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URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/salesforce-jdbc-squirrel-sql.rst

⇱ How to connect to Salesforce Data with Squirrel SQL client

How to connect to Salesforce Data with Squirrel SQL client

👁 Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Connect to Salesforce data and execute queries in the Squirrel SQL Client.

The CData JDBC Driver for Salesforce enables you to execute queries to Salesforce data in tools like Squirrel SQL Client. In this article, you will create a JDBC data source for Salesforce data and execute queries.

About Salesforce Data Integration

Accessing and integrating live data from Salesforce has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:

  • Access to custom entities and fields means Salesforce users get access to all of Salesforce.
  • Create atomic and batch update operations.
  • Read, write, update, and delete their Salesforce data.
  • Leverage the latest Salesforce features and functionalities with support for SOAP API versions 30.0.
  • See improved performance based on SOQL support to push complex queries down to Salesforce servers.
  • Use SQL stored procedures to perform actions like creating, retrieving, aborting, and deleting jobs, uploading and downloading attachments and documents, and more.

Users frequently integrate Salesforce data with:

  • other ERPs, marketing automation, HCMs, and more.
  • preferred data tools like Power BI, Tableau, Looker, and more.
  • databases and data warehouses.

For more information on how CData solutions work with Salesforce, check out our Salesforce integration page.


Getting Started


Add the JDBC Driver for Salesforce

Follow the steps below to add the driver JAR.

  1. In Squirrel SQL, click Windows -> View Drivers.
  2. Click the plus icon to open the Add Driver wizard.
  3. In the Name box, enter a user-friendly name for the driver; for example, CData JDBC Driver for Salesforce.
  4. In the Example URL box, enter jdbc:salesforce:
  5. In the Extra Class Path tab, click Add.
  6. In the file explorer dialog that opens, select the JAR file for the driver, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
  7. Click List Drivers to populate the Class Name menu with the class name for the driver, cdata.jdbc.salesforce.SalesforceDriver.
👁 The definition for the JDBC data source. (Salesforce is shown.)

Define Connection Properties

Follow the steps below to save connection properties in the driver alias.

  1. Click Windows -> View Aliases.
  2. In the pane that lists the aliases, click the plus icon.

  3. In the Add Alias wizard that opens, the following fields are required for the JDBC driver:

    • Name: Enter a name for the alias; for example, CData Salesforce Source.
    • Driver: Select the CData JDBC Driver for Salesforce.
    • URL: Enter jdbc:salesforce:
    👁 The alias definition, containing the connection parameters. (Salesforce is shown.)
  4. If you want to define any additional properties, click Properties.
  5. In the Driver properties tab of the dialog that appears, select the Use driver properties checkbox.
  6. In the Specify column, select the checkboxes for the required connection properties.

    There are several authentication methods available for connecting to Salesforce: OAuth, Login (or basic), and SSO. The Login method requires you to have the username, password, and security token of the user.

    OAuth Authentication (default)

    The default authentication mechanism (and the one preferred by Salesforce) is OAuth. To use OAuth with CData's embedded OAuth application, leave the connection properties blank. If you have configured your own custom OAuth application with Salesforce (see the Help documentation for more information), set OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL to the properties for you application. Set InitiateOAuth to the desired OAuth flow ("GETANDREFRESH" will have the connector manage the entire OAuth flow).

    Login (or Basic) Authentication

    If you do not wish do not wish to use OAuth authentication, you can use Login (or basic) authentication. Set AuthScheme to Basic, and set the User, Password, and SecurityToken properties. You can configure your security token in Salesforce.

    SSO (single sign-on) Authentication

    SSO (single sign-on) can be used by setting the SSOProperties, SSOLoginUrl, and SSOExchangeURL connection properties, which allow you to authenticate to an identity provider. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the Help documentation for more information.

    Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

    If your Salesforce org has MFA enforcement enabled, set MFACode to the time-based one-time passcode (TOTP) generated by your authenticator app (such as Salesforce Authenticator or Google Authenticator). MFACode applies to both OAuth and Login authentication flows.

    Below is a typical connection string:

    jdbc:salesforce:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;MFACode=YourMFACode
    👁 Connection properties automatically detected by Squirrel SQL. (Salesforce is shown.)
  7. In the dialog that appears after you click OK, click connect to test the connection.

Discover Schemas and Query Salesforce Data

After the metadata has loaded, a new tab for the Salesforce data source is displayed. On the Objects subtab, you can discover schema information, such as the available tables and views.

👁 Column metadata for a table. (Salesforce is shown.)

To view table data, select the table on the Objects tab. The table data is then loaded in a grid on the Content tab.

👁 Tables can be edited on the Content tab. (Salesforce is shown.)

To execute an SQL query, enter the query on the SQL tab and then click Run SQL (the runner icon). For example: 

SELECT Contact.Name, SUM(Account.AnnualRevenue) FROM Contact, Account GROUP BY Contact.Name
👁 A query and the results. (Salesforce is shown.)

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Salesforce Driver to get started:

 Download Now

Learn more:

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Salesforce JDBC Driver

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