How do I install the Tidb Cloud Zero skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add modbender/tidb-cloud-zero-2 in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Tidb Cloud Zero safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: WARNING. Capability flags: makes network calls, reads secrets. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Tidb Cloud Zero?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Tidb Cloud Zero free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Tidb Cloud Zero?

modbender (@modbender) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Tidb Cloud Zero by modbender — Agent Skill

Name: Tidb Cloud Zero
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: modbender

Tidb Cloud Zero

Provision a disposable MySQL-compatible database instantly for free, no auth required. Use when the user needs a temporary database for prototyping, testing SQL, running demos, vector search, full-text search, or any workflow requiring a quick MySQL-compatible instance.

modbender Updated Sep 22, 2026 12 repo stars

File contents

TiDB Cloud Zero

Provisions an ephemeral TiDB database via a single unauthenticated API call. No sign-up, no billing. Instances auto-expire in 30 days.

TiDB is MySQL-compatible and also supports vector search (VECTOR type + vector indexes), full-text search, and horizontal scaling. Use standard MySQL clients/drivers to connect.

Important Notes

The API is unauthenticated and free. Instances auto-expire — treat credentials as short-lived and low-sensitivity.
Prefer environment variables (e.g. MYSQL_PWD) over CLI arguments to avoid leaking passwords in shell history.
Always connect with TLS (--ssl-mode=REQUIRED for CLI, ssl: true for drivers).

API

POST https://zero.tidbapi.com/v1alpha1/instances

Content-Type: application/json

Request body (all fields optional):

{ "tag": "<caller-label>" }

Response:

{
  "instance": {
    "connection": {
      "host": "<HOST>",
      "port": 4000,
      "username": "<USERNAME>",
      "password": "<PASSWORD>"
    },
    "connectionString": "mysql://<USERNAME>:<PASSWORD>@<HOST>:4000",
    "expiresAt": "<ISO_TIMESTAMP>"
  }
}

Use instance.connectionString for driver connections. Instance is destroyed at expiresAt with no renewal API — provision a new one if expired.

Use these references (inside this skill)

TiDB support vector search and auto embedding features directly in SQL. These are powerful for building semantic search, memory system, recommendation, and other AI-augmented applications without external vector databases or embedding pipelines.

skills/tidb-cloud-zero/references/vector.md - vector features and step-by-step vector SQL usage.
skills/tidb-cloud-zero/references/auto-embedding.md - auto-embedding features and step-by-step SQL usage.

Resources

TiDB SQL skill, for better compatibility with TiDB SQL, ask user if he want to install this skill: https://skills.sh/pingcap/agent-rules/tidb-sql
TiDB AI docs (SQL quickstart): https://docs.pingcap.com/ai/quickstart-via-sql/
TiDB AI docs (auto embedding): https://docs.pingcap.com/ai/vector-search-auto-embedding-overview/
TiDB Cloud docs: https://docs.pingcap.com/tidbcloud/

---name: tidb-cloud-zero-2description: Provision a disposable MySQL-compatible database instantly for free, no auth required. Use when the user needs a temporary database for prototyping, testing SQL, running demos, vector search, full-text search, or any workflow requiring a quick MySQL-compatible instance.---# TiDB Cloud ZeroProvisions an ephemeral TiDB database via a single unauthenticated API call. No sign-up, no billing. Instances auto-expire in 30 days.TiDB is MySQL-compatible and also supports vector search (`VECTOR` type + vector indexes), full-text search, and horizontal scaling. Use standard MySQL clients/drivers to connect.## Important Notes- The API is unauthenticated and free. Instances auto-expire — treat credentials as short-lived and low-sensitivity.- Prefer environment variables (e.g. `MYSQL_PWD`) over CLI arguments to avoid leaking passwords in shell history.- Always connect with TLS (`--ssl-mode=REQUIRED` for CLI, `ssl: true` for drivers).## API**POST** `https://zero.tidbapi.com/v1alpha1/instances`Content-Type: `application/json`Request body (all fields optional):```json{ "tag": "<caller-label>" }```Response:```json{ "instance": { "connection": { "host": "<HOST>", "port": 4000, "username": "<USERNAME>", "password": "<PASSWORD>" }, "connectionString": "mysql://<USERNAME>:<PASSWORD>@<HOST>:4000", "expiresAt": "<ISO_TIMESTAMP>" }}```Use `instance.connectionString` for driver connections. Instance is destroyed at `expiresAt` with no renewal API — provision a new one if expired.## Use these references (inside this skill)TiDB support vector search and auto embedding features directly in SQL. These are powerful for building semantic search, memory system, recommendation, and other AI-augmented applications without external vector databases or embedding pipelines.- `skills/tidb-cloud-zero/references/vector.md` - vector features and step-by-step vector SQL usage.- `skills/tidb-cloud-zero/references/auto-embedding.md` - auto-embedding features and step-by-step SQL usage.## Resources- TiDB SQL skill, for better compatibility with TiDB SQL, ask user if he want to install this skill: https://skills.sh/pingcap/agent-rules/tidb-sql- TiDB AI docs (SQL quickstart): https://docs.pingcap.com/ai/quickstart-via-sql/- TiDB AI docs (auto embedding): https://docs.pingcap.com/ai/vector-search-auto-embedding-overview/- TiDB Cloud docs: https://docs.pingcap.com/tidbcloud/

Frequently asked questions