How to integrate Metabase with Printify Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect AI, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live Printify data. This article describes how to connect to Printify and build a simple visualization using Printify data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Printify, allowing you to easily integrate with live Printify 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 Printify, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Printify data.

Configure Printify Connectivity for Metabase

Connectivity to Printify from Metabase is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Printify data from Metabase, we start by creating and configuring a Printify connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "Printify" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Printify.

   Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the Printify Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\Profile.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Printify (see below).

   Printify API Profile Settings

   In order to authenticate to Printify, you'll need to provide your API Key. To get your API Key navigate to My Profile, then Connections. In the Connections section you will be able to generate your Personal Access Token (API Key) and set your Token Access Scopes. Personal Access Tokens are valid for one year. An expired Personal Access Token can be re-generated using the same steps after it expires. Set the API Key to your Personal Access Token in the ProfileSettings property to connect.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Printify Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI 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 AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. 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 Printify data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect AI from Metabase

After creating the connection in Connect AI, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect AI.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
2. Configure the connection to Connect AI and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Printify (Connect AI)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. API1)
   • Username: A Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
   • Password: The PAT previously created
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)
   

Execute Printify Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect AI, you can query Printify and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the Printify data
2. Write a SQL query based on the Printify connection in CData Connect AI, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT Id, ShippingMethod FROM Tags WHERE Status = 'pending'

   
3. 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 Printify data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Printify data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Printify (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Printify data in Metabase today.