How to connect to Zendesk Data from IntelliJ

The CData JDBC Driver for Zendesk enables you to access Zendesk as a JDBC data source, providing integration with rapid development tools in IDEs. This article shows how to use the data source configuration wizard to connect to Zendesk data in IntelliJ.

Create a JBDC Data Source for Zendesk

Follow the steps below to add the driver JAR and define connection properties required to connect to Zendesk data.

1. In the Data Sources window, right-click and then click Add Data Source -> DB Data Source.

2. In the Data Source Properties dialog that appears, the following properties are required:

   • JDBC Driver Files: Click the button next to this menu to add the JDBC Driver file cdata.jdbc.zendesk.jar, located in the installation directory.
   • JDBC Driver Class: In this menu, select cdata.jdbc.zendesk.ZendeskDriver from the list.

   • Database URL: Enter the connection URL in the JDBC URL property. The URL must start with jdbc:zendesk: and includes connection properties separated with semicolons.

     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.

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

     A typical JDBC URL is the following:

     jdbc:zendesk:URL=https://subdomain.zendesk.com;[email protected];Password=test123;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

Edit and Save Zendesk Data

To discover schema information, right-click the data source you just created and click Refresh Tables. To query a table, right-click it and then click Open Tables Editor. You can also modify records in the Table Editor.