Getting Started

What is Isolate?

Isolate provisions temporary database instances and Kubernetes cluster access from production backups. Every SQL query and kubectl command gets logged for audit. No more sharing staging databases with 30 other people — spin up your own private instance, run whatever queries you need, and tear it down when you're done.

Prerequisites

  • A Google account (or AuthKit account) with access to Isolate
  • Isolate CLI installed (see your admin for installation instructions)
  • gcloud CLI installed and authenticated (for GCP resources)

Quick Start Steps

1. Log in to Isolate

You can authenticate via the web UI or CLI:

Web UI

Simply open Isolate in your browser and you'll be redirected through your organization's authentication flow.

CLI

isolate login

This opens a browser for OAuth authentication and saves credentials locally.

2. Browse Available Backups

Go to the Backups page to see all available database backups you can restore from. Each backup shows:

  • Environment (production, staging, etc.)
  • Service and database names
  • Backup timestamp
  • Available tables

3. Create a New Instance

  1. Click Create Instance from the dashboard or navigation
  2. Select a backup source from the available backups
  3. Choose which databases and tables to restore
  4. Set a TTL (time-to-live) for automatic cleanup:
    • Default: 24 hours
    • Maximum: 72 hours
  5. Click Create

4. Watch the Provisioning Process

Provisioning typically takes 5-10 minutes. The instance detail page shows real-time progress:

  • Pending → Infrastructure being created
  • Provisioning → Database instance starting
  • Restoring → Importing backup data
  • Ready → Instance ready to connect

Watch the live log stream on the instance detail page to see exactly what's happening.

5. Connect to Your Instance

Once your instance is ready, you can connect using the CLI or copy connection details:

CLI Connection (Recommended)

isolate connect your-instance-id

This sets up an authenticated tunnel. Then connect with any PostgreSQL client:

psql -h localhost -p 5432 -U postgres -d your_database

Direct Connection

Copy the connection details from the instance page and use them with your preferred database client (pgAdmin, DBeaver, etc.).

What's Next?

  • Manage snapshots: Create point-in-time snapshots and restore to them
  • Extend TTL: Add more time before automatic cleanup (up to 72 hours total)
  • Refresh database: Re-import the original backup to reset your data
  • Access Kubernetes: Use isolate k8s connect for audited kubectl access

Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

Problem: "Permission denied" or login failures

Solution: Verify your account has access to Isolate. Contact your admin to check your role permissions.

Provisioning Stuck

Problem: Instance stuck in "provisioning" for more than 15 minutes

Solution: Check the live logs on the instance detail page. If logs have stopped, contact DevOps to check the infrastructure state.

Connection Refused

Problem: Cannot connect to database after tunnel is established

Solutions:

  • Ensure your instance is in "ready" status
  • Verify you're connecting to localhost on the correct port
  • For CLI tunnels, make sure isolate connect is still running
  • Try disconnecting and reconnecting: Ctrl+C then isolate connect again

Need Help?

Check the Audit page to see your query history, or visit the provider-specific guides for more detailed troubleshooting: