ClickHouse Cloud Management

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

Self-Evolving Skill: This skill improves through use. If instructions are wrong, parameters drifted, or a workaround was needed — fix this file immediately, don't defer. Only update for real, reproducible issues.

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.

Schema documentation principle: All ClickHouse table/column COMMENTs are the single source of truth (SSoT). When creating tables or columns, always include COMMENT clauses. See quality-tools:clickhouse-architect for the full COMMENT SSoT policy.

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:

Task	Via SQL (CLI/HTTP)	Via Cloud Console
Create database user	CREATE USER	Supported
Grant permissions	GRANT	Supported
Delete user	DROP USER	Supported
Create API key	Not possible	Only here

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)

Item	Purpose
ClickHouse Cloud - API Key (Admin)	Cloud management API (console operations)
ClickHouse Cloud - API Key (Developer Read-only)	Cloud management API (read-only)
gapless-deribit-clickhouse	Database default user credentials

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 (single row with value 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

<!-- ADR: 2025-12-10-clickhouse-skill-delegation -->

After creating a ClickHouse user, invoke devops-tools:clickhouse-pydantic-config to generate DBeaver configuration with the new credentials.

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 (official HTTP driver). See clickhouse-architect for recommended code patterns and why to avoid clickhouse-driver (community).

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

Post-Execution Reflection

After this skill completes, check before closing:

1. Did the command succeed? — If not, fix the instruction or error table that caused the failure.
2. Did parameters or output change? — If the underlying tool's interface drifted, update Usage examples and Parameters table to match.
3. Was a workaround needed? — If you had to improvise (different flags, extra steps), update this SKILL.md so the next invocation doesn't need the same workaround.

Only update if the issue is real and reproducible — not speculative.