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Connect to JDBC

Learn how to connect a JDBC driver to Retool.

You can use the JDBC integration to create a resource and make it available in Retool. Once complete, your users can write queries that interact with JDBC data.

Requirements​

The JDBC integration requirements depend on whether you have a cloud-hosted or self-hosted Retool organization. You may also need to make JDBC configuration changes before creating the resource.

Sufficient user permissions to create resources

All users for Retool organizations on Free or Team plans have global Edit permissions and can add, edit, and remove resources. If your organization manages user permissions for resources, you must be a member of a group with Edit all permissions.

Allow Retool to access the data source

If the data source is behind a firewall or restricts access based on IP address, then you must ensure that your Retool organization can access it. If necessary, configure your data source to allow access from Retool's IP addresses.

CIDR IP addresses
3.77.79.248/30
35.90.103.132/30
44.208.168.68/30
Individual IP addresses
3.77.79.249
3.77.79.250
35.90.103.132
35.90.103.133
35.90.103.134
35.90.103.135
44.208.168.68
44.208.168.69
44.208.168.70
44.208.168.71

Retool is building support for querying firewalled resources without allowlisting Retool’s IP address. To learn more or be considered for early access, contact cloud-connect@retool.com.

JDBC settings and authentication

You must have sufficient access and familiarity with your JDBC data source so you can provide:

  • Required connection settings (e.g., URL and server variables).
  • Authentication credentials (e.g., API keys).

In some cases, you may need to make changes to your JDBC configuration, such as generating authentication credentials or allowing access through a firewall. Refer to the configuration and authentication sections to learn more.

Configure the resource​

Sign in to your Retool organization and navigate to the Resources tab. Click Create new > Resource, then select JDBC.

Configuration​

Specify the name, location, and description to use for your JDBC resource. Retool displays the resource name and type in query editors to help users identify them.

Provide the following configuration settings to create the resource. Depending on how your data source is configured, you may also need to provide optional settings for Retool to connect.

Name

The name to use for the resource.

Description

A description of the resource.

Driver name

The JDBC driver to use.

DriverDescription
com.ibm.db2.jcc.DB2DriverIBM DB2
com.clickhouse.jdbc.ClickHouseDriverClickHouse
io.trino.jdbc.TrinoDriverTrino
com.ingres.jdbc.IngresDriverIngres
com.teradata.jdbc.TeraDriverTeradata
com.informix.jdbc.IfxDriverIBM Informix
Connection string

The database connection string.

Disable converting queries to prepared statements

Whether to disable SQL injection protection that allows dynamically generated SQL using JavaScript.

Override default outbound Retool region

Retool connects to your data source from the us-west-2 region. Choosing a different outbound region can improve performance through geographic proximity.

RegionLocation
us-west-2US West (Oregon)
eu-central-1(Frankfurt, Germany)

Test the connection​

Click Test Connection to verify that Retool can successfully connect to the data source. If the test fails, check the resource settings and try again.

Testing a connection only checks whether Retool can successfully connect to the resource. It cannot check whether the provided credentials have sufficient privileges or can perform every supported action.

Save the resource​

Click Create resource to complete the setup. You can then click either Create app to immediately start building a Retool app or Back to resources to return to the list of resources.

Next steps​

Your JDBC resource is now ready to use. Check out related queries and code documentation to learn how to interact with JDBC data.