valid backup file fails the import job.
quota_memory_requests / _limits	binary units	Critical	Bare integers are bytes and block all scheduling.
container_resources.memory_limit	1Gi	High	NocoDB's Node.js process is OOM-killed below 512 Mi; production workloads with many automations need 2 Gi.
enable_redis	true when >1 replica	High	Multiple pods without Redis cause session invalidation when requests route to different pods.
redis_host	explicit when Redis on	High	A missing host causes all Redis connections to fail on pod startup.
min_instance_count	1	High	0 allows cold starts during which webhook callbacks time out and are dropped.
max_instance_count	keep low without Redis	Medium	Increasing above 1 without Redis causes session invalidation.
enable_iap / enable_cloud_armor	enable for internal	Medium	NocoDB is otherwise publicly reachable from the load-balancer IP.
backup_retention_days	7 (raise for prod)	Medium	Too short for compliance retention.
pdb_min_available vs min_instance_count	leave headroom	Medium	1/1 can stall node upgrades (single pod cannot be evicted).
application_version	pin to specific tag	Medium	latest triggers uncontrolled upgrades on every container rebuild.

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For the foundation behaviour referenced throughout — IAM and Workload Identity, autoscaling, ingress and certificates, CI/CD, Cloud Armor, IAP, Binary Authorization, VPC-SC, backups, and image mirroring — see App_GKE. NocoDB-specific application configuration shared with the Cloud Run variant is described in NocoDB_Common.