How to Build an ETL App for Talkdesk Data in Python with CData Connect AI
The rich ecosystem of Python modules lets you get to work quickly and integrate your systems more effectively. With the CData Connect AI Python SDK and the petl framework, you can build Talkdesk-connected applications and pipelines for extracting, transforming, and loading Talkdesk data. This article shows how to connect to Connect AI and use petl to extract, transform, and load Talkdesk data.
The Connect AI Python SDK (cdata-connect-ai) is a DB-API 2.0 (PEP 249) compliant client, so petl can read directly from the SDK connection with etl.fromdb. There is no driver to install per source: connect with a Personal Access Token and build your pipeline.
Connect to Talkdesk in Connect AI
CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.
- Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
- Select "Talkdesk" from the Add Connection panel
-
Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Talkdesk.
Talkdesk uses the OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials grant. There is no browser-based authorization step and no callback URL.
Set the following connection properties:
- AccountName: The name of your Talkdesk account.
- Region: The region where your Talkdesk instance is deployed. Supported values are US (default), EU, CA, AU, UK, and FedRamp.
- OAuthClientId: The Client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
- OAuthClientSecret: The Client Secret assigned to your custom OAuth application.
Creating a Custom OAuth Application
- Log in to your Talkdesk account and select OAuth Clients from the navigation menu.
- Click Create OAuth Client and give the client a descriptive name.
- Set Grant Type to Client Credentials.
- Click Add scopes and select the scopes for the data you want to access.
- Click Create and copy the Client Id and Client Secret.
When you connect, the driver automatically requests an access token from Talkdesk, caches it, and refreshes it when it expires. Make sure the scopes selected for the application match the views you plan to query, or the token request can fail.
- Click Save & Test
- 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.
- Click the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the Settings page.
- On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
- Give the PAT a name and click Create.

- The PAT is only visible at creation, so copy it and store it securely.
Install Required Modules
Install the SDK and the petl framework using the pip utility:
pip install cdata-connect-ai pip install petl
Build an ETL App for Talkdesk Data in Python
Once the required modules are installed, you are ready to build the ETL app. Code snippets follow, but the full source code is available at the end of the article.
First, import the modules and connect to Connect AI with your account email and PAT:
import petl as etl
import cdata_connect_ai
conn = cdata_connect_ai.connect(
username="[email protected]",
password="<your_pat>",
)
Create a SQL Statement to Query Talkdesk
Use SQL to create a statement for querying Talkdesk. In this article, we read data from the Users entity. Identifiers are three-part: <Connection>.<Schema>.<Table>, where the connection name defaults to the source name (for example, Talkdesk1).
sql = (
"SELECT Id, Name "
"FROM [Talkdesk1].[Talkdesk].[Users] "
"WHERE Active = 'true'"
)
Extract, Transform, and Load the Talkdesk Data
With a connection and query in hand, use petl to extract, transform, and load the Talkdesk data. In this example, we extract Talkdesk data, sort the data by the Name column, and load the data into a CSV file.
table1 = etl.fromdb(conn, sql) table2 = etl.sort(table1, 'Name') etl.tocsv(table2, 'users_data.csv')
Talkdesk is a read-only source in Connect AI, so this pipeline can extract and transform Talkdesk data but not load rows back. Close the connection when the extract is complete:
conn.close()
With the CData Connect AI Python SDK, you can work with Talkdesk data just like you would with any database, including direct access to data in ETL packages like petl.
More Information and Free Trial
Now you can pipe live Talkdesk data through petl using the CData Connect AI Python SDK. For more information on connecting to Talkdesk (and hundreds of other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start building data pipelines for live Talkdesk data in Python.
Full Source Code
import petl as etl
import cdata_connect_ai
conn = cdata_connect_ai.connect(
username="[email protected]",
password="<your_pat>",
)
sql = (
"SELECT Id, Name "
"FROM [Talkdesk1].[Talkdesk].[Users] "
"WHERE Active = 'true'"
)
table1 = etl.fromdb(conn, sql)
table2 = etl.sort(table1, 'Name')
etl.tocsv(table2, 'users_data.csv')
conn.close()