Integrate Foursquare with External Services using SnapLogic

SnapLogic is an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) that allows users to create data integration flows with no code. When paired with the CData JDBC Drivers, users get access to live data from more than 250+ SaaS, Big Data and NoSQL sources, including Foursquare, in their SnapLogic workflows.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Foursquare data. When platforms issue complex SQL queries to Foursquare, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Foursquare and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying lets you work with Foursquare data using native data types.

Connect to Foursquare in SnapLogic

To connect to Foursquare data in SnapLogic, download and install the CData Foursquare JDBC Driver. Follow the installation dialog. When the installation is complete, the JAR file can be found in the installation directory (C:/Program Files/CData/CData API Driver for JDBC/lib by default).

Upload the Foursquare JDBC Driver

After installation, upload the JDBC JAR file to a location in SnapLogic (for example, projects/Jerod Johnson) from the Manager tab.

Configure the Connection

Once the JDBC Driver is uploaded, we can create the connection to Foursquare.

1. Navigate to the Designer tab
2. Expand "JDBC" from Snaps and drag a "Generic JDBC - Select" snap onto the designer
3. Click Add Account (or select an existing one) and click "Continue"
4. In the next form, configure the JDBC connection properties:
   • Under JDBC JARs, add the JAR file we previously uploaded
   • Set JDBC Driver Class to cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver

   • Set JDBC URL to a JDBC connection string for the Foursquare JDBC Driver, for example:

     jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Foursquare.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_personal_access_token';RTK=XXXXXX;

     NOTE: RTK is a trial or full key. Contact our Support team for more information.

     Built-In Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Foursquare 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.

     Using API Key Authentication

     Foursquare Places API uses Service Key (Bearer token) authentication. To obtain a Service Key:

     1. Go to the Foursquare Developer Console at https://foursquare.com/developers/
     2. Create a new project or select an existing one
     3. Navigate to the API Keys section
     4. Generate a new Service Key for the Places API

     After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

     • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
     • ServiceKey: Set this to your Foursquare Service Key obtained from the Developer Console.
     • XPlacesApiVersion: (Optional) Set this to the API version date. Defaults to 2025-06-17.

     Example APIKey connection string

     Profile=C:\profiles\Foursquare.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_personal_access_token';
     

     
5. After entering the connection properties, click "Validate" and "Apply"

Read Foursquare Data

In the form that opens after validating and applying the connection, configure your query.

• Set Schema name to "API"
• Set Table name to a table for Foursquare using the schema name, for example: "API"."Autocomplete" (use the drop-down to see the full list of available tables)
• Add Output fields for each item you wish to work with from the table

Save the Generic JDBC - Select snap.

With connection and query configured, click the end of the snap to preview the data (highlighted below).

Once you confirm the results are what you expect, you can add additional snaps to funnel your Foursquare data to another endpoint.

Piping Foursquare Data to External Services

For this article, we will load data in a Google Spreadsheet. You can use any of the supported snaps, or even use a Generic JDBC snap with another CData JDBC Driver, to move data into an external service.

1. Start by dropping a "Worksheet Writer" snap onto the end of the "Generic JDBC - Select" snap.
2. Add an account to connect to Google Sheets
3. Configure the Worksheet Writer snap to write your Foursquare data to a Google Spreadsheet

You can now execute the fully configured pipeline to extract data from Foursquare and push it into a Google Spreadsheet.

More Information & Free Trial

Using the CData API Driver for JDBC you can create a pipeline in SnapLogic for integrating Foursquare data with external services. For more information about connecting to Foursquare, check at our CData API Driver for JDBC page. Download a free, 30 day trial of the CData API Driver for JDBC and get started today.