How to Query Salesforce Data in MySQL Workbench

You can use the SQL Gateway from the ODBC Driver for Salesforce to query Salesforce data through a MySQL interface. Follow the procedure below to start the MySQL remoting service of the SQL Gateway and work with live Salesforce data in MySQL Workbench.

Getting Started

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Connect to Salesforce Data

If you have not already done so, provide values for the required connection properties in the data source name (DSN). You can use the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to configure the DSN. This is also the last step of the driver installation. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure a DSN.

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.

Configure the SQL Gateway

See the SQL Gateway Overview to set up connectivity to Salesforce data as a virtual MySQL database. You will configure a MySQL remoting service that listens for MySQL requests from clients. The service can be configured in the SQL Gateway UI.

👁 Creating a MySQL Remoting Service in SQL Gateway (Salesforce is shown)

Query Salesforce from MySQL Workbench

The steps below outline connecting to the virtual Salesforce database created in the SQL Gateway from MySQL Workbench and issuing basic queries to work with live Salesforce data.

Connect to Salesforce through the SQL Gateway

1. In MySQL Workbench, click to add a new MySQL connection.
2. Name the connection (CData SQL Gateway for Salesforce).
3. Set the Hostname, Port, and Username parameters to connect to the SQL Gateway.
4. Click Store in Vault to set and store the password.
5. Click Test Connection to ensure the connection is configured properly and click OK.

NOTE: When we refer to Username and Password, we mean the credentials for the user(s) created for the SQL Gateway.

Query Salesforce Data

1. Open the connection you just created (CData SQL Gateway for Salesforce).
2. Click File -> New Query Tab.
3. Write a SQL query to retrieve Salesforce data, like SELECT * FROM `CData Salesforce Sys`.Account;

With access to live Salesforce data from MySQL Workbench, you can easily work with Salesforce, just like you would a MySQL database. Get started now with a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce and the CData SQL Gateway.