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Rapidly create and deploy powerful Java applications that integrate with Zendesk including Tickets, Groups, Users, Schedules, and more!

Load Zendesk Data to a Database Using Embulk



Use CData JDBC drivers with the open source ETL/ELT tool Embulk to load Zendesk data to a database.

Embulk is an open source bulk data loader. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Zendesk, Embulk easily loads data from Zendesk to any supported destination. In this article, we explain how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Zendesk in Embulk to load Zendesk data to a MySQL dtabase.

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to Zendesk Data

Before creating a bulk load job in Embulk, note the installation location for the JAR file for the JDBC Driver (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Zendesk\lib).

Embulk supports JDBC connectivity, so you can easily connect to Zendesk and execute SQL queries. Before creating a bulk load job, create a JDBC URL for authenticating with Zendesk.

Connecting to Zendesk

To connect, set the URL and provide authentication. The URL is your Zendesk Support URL: https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com.

Authenticating to Zendesk

You can authenticate using the Basic or OAuth methods.

Using Basic Authentication

To use Basic authentication, specify your email address and password or your email address and an API token. Set User to your email address and follow the steps below to provide the Password or ApiToken.

  • Enable password access in the Zendesk Support admin interface at Admin > Channels > API.
  • Manage API tokens in the Zendesk Support Admin interface at Admin > Channels > API. More than one token can be active at the same time. Deleting a token deactivates it permanently.

Using OAuth Authentication

See the Getting Started guide in the CData driver documentation for an authentication guide.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.zendesk.jar

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

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for Zendesk:

jdbc:zendesk:URL=https://subdomain.zendesk.com;User=my@email.com;Password=test123;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH

Load Zendesk Data in Embulk

After installing the CData JDBC Driver and creating a JDBC connection string, install the required Embulk plugins.

Install Embulk Input & Output Plugins

  1. Install the JDBC Input Plugin in Embulk.
    https://github.com/embulk/embulk-input-jdbc/tree/master/embulk-input-jdbc
  2. embulk gem install embulk-input-jdbc
  3. In this article, we use MySQL as the destination database. You can also choose SQL Server, PostgreSQL, or Google BigQuery as the destination using the output Plugins.
    https://github.com/embulk/embulk-output-jdbc/tree/master/embulk-output-mysql embulk gem install embulk-output-mysql

With the input and output plugins installed, we are ready to load Zendesk data into MySQL using Embulk.

Create a Job to Load Zendesk Data

Start by creating a config file in Embulk, using a name like zendesk-mysql.yml.

  1. For the input plugin options, use the CData JDBC Driver for Zendesk, including the path to the driver JAR file, the driver class (e.g. cdata.jdbc.zendesk.ZendeskDriver), and the JDBC URL from above
  2. For the output plugin options, use the values and credentials for the MySQL database

Sample Config File (zendesk-mysql.yml)

in: type: jdbc driver_path: C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] 20xx\lib\cdata.jdbc.zendesk.jar driver_class: cdata.jdbc.zendesk.ZendeskDriver url: jdbc:zendesk:URL=https://subdomain.zendesk.com;User=my@email.com;Password=test123;InitiateOAuth=REFRESH table: "Tickets" out: type: mysql host: localhost database: DatabaseName user: UserId password: UserPassword table: "Tickets" mode: insert

After creating the file, run the Embulk job.

embulk run zendesk-mysql.yml

After running the the Embulk job, find the Salesforce data in the MySQL table.

Load Filtered Zendesk Data

In addition to loading data directly from a table, you can use a custom SQL query to have more granular control of the data loaded. You can also perform increment loads by setting a last updated column in a SQL WHERE clause in the query field.

in: type: jdbc driver_path: C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] 20xx\lib\cdata.jdbc.zendesk.jar driver_class: cdata.jdbc.zendesk.ZendeskDriver url: jdbc:zendesk:URL=https://subdomain.zendesk.com;User=my@email.com;Password=test123;InitiateOAuth=REFRESH query: "SELECT Id, Subject FROM Tickets WHERE [RecordId] = 1" out: type: mysql host: localhost database: DatabaseName user: UserId password: UserPassword table: "Tickets" mode: insert

More Information & Free Trial

By using CData JDBC Driver for Zendesk as a connector, Embulk can integrate Zendesk data into your data load jobs. And with drivers for more than 200+ other enterprise sources, you can integrate any enterprise SaaS, big data, or NoSQL source as well. Download a 30-day free trial and get started today.