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How to integrate Metabase with MongoDB Data
Use CData Connect Cloud to connect to live MongoDB data and create an interactive dashboard in Metabase from MongoDB data.
Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live MongoDB data. This article describes how to connect to MongoDB and build a simple visualization using MongoDB data.
CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for MongoDB, allowing you to easily integrate with live MongoDB data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to MongoDB, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return MongoDB data.
About MongoDB Data Integration
Accessing and integrating live data from MongoDB has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:
- Access data from MongoDB 2.6 and above, ensuring broad usability across various MongoDB versions.
- Easily manage unstructured data thanks to flexible NoSQL (learn more here: Leading-Edge Drivers for NoSQL Integration).
- Leverage feature advantages over other NoSQL drivers and realize functional benefits when working with MongoDB data (learn more here: A Feature Comparison of Drivers for NoSQL).
MongoDB's flexibility means that it can be used as a transactional, operational, or analytical database. That means CData customers use our solutions to integrate their business data with MongoDB or integrate their MongoDB data with their data warehouse (or both). Customers also leverage our live connectivity options to analyze and report on MongoDB directly from their preferred tools, like Power BI and Tableau.
For more details on MongoDB use case and how CData enhances your MongoDB experience, check out our blog post: The Top 10 Real-World MongoDB Use Cases You Should Know in 2024.
Getting Started
Configure MongoDB Connectivity for Metabase
Connectivity to MongoDB from Metabase is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with MongoDB data from Metabase, we start by creating and configuring a MongoDB connection.
- Log into Connect Cloud, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
- Select "MongoDB" from the Add Connection panel
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Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to MongoDB.
Set the Server, Database, User, and Password connection properties to connect to MongoDB. To access MongoDB collections as tables you can use automatic schema discovery or write your own schema definitions. Schemas are defined in .rsd files, which have a simple format. You can also execute free-form queries that are not tied to the schema.
- Click Create & Test
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Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add MongoDB Connection page and update the User-based permissions.
Add a Personal Access Token
When connecting to Connect Cloud through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect Cloud. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.
- Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect Cloud app to open the settings page.
- On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
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Give the PAT a name and click Create.
- The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.
With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to MongoDB data from Metabase.
Connect to CData Connect Cloud from Metabase
After creating the connection in Connect Cloud, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect Cloud.
- Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
- Configure the connection to Connect Cloud and click "Save"
- Database type: Select "SQL Server"
- Name: Name the connection (e.g. "MongoDB (Connect Cloud)")
- Host: tds.cdata.com
- Port: 14333
- Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. MongoDB1)
- Username: A Connect Cloud username (e.g. [email protected])
- Password: The PAT previously created
- Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)
Execute MongoDB Data with Metabase
Once you configure the connection to Connect Cloud, you can query MongoDB and build visualizations.
- Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the MongoDB data
- Write a SQL query based on the MongoDB connection in CData Connect Cloud, e.g.
SELECT borough, cuisine FROM restaurants
- Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization
More Information & Free Trial
At this point, you have built a simple visualization from MongoDB data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live MongoDB data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to MongoDB (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect Cloud page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live MongoDB data in Metabase today.
