ToolJet on Google Cloud Run

ToolJet is an open-source, low-code platform for building and deploying internal tools — dashboards, admin panels, CRUD apps, and workflows — with a drag-and-drop builder over your own databases and APIs. This module deploys ToolJet 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 ToolJet 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

ToolJet runs as a single NestJS + React container on Cloud Run v2 — the backend API and the compiled client are served from the same process (SERVE_CLIENT = "true") on port 80. The deployment wires together a focused set of Google Cloud services:

Capability	Google Cloud service	Notes
Compute	Cloud Run v2	Node.js service, 2 vCPU / 4 GiB by default; min_instance_count = 1 keeps the in-process worker warm
Database	Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15	Required — two databases on one instance (metadata + ToolJet Database)
ToolJet Database	In-container PostgREST	Serves the second DB (tooljet_db) to app queries; signed with PGRST_JWT_SECRET
Cache & queue	Redis	Enabled by default; backs ToolJet's BullMQ queues; NFS VM co-hosts Redis when redis_host is empty
Secrets	Secret Manager	Auto-generated SECRET_KEY_BASE, LOCKBOX_MASTER_KEY, PGRST_JWT_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; selecting any other engine breaks startup.
• Two databases are created. The first-deploy db-init job creates the metadata database (tooljet) and the second "ToolJet Database" (tooljet_db), and grants the shared application role the CREATEROLE attribute (ToolJet creates a role per workspace for PostgREST access).
• Schema migrations run on start. The container entrypoint runs npm run db:migrate:prod (TypeORM) before launching the server — ToolJet's start:prod does not migrate on its own.
• SECRET_KEY_BASE, LOCKBOX_MASTER_KEY, and PGRST_JWT_SECRET are generated automatically and stored in Secret Manager. These keys must never be rotated after first boot — rotating LOCKBOX_MASTER_KEY makes every stored datasource credential undecryptable, and rotating SECRET_KEY_BASE invalidates all sessions.
• Redis is enabled by default (enable_redis = true) and, with an empty redis_host, the foundation injects the NFS server VM's IP as REDIS_HOST (enable_nfs = true provisions that VM).
• Always-on, min=1. ToolJet runs an in-process background worker, so cpu_always_allocated = true and min_instance_count = 1 keep one instance warm.
• Sign-up is disabled by default. DISABLE_SIGNUPS = "true" ships on; first run is a setup wizard that creates the initial admin user and workspace.
• Public ingress by default. ingress_settings = "all" so the builder UI and any app webhooks are reachable; enabling IAP restricts access to Google identities.

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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 ToolJet service

ToolJet 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 — two databases

ToolJet stores all application data — apps, datasource configs, users, workspaces, sessions — in a managed Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15 instance, and uses a second database (tooljet_db) on the same instance for the built-in ToolJet Database feature. 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 both databases, the shared CREATEROLE role, the pgcrypto extension, and an app-owned postgrest schema.

• 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=tooljet --project "$PROJECT"
  gcloud sql connect <instance-name> --user=<db-user> --database=tooljet_db --project "$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. Redis (queue & cache)

Redis is enabled by default and backs ToolJet's BullMQ queues (background jobs, notifications, and the multiplayer editor). When redis_host is left empty and enable_nfs = true, the NFS server VM's private IP is injected as REDIS_HOST; set redis_host explicitly to point at a Memorystore instance instead.

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

  redis-cli -h <redis-host> ping
  redis-cli -h <redis-host> info keyspace
  # Confirm the injected host in the running revision:
  gcloud run services describe <service-name> --region "$REGION" \
    --format='value(spec.template.spec.containers[0].env)'

D. Secret Manager

Three cryptographic secrets are generated automatically and stored in Secret Manager: SECRET_KEY_BASE (signs sessions), LOCKBOX_MASTER_KEY (encrypts all stored datasource credentials), and PGRST_JWT_SECRET (signs the internal PostgREST JWTs). The database password is managed separately by the foundation.

• Console: Security → Secret Manager.
• CLI:

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

See App_CloudRun for injection and rotation details.

E. 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. TOOLJET_HOST (which drives generated links and OAuth redirect URIs) defaults to the computed service URL and can be overridden via environment_variables for a custom domain.

• 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.

F. Cloud Storage & NFS

ToolJet stores apps, datasource configs, and uploads in PostgreSQL, so no data bucket is provisioned. NFS is enabled by default only because its VM co-hosts Redis when redis_host is empty; the ToolJet container itself is stateless.

• Console: Cloud Storage → Buckets; Compute Engine → VM instances (NFS server).
• CLI:

  gcloud storage buckets list --project "$PROJECT"
  gcloud compute instances list --project "$PROJECT" --filter="labels.managed-by=services-gcp"

G. Cloud Logging & Monitoring

Container logs flow to Cloud Logging; Cloud Run and Cloud SQL metrics flow to Cloud Monitoring, with optional uptime checks 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. ToolJet Application Behaviour

• First-deploy database setup. An initialization Job runs db-init.sh using postgres:15-alpine. It connects through the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy and idempotently creates the metadata database and the ToolJet Database, the shared CREATEROLE role, grants cloudsqlsuperuser, pre-creates pgcrypto, and resets the postgrest schema as app-owned. The job is safe to re-run.
• Migrations run before the server starts. cloud-entrypoint.sh runs npm run db:migrate:prod (TypeORM migration:run) first. ToolJet's start:prod is literally node dist/src/main and does not migrate — without the explicit step the metadata DB stays empty and every DB-backed action fails (relation "user_sessions" does not exist). The startup probe budget (30 × 15 s) absorbs this on first boot.
• SECRET_KEY_BASE, LOCKBOX_MASTER_KEY, and PGRST_JWT_SECRET are immutable after first boot. Changing LOCKBOX_MASTER_KEY permanently corrupts all stored datasource credentials; changing SECRET_KEY_BASE invalidates all sessions. Only touch them in a planned maintenance window.
• First run is a setup wizard. With DISABLE_SIGNUPS = "true", open the service URL and complete the wizard: it creates the first admin user and workspace, then lands you in the app builder. There is no pre-seeded admin credential in Secret Manager.
• The ToolJet Database feature. Apps can query a built-in no-code database (tooljet_db) exposed through an in-container PostgREST process. It reconfigures a postgrest schema on every start as the app user — which is why db-init resets that schema to be app-owned.
• Health path. Startup, liveness, and readiness probes target / — a public, unauthenticated endpoint. Allow several minutes on first boot for the migration step.
• 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 ToolJet 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	tooljet	Base name for resources. Do not change after first deploy.
display_name	ToolJet	Human-readable name shown in the Console.
application_version	latest	tooljet/tooljet-ce image tag; pin to a specific release in production.
db_name	tooljet	Metadata database name. Immutable after first deploy.
db_user	tooljet	Application database user (shared by both databases).

Group 4 — Runtime & Scaling

Variable	Default	Description
deploy_application	true	Set false to provision infrastructure only.
container_image_source	custom	ToolJet ships as a thin custom build on tooljet/tooljet-ce.
cpu_limit	2000m	CPU per instance; 2 vCPU recommended.
memory_limit	4Gi	Memory per instance.
min_instance_count	1	Keeps the in-process worker warm; do not set 0 unless the worker is externalised.
max_instance_count	5	Autoscaling upper bound.
cpu_always_allocated	true	Required — ToolJet's background worker runs without an inbound request.
container_port	80	ToolJet serves the API + client on port 80.
execution_environment	gen2	Gen2 required for NFS and GCS Fuse mounts.
timeout_seconds	300	Maximum request duration (0–3600 seconds).
enable_cloudsql_volume	true	Cloud SQL Auth Proxy for socket connections.
enable_image_mirroring	true	Mirror the ToolJet image into Artifact Registry.

Group 5 — Access & Ingress Control

Variable	Default	Description
ingress_settings	all	Public ingress for the builder UI and app endpoints.
vpc_egress_setting	PRIVATE_RANGES_ONLY	Route only RFC 1918 traffic via VPC.
enable_iap	false	Require Google sign-in in front of ToolJet.
iap_authorized_users / iap_authorized_groups	[]	Who may access through IAP.

Group 6 — Environment Variables & Secrets

Variable	Default	Description
environment_variables	{}	Extra non-secret settings. Do not set SECRET_KEY_BASE, LOCKBOX_MASTER_KEY, PGRST_JWT_SECRET, or PG_* here.
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 — 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 10 — Storage & Filesystem

Variable	Default	Description
create_cloud_storage	true	Create GCS buckets defined in storage_buckets.
storage_buckets	[{ name_suffix = "data" }]	One data bucket is declared by default; ToolJet itself is stateless and does not use it.
enable_nfs	true	On by default; its VM co-hosts Redis when redis_host is empty.
nfs_mount_path	/opt/tooljet/storage	Mount path inside the container.
gcs_volumes	[]	GCS Fuse volume mounts (requires gen2).
manage_storage_kms_iam / enable_artifact_registry_cmek	false	CMEK options.

Group 11 — 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 12 — Database Backend

Variable	Default	Description
database_password_length	32	Generated password length (16–64).
enable_auto_password_rotation / rotation_propagation_delay_sec	off	DB password rotation.

Group 13 — Jobs & Scheduled Tasks

Variable	Default	Description
initialization_jobs	[]	Leave empty to use the built-in db-init job (both databases + CREATEROLE role).
cron_jobs	[]	Scheduled Cloud Scheduler + Cloud Run Jobs.

Group 14 — Observability & Health

Variable	Default	Description
startup_probe	HTTP /, 60 s delay, 30 × 15 s	Startup probe. Wide budget for first-boot migrations.
liveness_probe	HTTP /, 30 s period	Liveness probe.
startup_probe_config / health_check_config	(set)	Alternative structured probes.
uptime_check_config	disabled	Cloud Monitoring uptime check.
alert_policies	[]	Metric alert policies.

Group 21 — Redis Cache & Queue

Variable	Default	Description
enable_redis	true	Backs ToolJet's BullMQ queues. Forwarded unchanged.
redis_host	""	Leave empty to use the NFS server IP (requires enable_nfs = true), or set a Memorystore endpoint.
redis_port	6379	Redis port.
redis_auth	""	Optional Redis auth password (sensitive).

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

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	Metadata 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 ToolJet).
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 / 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.
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
LOCKBOX_MASTER_KEY (auto-generated)	Never rotate after first boot	Critical	Rotating it permanently corrupts every stored datasource credential — they cannot be decrypted and must all be re-entered.
SECRET_KEY_BASE (auto-generated)	Only rotate in a maintenance window	Critical	Rotating it invalidates all active sessions, forcing immediate re-login for everyone.
PGRST_JWT_SECRET (auto-generated)	Never rotate after first boot	Critical	Rotating it breaks the ToolJet Database query layer until every instance restarts and PostgREST is reconfigured.
db_name / db_user	Set once	Critical	Immutable after first deploy; renaming recreates the DB/user and destroys all data.
enable_backup_import	false unless restoring	Critical	Enabling without a valid backup_file fails the import job.
App role CREATEROLE (set by db-init)	Leave as provisioned	High	Without it, ToolJet workspace creation fails permission denied to create role.
Schema migrations (entrypoint)	Leave as provisioned	High	Skipping db:migrate:prod leaves the metadata DB empty — the app boots and answers the / health probe but every DB-backed action fails.
min_instance_count	1	High	Setting 0 lets the in-process background worker be throttled to zero between requests, stalling queued jobs.
cpu_always_allocated	true	High	Request-based billing throttles the background worker between requests.
memory_limit	4Gi	High	ToolJet + PostgREST + worker under load can OOM below ~2 GiB.
ingress_settings	all	High	internal blocks the builder UI and any external app callbacks.
enable_redis	true	Medium	With Redis off, BullMQ falls back and background features degrade.
redis_host	"" (NFS) or explicit	Medium	Redis on but NFS off and no host set leaves REDIS_HOST blank.
DISABLE_SIGNUPS (auto-injected "true")	Keep on after first admin	High	Opening sign-up lets anyone with the URL create an account.
backup_retention_days	7 (raise for prod)	Medium	Too short for compliance retention.
enable_cloud_armor	enable for production	Medium	The builder UI is 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. ToolJet-specific application configuration shared with the GKE variant is described in ToolJet_Common.