Bridge Smartsheet Connectivity with Apache NiFi

Apache NiFi supports powerful and scalable directed graphs of data routing, transformation, and system mediation logic. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Smartsheet, NiFi can work with live Smartsheet data. This article describes how to connect to and query Smartsheet data from an Apache NiFi Flow.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Smartsheet data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Smartsheet, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Smartsheet and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze Smartsheet data using native data types.

Connecting to Smartsheet Data in Apache NiFi

1. Download the CData JDBC Driver for Smartsheet installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.

2. Copy the CData JDBC Driver JAR file (and license file if it exists), cdata.jdbc.smartsheet.jar (and cdata.jdbc.smartsheet.lic), to the Apache NiFi lib subfolder, for example, C:\nifi-1.3.0-bin\nifi-1.3.0\lib.

   On Windows, the default location for the CData JDBC Driver is C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Smartsheet.

3. Start Apache NiFi. For example:

   cd C:\nifi-1.3.0-bin\nifi-1.3.0\bin
   run-nifi.bat
   

4. Navigate to the Apache NiFi UI in your web browser: typically http://localhost:8080/nifi
5. Click the (Configuration) button from the Operate sidebar.
6. In the NiFi Flow Configuration page, navigate to the Controller Services tab.
7. Click the button to create a new controller service.
8. In the Add Controller Service page, select DBCPConnection Pool, and then click Add.
9. Click the gear button to configure the new DBCPConnection Pool.

10. In the Configure Controller Service page, navigate to the Properties tab. Fill in the properties:

    Property	Value
    Database Connection URL	jdbc:smartsheet:OAuthClientId=MyOauthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH
    Database Driver Class Name	cdata.jdbc.smartsheet.SmartsheetDriver

    Built-in Connection String Designer

    For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Smartsheet JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

    java -jar cdata.jdbc.smartsheet.jar

    Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

    Smartsheet uses the OAuth authentication standard. To authenticate using OAuth, you will need to register an app to obtain the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL connection properties.

    However, for testing purposes you can instead use the Personal Access Token you get when you create an application; set this to the OAuthAccessToken connection property.

11. Click the button to enable the new DBCPConnection Pool.

Your Smartsheet data is now available for use in Apache NiFi. For example, you can use the DBCPConnection Pool as the source for a QueryDatabaseTable processor.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Smartsheet and start working with your live Smartsheet data in Apache NiFi. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.