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How to integrate Metabase with Quickbase Data


Use CData Connect Cloud to connect to live Quickbase data and create an interactive dashboard in Metabase from Quickbase 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 Quickbase data. This article describes how to connect to Quickbase and build a simple visualization using Quickbase data.

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

Configure Quickbase Connectivity for Metabase

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

  1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
  2. Select "Quickbase" from the Add Connection panel
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Quickbase.

    User Authentication Method

    To authenticate with user credentials, specify the following connection properties:

    1. Set the User and Password.
    2. If your application requires an ApplicationToken;, you must provide it otherwise an error will be thrown. You can find the ApplicationToken under SpecificApp > Settings > App management > App properties > Advanced settings > Security options > Manage Application Token.

    User Token Authentication

    To authenticate with a user token, specify the following connection properties:

    1. Set UserToken and you are ready to connect. You can find the UserToken under Quick Base > My Preferences > My User Information > Manage User Tokens.
  4. Click Create & Test
  5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Quickbase Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

  1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
  2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
  3. Give your 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, you are ready to connect to Quickbase data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect from Metabase

After creating the virtual database, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect Cloud.

  1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
  2. Configure the connection to Connect Cloud and click "Save"
    • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
    • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Quickbase (Connect Cloud)")
    • Host: tds.cdata.com
    • Port: 14333
    • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. QuickBase1)
    • Username: A Connect Cloud username (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
    • Password: The PAT for the above Connect Cloud user
    • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)

Execute Quickbase Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect Cloud, you can query Quickbase and build visualizations.

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

    SELECT Id, Column1 FROM SampleTable_1 WHERE Column2 = '100'
  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 Quickbase data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Quickbase data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Quickbase (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect Cloud page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Quickbase data in Metabase today.