How to Query Discourse Data in MySQL Workbench

You can use the SQL Gateway from the ODBC Driver for Discourse to query Discourse data through a MySQL interface. Follow the procedure below to start the MySQL remoting service of the SQL Gateway and work with live Discourse data in MySQL Workbench.

Connect to Discourse Data

If you have not already done so, provide values for the required connection properties in the data source name (DSN). You can use the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to configure the DSN. This is also the last step of the driver installation. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure a DSN.

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;

Configure the SQL Gateway

See the SQL Gateway Overview to set up connectivity to Discourse data as a virtual MySQL database. You will configure a MySQL remoting service that listens for MySQL requests from clients. The service can be configured in the SQL Gateway UI.

Query Discourse from MySQL Workbench

The steps below outline connecting to the virtual Discourse database created in the SQL Gateway from MySQL Workbench and issuing basic queries to work with live Discourse data.

Connect to Discourse through the SQL Gateway

1. In MySQL Workbench, click to add a new MySQL connection.
2. Name the connection (CData SQL Gateway for Discourse).
3. Set the Hostname, Port, and Username parameters to connect to the SQL Gateway.
4. Click Store in Vault to set and store the password.
5. Click Test Connection to ensure the connection is configured properly and click OK.

NOTE: When we refer to Username and Password, we mean the credentials for the user(s) created for the SQL Gateway.

Query Discourse Data

1. Open the connection you just created (CData SQL Gateway for Discourse).
2. Click File -> New Query Tab.
3. Write a SQL query to retrieve Discourse data, like SELECT * FROM `CData API Sys`.Backups;

With access to live Discourse data from MySQL Workbench, you can easily work with Discourse, just like you would a MySQL database. Get started now with a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for ODBC and the CData SQL Gateway.