Query Xero Data as a SQL Server Database in Node.js

You can use CData Connect Cloud to query Xero data through a SQL Server interface. Follow the procedure below to create a virtual database for Xero in Connect Cloud and start querying using Node.js.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure MySQL, cloud-to-cloud interface for Xero, allowing you to easily query live Xero data in Node.js — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you query data in Node.js, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Xero, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Xero data.

Connect to Xero in Connect Cloud

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

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "Xero" from the Add Connection panel
3. Xero uses OAuth to authenticate. Click "Sign in" to authenticate with Xero.
4. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Xero 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 Xero data from Node.js.

Query Xero from Node.js

The following example shows how to define a connection and execute queries to Xero with the SQL Server module. You will need the following information:

• server: tds.cdata.com
• port: 14333
• user: a Connect Cloud user (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
• password: the PAT for the above user
• database: The connection you configured for Xero (Xero1)

Connect to Xero data and start executing queries with the code below:

var sql = require('mssql')
var config = {
	server: 'tds.cdata.com',
	port: 14333, 
	user: 'user@mydomain.com', //update me
	password: 'CONNECT_USER_PAT', //update me	
	options: {
		encrypt: true,
		database: 'Xero1'
	}
}

sql.connect(config, err => { 
    if(err){
        throw err ;
    }
    new sql.Request().query('SELECT * FROM Items', (err, result) => {
        console.dir(result)
    })
        
});

sql.on('error', err => {
    console.log("SQL Error: " ,err);
})