How to integrate Metabase with Trello 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 Trello data. This article describes how to connect to Trello and build a simple visualization using Trello data.

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

Configure Trello Connectivity for Metabase

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

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

   Trello uses token-based authentication to grant third-party applications access to their API. When a user has granted an application access to their data, the application is given a token that can be used to make requests to Trello's API.

   Trello's API can be accessed in 2 different ways. The first is using Trello's own Authorization Route, and the second is using OAuth1.0.

   • Authorization Route: At the moment of registration, Trello assigns an API key and Token to the account. See the Help documentation for information on how to connect via the Authorization route.
   • OAuth Route: Similar to using Authorization, OAuth creates an Application Id and Secret when you create your account. See the Help documentation for information on how to to connect.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Trello 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 Trello 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. "Trello (Connect Cloud)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. Trello1)
   • 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 Trello Data with Metabase

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

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

   SELECT BoardId, Name FROM Boards WHERE Name = 'Public Board'

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