diff --git a/extension.json b/extension.json
index ca6636ed..e1c47d53 100644
--- a/extension.json
+++ b/extension.json
@@ -170,6 +170,8 @@
 		"CargoLinksUpdateHandler": "includes/hooks/CargoLinksUpdateHandler.php",
 		"CargoSearchMySQL": "includes/search/CargoSearchMySQL.php",
 		"CargoPageSchemas": "includes/CargoPageSchemas.php",
+		"CargoConnectionProvider": "includes/CargoConnectionProvider.php",
+		"CargoServices": "includes/CargoServices.php",
 		"CargoAppliedFilter": "drilldown/CargoAppliedFilter.php",
 		"CargoFilter": "drilldown/CargoFilter.php",
 		"CargoFilterValue": "drilldown/CargoFilterValue.php",
@@ -472,6 +474,7 @@
 			"class": "CargoLinksUpdateHandler"
 		}
 	},
+	"ServiceWiringFiles": ["includes/ServiceWiring.php"],
 	"config": {
 		"CargoDecimalMark": ".",
 		"CargoDigitGroupingCharacter": ",",
@@ -483,6 +486,7 @@
 		"CargoDBpassword": null,
 		"CargoDBprefix": null,
 		"CargoDBRowFormat": null,
+		"CargoDBCluster": null,
 		"CargoDBIndex": null,
 		"CargoDefaultStringBytes": 300,
 		"CargoDefaultQueryLimit": 100,
diff --git a/includes/CargoConnectionProvider.php b/includes/CargoConnectionProvider.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..41b78477
--- /dev/null
+++ b/includes/CargoConnectionProvider.php
@@ -0,0 +1,187 @@
+<?php
+
+use MediaWiki\Config\ServiceOptions;
+use Wikimedia\Rdbms\Database;
+use Wikimedia\Rdbms\DatabaseFactory;
+use Wikimedia\Rdbms\IDatabase;
+use Wikimedia\Rdbms\ILBFactory;
+use Wikimedia\Rdbms\ILoadBalancer;
+
+/**
+ * Class to manage access to the Cargo database.
+ *
+ * By default, this class creates and manages a single connection to the local wiki DB.
+ * It can be configured to connect to a different DB using the 'wgCargoDB*' settings,
+ * or to eschew manual connection management in favor of MediaWiki's DBAL by setting the 'CargoDBCluster' option.
+ */
+class CargoConnectionProvider {
+	public const CONSTRUCTOR_OPTIONS = [
+		// MediaWiki DB setup variables.
+		'DBuser',
+		'DBpassword',
+		'DBport',
+		'DBprefix',
+		'DBservers',
+
+		// Optional Cargo-specific DB setup variables.
+		'CargoDBserver',
+		'CargoDBname',
+		'CargoDBuser',
+		'CargoDBpassword',
+		'CargoDBprefix',
+		'CargoDBtype',
+
+		// Fandom change: Optional DB index override to use for Cargo in a single-connection setup (PLATFORM-7466)
+		'CargoDBIndex',
+
+		// Optional external cluster name to use for Cargo.
+		// Supersedes all above configuration if present.
+		'CargoDBCluster'
+	];
+
+	private ILBFactory $lbFactory;
+
+	/**
+	 * Connection factory to use for creating DB connections on MW 1.39 and newer.
+	 * @var DatabaseFactory|null
+	 */
+	private ?DatabaseFactory $databaseFactory;
+
+	/**
+	 * Configuration options used by this service.
+	 * @var ServiceOptions
+	 */
+	private ServiceOptions $serviceOptions;
+
+	/**
+	 * The database connection to use for accessing Cargo data, if 'CargoDBCluster' is not set.
+	 * @var IDatabase|null
+	 */
+	private ?IDatabase $connection = null;
+
+	public function __construct(
+		ILBFactory $lbFactory,
+		?DatabaseFactory $databaseFactory,
+		ServiceOptions $serviceOptions
+	) {
+		$serviceOptions->assertRequiredOptions( self::CONSTRUCTOR_OPTIONS );
+
+		$this->lbFactory = $lbFactory;
+		$this->databaseFactory = $databaseFactory;
+		$this->serviceOptions = $serviceOptions;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Get a database connection for accessing Cargo data.
+	 * @param int $dbType DB type to use (primary or replica)
+	 * @return IDatabase
+	 */
+	public function getConnection( int $dbType ): IDatabase {
+		$cluster = $this->serviceOptions->get( 'CargoDBCluster' );
+
+		// If a cluster is specified, let MediaWiki's DBAL manage the lifecycle of Cargo-related connections.
+		if ( $cluster !== null ) {
+			$lb = $this->lbFactory->getExternalLB( $cluster );
+
+			// Fall back to the primary DB if there were recent writes, to ensure that Cargo sees its own changes.
+			$dbType = $lb->hasOrMadeRecentPrimaryChanges() ? ILoadBalancer::DB_PRIMARY : $dbType;
+			$conn = $lb->getConnection( $dbType );
+
+			// Fandom change: Ensure Cargo DB connections use 4-byte UTF-8 client character set (UGC-4625).
+			self::setClientCharacterSet( $conn );
+			return $conn;
+		}
+
+		if ( $this->connection === null ) {
+			$this->connection = $this->initConnection();
+
+			// Fandom change: Ensure Cargo DB connections use 4-byte UTF-8 client character set (UGC-4625).
+			self::setClientCharacterSet( $this->connection );
+		}
+
+		return $this->connection;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Get the DB type (e.g. 'postgres') of the Cargo database.
+	 * This is mainly useful for code that needs to generate platform-specific SQL.
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public function getDBType(): string {
+		return $this->serviceOptions->get( 'CargoDBtype' ) ?? $this->getConnection( DB_REPLICA )->getType();
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Create a database connection for Cargo data managed entirely by this class.
+	 * @return IDatabase
+	 */
+	private function initConnection(): IDatabase {
+		$lb = $this->lbFactory->getMainLB();
+		// Fandom change: Use the DB index specified in the CargoDBIndex option (PLATFORM-7466).
+		$index = $this->serviceOptions->get( 'CargoDBIndex' ) ?? $lb::DB_PRIMARY;
+		$dbr = $lb->getConnection( $index );
+
+		$dbServers = $this->serviceOptions->get( 'DBservers' );
+		$dbUser = $this->serviceOptions->get( 'DBuser' );
+		$dbPassword = $this->serviceOptions->get( 'DBpassword' );
+
+		$dbServer = $this->serviceOptions->get( 'CargoDBserver' ) ?? $dbr->getServer();
+		$dbName = $this->serviceOptions->get( 'CargoDBname' ) ?? $dbr->getDBname();
+		$dbType = $this->serviceOptions->get( 'CargoDBtype' ) ?? $dbr->getType();
+
+		// Server (host), db name, and db type can be retrieved from $dbr via
+		// public methods, but username and password cannot. If these values are
+		// not set for Cargo, get them from either $wgDBservers or wgDBuser and
+		// $wgDBpassword, depending on whether or not there are multiple DB servers.
+		$dbUsername = $this->serviceOptions->get( 'CargoDBuser' ) ?? $dbServers[0]['user'] ?? $dbUser;
+		$dbPassword = $this->serviceOptions->get( 'CargoDBpassword' ) ?? $dbServers[0]['password'] ?? $dbPassword;
+		$dbTablePrefix = $this->serviceOptions->get( 'CargoDBprefix' )
+			?? $this->serviceOptions->get( 'DBprefix' ) . 'cargo__';
+
+		$params = [
+			'host' => $dbServer,
+			'user' => $dbUsername,
+			'password' => $dbPassword,
+			'dbname' => $dbName,
+			'tablePrefix' => $dbTablePrefix,
+		];
+
+		if ( $dbType === 'sqlite' ) {
+			/** @var \Wikimedia\Rdbms\DatabaseSqlite $dbr */
+			$params['dbFilePath'] = $dbr->getDbFilePath();
+		} elseif ( $dbType === 'postgres' ) {
+			// @TODO - a $wgCargoDBport variable is still needed.
+			$params['port'] = $this->serviceOptions->get( 'DBport' );
+		}
+
+		if ( $this->databaseFactory !== null ) {
+			return $this->databaseFactory->create( $dbType, $params );
+		}
+
+		return Database::factory( $dbType, $params );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Set the client character set of a database connection handle to 4-byte UTF-8.
+	 * This is necessary because Cargo utilizes functions such as REGEXP_LIKE(),
+	 * which fail if the client character set is "binary".
+	 *
+	 * @param IDatabase $dbw Database connection handle.
+	 */
+	private static function setClientCharacterSet( IDatabase $dbw ): void {
+		if ( $dbw instanceof DatabaseMysqli ) {
+			// Force open the database connection so that we can obtain the underlying native connection handle.
+			$dbw->ping();
+
+			$ref = new ReflectionMethod( $dbw, 'getBindingHandle' );
+			$ref->setAccessible( true );
+
+			/** @var mysqli $mysqli */
+			$mysqli = $ref->invoke( $dbw );
+			if ( $mysqli->character_set_name() !== 'utf8mb4' ) {
+				$mysqli->set_charset( 'utf8mb4' );
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/includes/CargoRecreateDataAction.php b/includes/CargoRecreateDataAction.php
index b5454112..28e2e3f2 100644
--- a/includes/CargoRecreateDataAction.php
+++ b/includes/CargoRecreateDataAction.php
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 <?php
 
 use MediaWiki\MediaWikiServices;
+use MediaWiki\Permissions\PermissionManager;
 
 /**
  * Handles the 'recreatedata' action.
@@ -58,7 +59,7 @@ public static function displayTab( $obj, &$links ) {
 
 		$user = $obj->getUser();
 		$permissionManager = MediaWikiServices::getInstance()->getPermissionManager();
-		if ( !$permissionManager->userCan( 'recreatecargodata', $user, $title ) ) {
+		if ( !$permissionManager->userCan( 'recreatecargodata', $user, $title, PermissionManager::RIGOR_QUICK ) ) {
 			return true;
 		}
 
diff --git a/includes/CargoSQLQuery.php b/includes/CargoSQLQuery.php
index 93be9208..f9738915 100644
--- a/includes/CargoSQLQuery.php
+++ b/includes/CargoSQLQuery.php
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class CargoSQLQuery {
 	public $mDateFieldPairs = [];
 
 	public function __construct() {
-		$this->mCargoDB = CargoUtils::getDB();
+		$this->mCargoDB = CargoServices::getCargoConnectionProvider()->getConnection( DB_REPLICA );
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -56,7 +56,6 @@ public static function newFromValues( $tablesStr, $fieldsStr, $whereStr, $joinOn
 			$havingStr, $orderByStr, $limitStr, $offsetStr, $allowFieldEscaping );
 
 		$sqlQuery = new CargoSQLQuery();
-		$sqlQuery->mCargoDB = CargoUtils::getDB();
 		$sqlQuery->mTablesStr = $tablesStr;
 		$sqlQuery->setAliasedTableNames();
 		$sqlQuery->mFieldsStr = $fieldsStr;
diff --git a/includes/CargoServices.php b/includes/CargoServices.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c8a11e1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/includes/CargoServices.php
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+<?php
+
+use MediaWiki\MediaWikiServices;
+
+/**
+ * Typed service locator class for Cargo service classes.
+ */
+class CargoServices {
+	public static function getCargoConnectionProvider(): CargoConnectionProvider {
+		return MediaWikiServices::getInstance()->getService( 'CargoConnectionProvider' );
+	}
+}
diff --git a/includes/CargoUtils.php b/includes/CargoUtils.php
index 22968647..d8a6918a 100644
--- a/includes/CargoUtils.php
+++ b/includes/CargoUtils.php
@@ -9,117 +9,17 @@
 use MediaWiki\Linker\LinkRenderer;
 use MediaWiki\Linker\LinkTarget;
 use MediaWiki\MediaWikiServices;
-use Wikimedia\Rdbms\DatabaseMysqli;
-use Wikimedia\Rdbms\IDatabase;
 
 class CargoUtils {
 
-	private static $CargoDB = null;
-
 	/**
-	 * @return Database or DatabaseBase
+	 * Get the Cargo database connection.
+	 * @deprecated Use {@link CargoConnectionProvider::getConnection()} directly instead.
+	 * @param int $dbType
+	 * @return \Wikimedia\Rdbms\IDatabase
 	 */
-	public static function getDB() {
-		if ( self::$CargoDB != null && self::$CargoDB->isOpen() ) {
-			return self::$CargoDB;
-		}
-
-		global $wgDBuser, $wgDBpassword, $wgDBprefix, $wgDBservers;
-		global $wgCargoDBserver, $wgCargoDBname, $wgCargoDBuser, $wgCargoDBpassword,
-			   $wgCargoDBprefix, $wgCargoDBtype, $wgCargoDBIndex;
-
-		$services = MediaWikiServices::getInstance();
-		$lb = $services->getDBLoadBalancer();
-		$dbIndex = $wgCargoDBIndex !== null ?: DB_PRIMARY;
-		$dbr = $lb->getConnectionRef( $dbIndex );
-
-		$server = $dbr->getServer();
-		$name = $dbr->getDBname();
-		$type = $dbr->getType();
-
-		// We need $wgCargoDBtype for other functions.
-		if ( $wgCargoDBtype === null ) {
-			$wgCargoDBtype = $type;
-		}
-		$dbServer = $wgCargoDBserver === null ? $server : $wgCargoDBserver;
-		$dbName = $wgCargoDBname === null ? $name : $wgCargoDBname;
-
-		// Server (host), db name, and db type can be retrieved from $dbw via
-		// public methods, but username and password cannot. If these values are
-		// not set for Cargo, get them from either $wgDBservers or wgDBuser and
-		// $wgDBpassword, depending on whether or not there are multiple DB servers.
-		if ( $wgCargoDBuser !== null ) {
-			$dbUsername = $wgCargoDBuser;
-		} elseif ( is_array( $wgDBservers ) && isset( $wgDBservers[0] ) ) {
-			$dbUsername = $wgDBservers[0]['user'];
-		} else {
-			$dbUsername = $wgDBuser;
-		}
-		if ( $wgCargoDBpassword !== null ) {
-			$dbPassword = $wgCargoDBpassword;
-		} elseif ( is_array( $wgDBservers ) && isset( $wgDBservers[0] ) ) {
-			$dbPassword = $wgDBservers[0]['password'];
-		} else {
-			$dbPassword = $wgDBpassword;
-		}
-
-		if ( $wgCargoDBprefix !== null ) {
-			$dbTablePrefix = $wgCargoDBprefix;
-		} else {
-			$dbTablePrefix = $wgDBprefix . 'cargo__';
-		}
-
-		$params = [
-			'host' => $dbServer,
-			'user' => $dbUsername,
-			'password' => $dbPassword,
-			'dbname' => $dbName,
-			'tablePrefix' => $dbTablePrefix,
-			// MySQL >= 8.0.22 rejects using binary strings in regular expression functions
-			// such as REGEXP_LIKE(), heavily used across Cargo, so force UTF-8 client charset here.
-			'utf8Mode' => true,
-		];
-
-		if ( $type === 'sqlite' ) {
-			$params['dbFilePath'] = $dbr->getDbFilePath();
-		} elseif ( $type === 'postgres' ) {
-			global $wgDBport;
-			// @TODO - a $wgCargoDBport variable is still needed.
-			$params['port'] = $wgDBport;
-		}
-
-		if ( method_exists( $services, 'getDatabaseFactory' ) ) {
-			// MW 1.39+
-			self::$CargoDB = $services->getDatabaseFactory()->create( $wgCargoDBtype, $params );
-		} else {
-			self::$CargoDB = Database::factory( $wgCargoDBtype, $params );
-		}
-
-		// Fandom change: Ensure Cargo DB connections use 4-byte UTF-8 client character set (UGC-4625).
-		self::setClientCharacterSet( self::$CargoDB );
-
-		return self::$CargoDB;
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * Set the client character set of a database connection handle to 4-byte UTF-8.
-	 * This is necessary because Cargo utilizes functions such as REGEXP_LIKE(),
-	 * which fail if the client character set is "binary".
-	 *
-	 * @param IDatabase $dbw Database connection handle.
-	 */
-	private static function setClientCharacterSet( IDatabase $dbw ): void {
-		if ( $dbw instanceof DatabaseMysqli ) {
-			// Force open the database connection so that we can obtain the underlying native connection handle.
-			$dbw->ping();
-
-			$ref = new ReflectionMethod( $dbw, 'getBindingHandle' );
-			$ref->setAccessible( true );
-
-			/** @var mysqli $mysqli */
-			$mysqli = $ref->invoke( $dbw );
-			$mysqli->set_charset( 'utf8mb4' );
-		}
+	public static function getDB( int $dbType = DB_PRIMARY ) {
+		return CargoServices::getCargoConnectionProvider()->getConnection( $dbType );
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -500,13 +400,11 @@ public static function isSQLStringLiteral( $string ) {
 	}
 
 	public static function getDateFunctions( $dateDBField ) {
-		global $wgCargoDBtype;
-
 		// Unfortunately, date handling in general - and date extraction
 		// specifically - is done differently in almost every DB
 		// system. If support was ever added for SQLite,
 		// that would require special handling as well.
-		if ( $wgCargoDBtype == 'postgres' ) {
+		if ( CargoServices::getCargoConnectionProvider()->getDBType() == 'postgres' ) {
 			$yearValue = "EXTRACT(YEAR FROM $dateDBField)";
 			$monthValue = "EXTRACT(MONTH FROM $dateDBField)";
 			$dayValue = "EXTRACT(DAY FROM $dateDBField)";
@@ -722,8 +620,7 @@ public static function tableFullyExists( $tableName ) {
 			return false;
 		}
 
-		$cdb = self::getDB();
-		return $cdb->tableExists( $tableName );
+		return CargoServices::getCargoConnectionProvider()->getConnection( DB_REPLICA )->tableExists( $tableName );
 	}
 
 	public static function fieldTypeToSQLType( $fieldType, $dbType, $size = null ) {
diff --git a/includes/ServiceWiring.php b/includes/ServiceWiring.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b9948933
--- /dev/null
+++ b/includes/ServiceWiring.php
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+<?php
+
+use MediaWiki\Config\ServiceOptions;
+use MediaWiki\MediaWikiServices;
+
+return [
+	'CargoConnectionProvider' => static function ( MediaWikiServices $services ): CargoConnectionProvider {
+		// DatabaseFactory only exists on MW 1.39 and newer.
+		$databaseFactory = $services->hasService( 'DatabaseFactory' ) ? $services->getDatabaseFactory() : null;
+		return new CargoConnectionProvider(
+			$services->getDBLoadBalancerFactory(),
+			$databaseFactory,
+			new ServiceOptions( CargoConnectionProvider::CONSTRUCTOR_OPTIONS, $services->getMainConfig() )
+		);
+	}
+];
diff --git a/includes/api/CargoRecreateTablesAPI.php b/includes/api/CargoRecreateTablesAPI.php
index 18563337..d2f3917a 100644
--- a/includes/api/CargoRecreateTablesAPI.php
+++ b/includes/api/CargoRecreateTablesAPI.php
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ protected function getDescription() {
 
 	protected function getExamples() {
 		return [
-			'api.php?action=cargorecreatetables&template=City'
+			'api.php?action=cargorecreatetables&template=City',
 		];
 	}
 
@@ -76,4 +76,7 @@ public function needsToken() {
 		return 'csrf';
 	}
 
+	public function isWriteMode() {
+		return true;
+	}
 }
diff --git a/includes/parserfunctions/CargoAttach.php b/includes/parserfunctions/CargoAttach.php
index 2653d51e..5e266980 100644
--- a/includes/parserfunctions/CargoAttach.php
+++ b/includes/parserfunctions/CargoAttach.php
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
 <?php
+
+use MediaWiki\MediaWikiServices;
+
 /**
  * Class for the #cargo_attach parser function.
  *
@@ -41,8 +44,10 @@ public static function run( Parser $parser ) {
 			return CargoUtils::formatError( wfMessage( "cargo-notable" )->parse() );
 		}
 
-		$dbw = wfGetDB( DB_MASTER );
-		$res = $dbw->select( 'cargo_tables', 'COUNT(*) AS total', [ 'main_table' => $tableName ] );
+		$res = MediaWikiServices::getInstance()
+				->getDBLoadBalancer()
+				->getConnection( DB_REPLICA )
+				->select( 'cargo_tables', 'COUNT(*) AS total', [ 'main_table' => $tableName ] );
 		$row = $res->fetchRow();
 		if ( !empty( $row ) && $row['total'] == 0 ) {
 			return CargoUtils::formatError( "Error: The specified table, \"$tableName\", does not exist." );
diff --git a/includes/parserfunctions/CargoDeclare.php b/includes/parserfunctions/CargoDeclare.php
index 9482ed19..05216bd7 100644
--- a/includes/parserfunctions/CargoDeclare.php
+++ b/includes/parserfunctions/CargoDeclare.php
@@ -308,8 +308,7 @@ public static function run( Parser $parser ) {
 		}
 
 		// Validate table name.
-
-		$cdb = CargoUtils::getDB();
+		$cdb = CargoServices::getCargoConnectionProvider()->getConnection( DB_REPLICA );
 
 		foreach ( $parentTables as $extraParams ) {
 			$parentTableName = $extraParams['Name'];
@@ -359,7 +358,6 @@ public static function run( Parser $parser ) {
 		// exists already - otherwise, explain that it needs to be
 		// created.
 		$text = wfMessage( 'cargo-definestable', $tableName )->text();
-		$cdb = CargoUtils::getDB();
 		if ( $cdb->tableExists( $tableName ) ) {
 			$ct = SpecialPage::getTitleFor( 'CargoTables' );
 			$pageName = $ct->getPrefixedText() . "/$tableName";
diff --git a/includes/specials/CargoPageValues.php b/includes/specials/CargoPageValues.php
index 7490ead9..d28521ae 100644
--- a/includes/specials/CargoPageValues.php
+++ b/includes/specials/CargoPageValues.php
@@ -162,8 +162,6 @@ private function getInfoForAllFields( $tableName ) {
 	}
 
 	public function getRowsForPageInTable( $tableName ) {
-		$cdb = CargoUtils::getDB();
-
 		$sqlQuery = new CargoSQLQuery();
 		$sqlQuery->mAliasedTableNames = [ $tableName => $tableName ];
 
@@ -197,7 +195,8 @@ public function getRowsForPageInTable( $tableName ) {
 		$sqlQuery->mOrigAliasedFieldNames = $aliasedFieldNames;
 		$sqlQuery->setDescriptionsAndTableNamesForFields();
 		$sqlQuery->handleDateFields();
-		$sqlQuery->mWhereStr = $cdb->addIdentifierQuotes( '_pageID' ) . " = " .
+		$sqlQuery->mWhereStr = CargoServices::getCargoConnectionProvider()->getConnection( DB_REPLICA )
+				->addIdentifierQuotes( '_pageID' ) . " = " .
 			$this->mTitle->getArticleID();
 
 		$queryResults = $sqlQuery->run();
diff --git a/includes/specials/SpecialCargoRecreateData.php b/includes/specials/SpecialCargoRecreateData.php
index 602d7845..9a643e73 100644
--- a/includes/specials/SpecialCargoRecreateData.php
+++ b/includes/specials/SpecialCargoRecreateData.php
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ public function execute( $query = null ) {
 		$out->addModules( 'ext.cargo.recreatedata' );
 
 		$templateData = [];
-		$dbw = wfGetDB( DB_MASTER );
+		$dbr = MediaWikiServices::getInstance()->getDBLoadBalancer()->getConnection( DB_REPLICA );
 		if ( $this->mTemplateTitle === null ) {
 			if ( $this->mTableName == '_pageData' ) {
 				$conds = null;
@@ -75,18 +75,18 @@ public function execute( $query = null ) {
 			} else { // if ( $this->mTableName == '_ganttData' ) {
 				$conds = 'page_namespace = ' . FD_NS_GANTT;
 			}
-			$numTotalPages = $dbw->selectField( 'page', 'COUNT(*)', $conds );
+			$numTotalPages = $dbr->selectField( 'page', 'COUNT(*)', $conds );
 		} else {
 			$numTotalPages = null;
 			$templateData[] = [
 				'name' => $this->mTemplateTitle->getText(),
-				'numPages' => $this->getNumPagesThatCallTemplate( $dbw, $this->mTemplateTitle )
+				'numPages' => $this->getNumPagesThatCallTemplate( $dbr, $this->mTemplateTitle )
 			];
 		}
 
 		if ( $this->mIsDeclared ) {
 			// Get all attached templates.
-			$res = $dbw->select( 'page_props',
+			$res = $dbr->select( 'page_props',
 				[
 					'pp_page'
 				],
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ public function execute( $query = null ) {
 			foreach ( $res as $row ) {
 				$templateID = $row->pp_page;
 				$attachedTemplateTitle = Title::newFromID( $templateID );
-				$numPages = $this->getNumPagesThatCallTemplate( $dbw, $attachedTemplateTitle );
+				$numPages = $this->getNumPagesThatCallTemplate( $dbr, $attachedTemplateTitle );
 				$attachedTemplateName = $attachedTemplateTitle->getText();
 				$templateData[] = [
 					'name' => $attachedTemplateName,
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ public function execute( $query = null ) {
 		return true;
 	}
 
-	public function getNumPagesThatCallTemplate( IDatabase $dbw, LinkTarget $templateTitle ) {
+	public function getNumPagesThatCallTemplate( IDatabase $dbr, LinkTarget $templateTitle ) {
 		$conds = [ "tl_from=page_id" ];
 
 		// MW 1.38+ - use the normalized link target ID for fetching incoming links to this template.
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ public function getNumPagesThatCallTemplate( IDatabase $dbw, LinkTarget $templat
 			$conds['tl_title'] = $templateTitle->getDBkey();
 		}
 
-		$res = $dbw->select(
+		$res = $dbr->select(
 			[ 'page', 'templatelinks' ],
 			'COUNT(*) AS total',
 			$conds,
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/unit/CargoConnectionProviderUnitTest.php b/tests/phpunit/unit/CargoConnectionProviderUnitTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c1b60068
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/phpunit/unit/CargoConnectionProviderUnitTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,332 @@
+<?php
+
+use MediaWiki\Config\ServiceOptions;
+use Wikimedia\Rdbms\DatabaseFactory;
+use Wikimedia\Rdbms\IDatabase;
+use Wikimedia\Rdbms\ILBFactory;
+use Wikimedia\Rdbms\ILoadBalancer;
+
+/**
+ * @covers CargoConnectionProvider
+ */
+class CargoConnectionProviderUnitTest extends MediaWikiUnitTestCase {
+
+	private ILBFactory $lbFactory;
+
+	private ILoadBalancer $dbLoadBalancer;
+
+	private DatabaseFactory $databaseFactory;
+
+	private IDatabase $connection;
+
+	protected function setUp(): void {
+		parent::setUp();
+		if ( !class_exists( DatabaseFactory::class ) ) {
+			$this->markTestSkipped( 'The DatabaseFactory class is not available' );
+		}
+
+		$this->lbFactory = $this->createMock( ILBFactory::class );
+		$this->dbLoadBalancer = $this->createMock( ILoadBalancer::class );
+		$this->databaseFactory = $this->createMock( DatabaseFactory::class );
+		$this->connection = $this->createMock( IDatabase::class );
+
+		$this->lbFactory->expects( $this->any() )
+			->method( 'getMainLB' )
+			->willReturn( $this->dbLoadBalancer );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @dataProvider provideConnectionConfigs
+	 */
+	public function testShouldCreateAndManageConnectionBasedOnConfigVars(
+		array $config,
+		string $expectedDbType,
+		array $expectedConnectionParams
+	): void {
+		$serviceOptions = new ServiceOptions( CargoConnectionProvider::CONSTRUCTOR_OPTIONS, $config );
+		$connectionProvider = new CargoConnectionProvider( $this->lbFactory, $this->databaseFactory, $serviceOptions );
+		$mainConn = $this->createMock( IDatabase::class );
+
+		$this->dbLoadBalancer->expects( $this->any() )
+			->method( 'getConnection' )
+			->with( $serviceOptions->get( 'CargoDBIndex' ) ?? DB_PRIMARY )
+			->willReturn( $mainConn );
+
+		$mainConn->expects( $this->any() )
+			->method( 'getServer' )
+			->willReturn( 'localhost' );
+		$mainConn->expects( $this->any() )
+			->method( 'getDBname' )
+			->willReturn( 'test_wiki_db' );
+		$mainConn->expects( $this->any() )
+			->method( 'getType' )
+			->willReturn( 'mysql' );
+
+		$this->databaseFactory->expects( $this->once() )
+			->method( 'create' )
+			->with( $expectedDbType, $expectedConnectionParams )
+			->willReturn( $this->connection );
+
+		$replicaConn = $connectionProvider->getConnection( DB_REPLICA );
+		$primaryConn = $connectionProvider->getConnection( DB_PRIMARY );
+
+		$this->assertSame( $this->connection, $replicaConn );
+		$this->assertSame( $this->connection, $primaryConn );
+	}
+
+	public static function provideConnectionConfigs(): iterable {
+		yield 'inferred from main connection' => [
+			[
+				'DBuser' => 'db_user',
+				'DBpassword' => 'db_password',
+				'DBport' => 0,
+				'DBprefix' => '',
+				'DBservers' => [],
+
+				'CargoDBserver' => null,
+				'CargoDBname' => null,
+				'CargoDBuser' => null,
+				'CargoDBpassword' => null,
+				'CargoDBprefix' => null,
+				'CargoDBtype' => null,
+
+				'CargoDBIndex' => null,
+
+				'CargoDBCluster' => null,
+			],
+			'mysql',
+			[
+				'host' => 'localhost',
+				'user' => 'db_user',
+				'password' => 'db_password',
+				'dbname' => 'test_wiki_db',
+				'tablePrefix' => 'cargo__',
+			]
+		];
+
+		yield 'inferred from DBservers' => [
+			[
+				'DBuser' => 'db_user',
+				'DBpassword' => 'db_password',
+				'DBport' => 0,
+				'DBprefix' => '',
+				'DBservers' => [
+					[ 'user' => 'primary_db_user', 'password' => 'primary_db_password' ],
+					[ 'user' => 'replica_db_user', 'password' => 'replica_db_password' ],
+				],
+
+				'CargoDBserver' => null,
+				'CargoDBname' => null,
+				'CargoDBuser' => null,
+				'CargoDBpassword' => null,
+				'CargoDBprefix' => null,
+				'CargoDBtype' => null,
+
+				'CargoDBIndex' => null,
+
+				'CargoDBCluster' => null,
+			],
+			'mysql',
+			[
+				'host' => 'localhost',
+				'user' => 'primary_db_user',
+				'password' => 'primary_db_password',
+				'dbname' => 'test_wiki_db',
+				'tablePrefix' => 'cargo__',
+			]
+		];
+
+		yield 'inferred from main connection with CargoDBIndex override' => [
+			[
+				'DBuser' => 'db_user',
+				'DBpassword' => 'db_password',
+				'DBport' => 0,
+				'DBprefix' => '',
+				'DBservers' => [],
+
+				'CargoDBserver' => null,
+				'CargoDBname' => null,
+				'CargoDBuser' => null,
+				'CargoDBpassword' => null,
+				'CargoDBprefix' => null,
+				'CargoDBtype' => null,
+
+				'CargoDBIndex' => DB_REPLICA,
+
+				'CargoDBCluster' => null,
+			],
+			'mysql',
+			[
+				'host' => 'localhost',
+				'user' => 'db_user',
+				'password' => 'db_password',
+				'dbname' => 'test_wiki_db',
+				'tablePrefix' => 'cargo__',
+			]
+		];
+
+		yield 'inferred from CargoDB overrides' => [
+			[
+				'DBuser' => 'db_user',
+				'DBpassword' => 'db_password',
+				'DBport' => 0,
+				'DBprefix' => '',
+				'DBservers' => [
+					[ 'user' => 'primary_db_user', 'password' => 'primary_db_password' ],
+					[ 'user' => 'replica_db_user', 'password' => 'replica_db_password' ],
+				],
+
+				'CargoDBserver' => 'cargodbhost',
+				'CargoDBname' => 'cargo_db_name',
+				'CargoDBuser' => 'cargo_db_user',
+				'CargoDBpassword' => 'cargo_db_password',
+				'CargoDBprefix' => 'cargoprefix',
+				'CargoDBtype' => 'postgres',
+
+				'CargoDBIndex' => null,
+
+				'CargoDBCluster' => null,
+			],
+			'postgres',
+			[
+				'host' => 'cargodbhost',
+				'user' => 'cargo_db_user',
+				'password' => 'cargo_db_password',
+				'dbname' => 'cargo_db_name',
+				'tablePrefix' => 'cargoprefix',
+				'port' => 0,
+			]
+		];
+
+		yield 'inferred from a subset of CargoDB overrides' => [
+			[
+				'DBuser' => 'db_user',
+				'DBpassword' => 'db_password',
+				'DBport' => 0,
+				'DBprefix' => '',
+				'DBservers' => [
+					[ 'user' => 'primary_db_user', 'password' => 'primary_db_password' ],
+					[ 'user' => 'replica_db_user', 'password' => 'replica_db_password' ],
+				],
+
+				'CargoDBserver' => 'cargodbhost',
+				'CargoDBname' => 'cargo_db_name',
+				'CargoDBuser' => null,
+				'CargoDBpassword' => null,
+				'CargoDBprefix' => null,
+				'CargoDBtype' => null,
+
+				'CargoDBIndex' => null,
+
+				'CargoDBCluster' => null,
+			],
+			'mysql',
+			[
+				'host' => 'cargodbhost',
+				'user' => 'primary_db_user',
+				'password' => 'primary_db_password',
+				'dbname' => 'cargo_db_name',
+				'tablePrefix' => 'cargo__',
+			]
+		];
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @dataProvider provideClusterConnectionTypes
+	 */
+	public function testShouldObtainConnectionFromMediaWikiLoadBalancerIfClusterOptionSet( int $dbType ): void {
+		$serviceOptions = new ServiceOptions( CargoConnectionProvider::CONSTRUCTOR_OPTIONS, [
+			'DBuser' => 'db_user',
+			'DBpassword' => 'db_password',
+			'DBport' => 0,
+			'DBprefix' => '',
+			'DBservers' => [],
+
+			'CargoDBserver' => null,
+			'CargoDBname' => null,
+			'CargoDBuser' => null,
+			'CargoDBpassword' => null,
+			'CargoDBprefix' => null,
+			'CargoDBtype' => null,
+
+			'CargoDBIndex' => null,
+
+			'CargoDBCluster' => 'testCargoCluster',
+		] );
+
+		$connectionProvider = new CargoConnectionProvider( $this->lbFactory, $this->databaseFactory, $serviceOptions );
+		$cargoLoadBalancer = $this->createMock( ILoadBalancer::class );
+		$cargoConn = $this->createMock( IDatabase::class );
+
+		$cargoLoadBalancer->expects( $this->any() )
+			->method( 'hasOrMadeRecentPrimaryChanges' )
+			->willReturn( false );
+
+		$cargoLoadBalancer->expects( $this->any() )
+			->method( 'getConnection' )
+			->with( $dbType )
+			->willReturn( $cargoConn );
+
+		$this->lbFactory->expects( $this->any() )
+			->method( 'getExternalLB' )
+			->with( 'testCargoCluster' )
+			->willReturn( $cargoLoadBalancer );
+
+		$conn = $connectionProvider->getConnection( $dbType );
+
+		$this->assertSame( $cargoConn, $conn );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @dataProvider provideClusterConnectionTypes
+	 */
+	public function testShouldObtainPrimaryConnectionFromMediaWikiLoadBalancerIfClusterOptionSetWithRecentWrites(
+		int $dbType
+	): void {
+		$serviceOptions = new ServiceOptions( CargoConnectionProvider::CONSTRUCTOR_OPTIONS, [
+			'DBuser' => 'db_user',
+			'DBpassword' => 'db_password',
+			'DBport' => 0,
+			'DBprefix' => '',
+			'DBservers' => [],
+
+			'CargoDBserver' => null,
+			'CargoDBname' => null,
+			'CargoDBuser' => null,
+			'CargoDBpassword' => null,
+			'CargoDBprefix' => null,
+			'CargoDBtype' => null,
+
+			'CargoDBIndex' => null,
+
+			'CargoDBCluster' => 'testCargoCluster',
+		] );
+
+		$connectionProvider = new CargoConnectionProvider( $this->lbFactory, $this->databaseFactory, $serviceOptions );
+		$cargoLoadBalancer = $this->createMock( ILoadBalancer::class );
+		$cargoConn = $this->createMock( IDatabase::class );
+
+		$cargoLoadBalancer->expects( $this->any() )
+			->method( 'hasOrMadeRecentPrimaryChanges' )
+			->willReturn( true );
+
+		$cargoLoadBalancer->expects( $this->any() )
+			->method( 'getConnection' )
+			->with( DB_PRIMARY )
+			->willReturn( $cargoConn );
+
+		$this->lbFactory->expects( $this->any() )
+			->method( 'getExternalLB' )
+			->with( 'testCargoCluster' )
+			->willReturn( $cargoLoadBalancer );
+
+		$conn = $connectionProvider->getConnection( $dbType );
+
+		$this->assertSame( $cargoConn, $conn );
+	}
+
+	public static function provideClusterConnectionTypes(): iterable {
+		yield 'replica DB' => [ DB_REPLICA ];
+		yield 'primary DB' => [ DB_PRIMARY ];
+	}
+}