Getting Started with the CData Connect AI Python SDK for Printify

The CData Connect AI Python SDK (cdata-connect-ai) is a DB-API 2.0 (PEP 249) compliant client that lets you fetch and act on live Printify data with standard Python database code. Because Connect AI provides the connectivity: you install one package, authenticate with a Personal Access Token, and query Printify (and every other source connected in Connect AI) using the same familiar connect() / cursor() / fetchall() pattern you already know from libraries like sqlite3 and psycopg2.

This guide walks through connecting Printify in Connect AI, generating a Personal Access Token, installing the SDK, and reading (and, where supported, writing) live Printify data.

Prerequisites

• An account in CData Connect AI
• Python 3.8 or higher
• An active Printify account with valid credentials

Connect to Printify in Connect AI

CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

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 and update the user-based permissions.

Generate a Personal Access Token (PAT)

The Python SDK authenticates to Connect AI with your account email and a Personal Access Token (PAT). It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each application to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click 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 PAT is only visible at creation, so copy it and store it securely.

Install the SDK

Install the SDK from PyPI with pip:

pip install cdata-connect-ai

Connect and Run Your First Query

Connect with your account email and PAT, then query sys_tables to discover every table available across your connected sources. Identifiers in Connect AI are three-part: <Connection>.<Schema>.<Table>, where the connection name defaults to the source name (for example, API1).

import cdata_connect_ai

conn = cdata_connect_ai.connect(
    username="[email protected]",
    password="<your_pat>",
)
cur = conn.cursor()

# Discover what's available across your connected sources
cur.execute("SELECT CatalogName, SchemaName, TableName FROM sys_tables LIMIT 25")

for row in cur.fetchall():
    print(row)

Pick any table from the results and query it directly:

cur.execute(
    "SELECT Id, ShippingMethod "
    "FROM [API1].[API].[Tags] "
    "LIMIT 10"
)

for row in cur.fetchall():
    print(row)

Printify is a read-only source in Connect AI, so the SDK supports queries but not INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE. Close the connection when you are finished:

conn.close()

That is the entire workflow: one package, a PAT, and standard DB-API calls. Because the SDK returns a normal DB-API connection, it drops straight into the rest of the Python data ecosystem. From here you can load Printify data into pandas, build ETL pipelines with petl, or power a Dash web app, all using this same connection.

More Information and Free Trial

Now you can query live Printify data from Python through the CData Connect AI Python SDK. For more information on connecting to Printify (and hundreds of other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Printify data in Python.