How to use
- Copy the installation command and review the source package before installing it in your own agent environment.
- Check the source document for required tools, credentials and supported hosts.
- Describe your input and desired deliverable; review the output against the source material.
npx skills add https://github.com/clickhouse/agent-skills --skill infra-clickhouseBefore you start
- Installation does not include a model subscription, API allowance or permission to access your files.
- Repository stars and installation counts describe activity, not an independent quality or security test.
Rendered from the source repository. Headings, examples, code, tables, links, and referenced images are preserved.
Last updated 2026-10-30 for clickhousectl 0.5.0. (update the CLI with clickhousectl update, update skills with clickhousectl skills)
ClickHouse with clickhousectl
clickhousectl manages ClickHouse in two environments:
- Local — ClickHouse installed and running on the user's machine, for development.
- Cloud — managed ClickHouse Cloud services, for production: fully managed, automatic scaling, backups, and upgrades.
This file routes to the right reference. The step-by-step workflows live in ref/local.md and ref/cloud.md — read the one that matches the user's situation before running commands.
Which reference to use
| The user wants to... | Read |
|---|---|
| Build an app with ClickHouse, develop or prototype locally, no cloud account needed | ref/local.md |
| Go to production, host a managed ClickHouse, or use ClickHouse Cloud explicitly | ref/cloud.md |
| Operate an existing cloud service (schemas, users, queries against it) | ref/cloud.md |
| Develop locally now, ship to production later | Start with ref/local.md; it points to ref/cloud.md when it's time to go to prod |
If it's genuinely ambiguous (e.g. "set up ClickHouse for my app"), default to local for development tasks and ask before creating anything in the cloud — cloud services cost money.
Prerequisites (both workflows)
Check that clickhousectl is installed:
which clickhousectlIf not found, install it:
curl -fsSL https://clickhouse.com/cli | shThis installs to ~/.local/bin/clickhousectl (with a chctl alias). If the command is still not found, suggest export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" or a new terminal.
All commands accept --json for machine-readable output, and switch to JSON automatically when run by a coding agent. SQL output from local client and local postgres client stays in psql or clickhouse-client's native format. Exit codes: 0 success, 1 error, 2 usage error, 3 cancelled, 4 auth required.
Related
- When designing schemas, consult the
clickhouse-best-practicesskill for ORDER BY selection, data types, and partitioning. - For Postgres (local development or managed ClickHouse Cloud Postgres), use the
infra-postgresskill.
