Integrate Retool with Tiger Data

Retool is a low-code platform for building internal tools, admin panels, and dashboards on top of your data.

This page shows you how to connect Retool to Tiger Data as a resource, so that you can build apps and dashboards on the data in your service or database.

In this integration guide, you:

• Add your service or database to Retool as a PostgreSQL resource.
• Verify that Retool can query your data.

Prerequisites for this integration guide

To follow these steps, you'll need:

• A Tiger Cloud service, or a running instance of self-hosted TimescaleDB.

• Your connection details.

• A Retool account, either Retool Cloud or a self-hosted Retool instance.

Add your service or database to Retool

Retool connects to your service or database with a standard PostgreSQL resource. To keep the connection read-only, you can optionally create a dedicated role with SELECT access before you start.

1. Open the resource settings in Retool

   In Retool, go to Resources, then click Create new > Resource.

2. Enter your connection details

   From the resource type list, select PostgreSQL, then enter your connection details:

   • Host: your service or database host.
   • Port: your port, usually 5432.
   • Database name: your dbname.
   • Username and Password: your user and password.

   Give the resource a name so you can recognize it later.

3. Configure connection options

   Tiger Cloud requires an encrypted connection, so turn on Use SSL.

   If your service or database isn't reachable from the internet, either use an SSH tunnel (add the tunnel host, port, and public key to the resource) or, for a self-hosted Retool instance, make sure the Retool server has network access to your database. For Retool Cloud, your service or database must accept connections from Retool's IP addresses, so add them to your network or firewall allowlist.

4. Test and save

   Click Test Connection to confirm Retool can reach your service or database, then click Create.

   A successful test confirms Retool can connect using the credentials and network settings you entered.

Verify the integration

To confirm Retool is working with your service or database:

1. Create a query

   In Retool, create a new app, add a Query against your resource, and select SQL mode.

2. Run a query and add a table

   Run a simple query against one of your tables:

   SELECT * FROM <table_name> LIMIT 10;

   Add a Table component to the app and bind its data to the query.

   You see rows from your service or database rendered in the table, confirming that Retool can read your data.

You have successfully integrated Retool with Tiger Data.

Troubleshooting

• Connection test fails or times out: confirm the host, port, and credentials, and that your network allows connections from Retool. For Retool Cloud, make sure your firewall allows Retool's IP addresses; for a self-hosted Retool instance, confirm the Retool server can reach your database directly. For Tiger Cloud, make sure Use SSL is turned on.
• Connection test fails only when SSL is enabled: confirm your SSL mode matches what your service or database expects; a mismatched CA certificate or hostname verification setting causes the handshake to fail.
• Query fails with a permissions error: confirm the role in your connection details has SELECT access to the schema and tables you're querying.

For other connectivity and authentication issues, see Troubleshoot Tiger Cloud integrations.

Next steps

Find your connection details

Locate the host, port, database, user, and password for your service or database.

Integrate Tableau with Tiger Data

Connect Tableau to your service or database to build dashboards.