Build a PostgreSQL Interface for Webflow Data using the CData JDBC Driver

There are a vast number of PostgreSQL clients available on the Internet. From standard Drivers to BI and Analytics tools, PostgreSQL is a popular interface for data access. Using our JDBC Drivers, you can now create PostgreSQL entry-points that you can connect to from any standard client.

To access Webflow data as a PostgreSQL database, use the CData JDBC Driver for Webflow and a JDBC foreign data wrapper (FDW). In this article, we compile the FDW, install it, and query Webflow data from PostgreSQL Server.

Connect to Webflow Data as a JDBC Data Source

To connect to Webflow as a JDBC data source, you will need the following:

• Driver JAR path: The JAR is located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

• Driver class:

  cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver
  

• JDBC URL: The URL must start with "jdbc:api:" and can include any of the connection properties in name-value pairs separated with semicolons.

  Authentication

  Webflow uses OAuth 2.0 authentication to ensure secure access to sites, CMS collections, e-commerce data, and other resources. This authentication method allows you to securely connect to your Webflow workspace and manage resources with proper authorization.

  OAuth 2.0 Setup and Configuration

  Step 1: Create a Webflow OAuth Application

  To set up OAuth authentication:

  1. Visit the Webflow Developer Portal
  2. Navigate to "Apps & Integrations" in your Webflow account
  3. Click "Register an App" to create a new OAuth application
  4. Configure the application name, description, and redirect URI (CallbackURL)
  5. Copy the Client ID and Client Secret for use in your connection

  Required Connection Properties

  • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth (required)
  • OAuthClientId: Client ID from your Webflow OAuth application (required)
  • OAuthClientSecret: Client secret from your Webflow OAuth application (required)
  • CallbackURL: Redirect URI specified in your OAuth application (required)
  • InitiateOAuth: Set to GETANDREFRESH for automatic token management (recommended)

  Required OAuth Scopes

  The Webflow API Profile requires the following OAuth scopes:

  • sites:read - Read access to site information and configuration
  • pages:read - Read access to site pages
  • cms:read - Read access to CMS collections and items
  • forms:read - Read access to forms and form submissions
  • assets:read - Read access to media assets and folders
  • ecommerce:read - Read access to products, orders, and inventory
  • authorized_user:read - Read access to the authorized user

  Built-in Connection String Designer

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

  java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.jar
  

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

  👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
  

  A typical JDBC URL is below:

  jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Webflow.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;
  

Build the JDBC Foreign Data Wrapper

The Foreign Data Wrapper can be installed as an extension to PostgreSQL, without recompiling PostgreSQL. The jdbc2_fdw extension is used as an example (downloadable here).

1. Add a symlink from the shared object for your version of the JRE to /usr/lib/libjvm.so. For example:

   ln -s /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/lib/amd64/server/libjvm.so /usr/lib/libjvm.so
   

2. Start the build:

   make install USE_PGXS=1
   

Query Webflow Data as a PostgreSQL Database

After you have installed the extension, follow the steps below to start executing queries to Webflow data:

1. Log into your database.
2. Load the extension for the database:

   CREATE EXTENSION jdbc2_fdw;
   

3. Create a server object for Webflow:

   CREATE SERVER API 
   FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER jdbc2_fdw OPTIONS (
   drivername 'cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver',
   url 'jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Webflow.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;',
   querytimeout '15',
   jarfile '/home/MyUser/CData/CData\ JDBC\ Driver\ for\ Salesforce MyDriverEdition/lib/cdata.jdbc.api.jar'); 
   

4. Create a user mapping for the username and password of a user known to the MySQL daemon.

   CREATE USER MAPPING for postgres SERVER API OPTIONS (
   username 'admin', 
   password 'test');
   

5. Create a foreign table in your local database:

   postgres=# CREATE FOREIGN TABLE sites (
   sites_id text,
   sites_ text,
   sites_ numeric) 
   SERVER API OPTIONS (
   table_name 'sites');
   

You can now execute SELECT commands to Webflow:

postgres=# SELECT * FROM sites;