Query Discourse Data in DataGrip

DataGrip is a database IDE that allows SQL developers to query, create, and manage databases. When paired with the CData API Driver for JDBC, DataGrip can work with live Discourse data. This article shows how to establish a connection to Discourse data in DataGrip.

Create a New Driver Definition for Discourse

The steps below describe how to create a new Data Source in DataGrip for Discourse.

1. In DataGrip, click File -> New > Project and name the project
2. In the Database Explorer, click the plus icon () and select Driver.
3. In the Driver tab:
   • Set Name to a user-friendly name (e.g. "CData Discourse Driver")
   • Set Driver Files to the appropriate JAR file. To add the file, click the plus (), select "Add Files," navigate to the "lib" folder in the driver's installation directory and select the JAR file (e.g. cdata.jdbc.api.jar).
   • Set Class to cdata.jdbc.api.API.jar
   Additionally, in the advanced tab you can change driver properties and some other settings like VM Options, VM environment, VM home path, DBMS, etc
   • For most cases, change the DBMS type to "Unknown" in Expert options to avoid native SQL Server queries (Transact-SQL), which might result in an invalid function error
4. Click "Apply" then "OK" to save the Connection

Configure a Connection to Discourse

1. Once the connection is saved, click the plus (), then "Data Source" then "CData Discourse Driver" to create a new Discourse Data Source.
2. In the new window, configure the connection to Discourse with a JDBC URL.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

   For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Discourse JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

         java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.jar
       

   Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

   The Discourse API uses API Key authentication.

   Using API Key Authentication

   Discourse requires API Key and Username for authentication. API Keys are generated in the Discourse Admin panel under the API section. You can create user-specific API keys or all-users API keys. Once you have obtained the API Key, set it along with the Domain and Username in the ProfileSettings connection property.

   Example Connection string

   Profile=C:\profiles\Discourse.apip;ProfileSettings='Domain=forum.example.com;APIKey=your_api_key;Username=your_username;'AuthScheme=APIKey;
   

   
3. Set URL to the connection string, e.g.,

   jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Discourse.apip;ProfileSettings='Domain=forum.example.com;APIKey=your_api_key;Username=your_username;'AuthScheme=APIKey;

4. Click "Apply" and "OK" to save the connection string

At this point, you will see the data source in the Data Explorer.

Execute SQL Queries Against Discourse

To browse through the Discourse entities (available as tables) accessible through the JDBC Driver, expand the Data Source.

To execute queries, right click on any table and select "New" -> "Query Console."

In the Console, write the SQL query you wish to execute. For example:

SELECT ,  FROM Backups WHERE  = ''

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for JDBC and start working with your live Discourse data in DataGrip. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.