Access Live Slack Data in Google Sheets

Google Sheets is a free, web-based spreadsheet program. When paired with CData Connect Server, you can instantly access Slack data from within Google Sheets for data analysis, collaborations, calculations, and more. This article shows how to connect to Slack in your Connect Server instance and access live Slack data in Google Sheets.

CData Connect Server provides a pure MySQL interface for Slack, allowing you to easily access live Slack data in Google Sheets. Simply use the partner Connect Server Connector to generate a query (or write your own). Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Server pushes all supported query operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Slack, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Slack data.

Create a Virtual MySQL Database for Slack Data

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

1. Log into Connect Server and click Connections.
2. Select "Slack" from Available Data Sources.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Slack. Slack uses the OAuth authentication standard. To authenticate using OAuth, you will need to create an app to obtain the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL connection properties. See the Getting Started section of the help documentation for an authentication guide.
4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.

With the virtual database created, you are ready to connect to Slack data from Google Sheets.

Access Live Slack Data in Google Sheets

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Server from Google Sheets to access live Slack data.

1. Log into Google Sheets, create a new sheet (or open an existing one).
2. Click Add-ons and click Get Add-ons (if you have already installed the Add-on, jump to step 5).
3. Search for CData Connect Server Connector and select the Add-on.
4. Authorize the Connector.
5. Back in Google Sheets, click Add-ons and open the CData Connect Server Connector.
6. Use your instance name (myinstance in CONNECT_SERVER_URL), username, and password to connect to your Connect Server instance.
7. Click CREATE to access Slack data through your Connect Server instance.
8. Select a Database (e.g. Slack1) and click Next.
9. Select a Table (e.g. Channels) and Fields (columns), add any sorting, filtering, and limits and click Execute.

SQL Access to Slack Data from Applications

Now, you have a direct connection to live Slack data from your Google Sheets workbook. You can add more data to your workbook for calculations, aggregations, collaboration, and more.

Try CData Connect Server and get SQL data access to 200+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your applications.