ClickHouse Cloud Management

ADR: 2025-12-08-clickhouse-cloud-management-skill

Overview

ClickHouse Cloud user and permission management via SQL commands over HTTP interface. This skill covers database user creation, permission grants, and credential management for ClickHouse Cloud instances.

When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when:

• Creating database users for ClickHouse Cloud
• Managing user permissions (GRANT/REVOKE)
• Testing ClickHouse Cloud connectivity
• Troubleshooting authentication issues
• Understanding API key vs database user distinction

Key Concepts

Management Options

ClickHouse Cloud provides two management interfaces with different capabilities:

Key distinction: Database users (created via SQL) authenticate to ClickHouse itself. API keys (created via console) authenticate to the ClickHouse Cloud management API.

Connection Details

ClickHouse Cloud exposes only HTTP interface publicly:

• Port: 443 (HTTPS)
• Protocol: HTTP (not native ClickHouse protocol)
• Native protocol: Requires AWS PrivateLink (not available without enterprise setup)

Password Requirements

ClickHouse Cloud enforces strong password policy:

• Minimum 12 characters
• At least 1 uppercase letter
• At least 1 special character

Example compliant password:

StrongPass@2025!

Quick Reference

Create Read-Only User

curl -s "https://default:PASSWORD@HOST:443/" --data-binary \
  "CREATE USER my_reader IDENTIFIED BY 'StrongPass@2025!' SETTINGS readonly = 1"

Grant Database Access

curl -s "https://default:PASSWORD@HOST:443/" --data-binary \
  "GRANT SELECT ON deribit.* TO my_reader"

Delete User

curl -s "https://default:PASSWORD@HOST:443/" --data-binary \
  "DROP USER my_reader"

For comprehensive SQL patterns and advanced permission scenarios, see SQL Patterns Reference.

Credential Sources

1Password Items (Engineering Vault)

default

Retrieving Credentials

# Database credentials (for SQL commands)
op item get "gapless-deribit-clickhouse" --vault Engineering --reveal

# API key (for cloud management API)
op item get "ClickHouse Cloud - API Key (Admin)" --vault Engineering --reveal

Common Workflows

Workflow 1: Create Application User

1. Retrieve

   default

   user credentials from 1Password
2. Create new user with appropriate permissions:

HOST="your-instance.clickhouse.cloud"
PASSWORD="default-user-password"

# Create user
curl -s "https://default:$PASSWORD@$HOST:443/" --data-binary \
  "CREATE USER app_user IDENTIFIED BY 'AppPass@2025!'"

# Grant specific database access
curl -s "https://default:$PASSWORD@$HOST:443/" --data-binary \
  "GRANT SELECT, INSERT ON mydb.* TO app_user"

Workflow 2: Verify User Exists

curl -s "https://default:$PASSWORD@$HOST:443/" --data-binary "SHOW USERS"

Workflow 3: Test Connection

curl -s "https://user:password@HOST:443/" --data-binary "SELECT 1"

Expected output:

1

Troubleshooting

Authentication Failed

• Verify password meets complexity requirements
• Check host URL includes port 443
• Ensure using HTTPS (not HTTP)

Permission Denied

• Verify user has required GRANT statements
• Check database and table names are correct
• Confirm user was created with correct settings

Connection Timeout

• ClickHouse Cloud only exposes port 443 publicly
• Native protocol (port 9440) requires PrivateLink
• Use HTTP interface with curl or clickhouse-client HTTP mode

Next Steps After User Creation

After creating a ClickHouse user, invoke

devops-tools:clickhouse-pydantic-config

Additional Resources

Reference Files

For detailed patterns and advanced techniques, consult:

• references/sql-patterns.md - Complete SQL syntax reference with examples

Python Driver Policy

For Python application code connecting to ClickHouse Cloud, use

clickhouse-connect

clickhouse-architect

clickhouse-driver

Related Skills

• quality-tools:clickhouse-architect

  - Schema design, compression codecs, Python driver policy

• devops-tools:clickhouse-pydantic-config

  - DBeaver configuration generation

• devops-tools:doppler-secret-validation

  - For storing credentials in Doppler

• devops-tools:doppler-workflows

  - For credential rotation workflows