Connect to MySQL

The MySQL connector allows you to access data from MySQL databases within Looker Studio.

In this article:

• How to connect to MySQL
• Notes
• Limits
• Related resources

How to connect to MySQL

A Looker Studio data source can connect to a single MySQL database table.

The Looker Studio MySQL connector is based on Google Cloud SQL for MySQL, and is subject to the same limits on versions and supported features. Learn more about Google Cloud SQL for MySQL.

Supported versions

We've tested Looker Studio on the following MySQL versions:

• 5.6
• 5.7
• 8.0

If you experience issues with using a supported version, please let us know in the Looker Studio Help Community. You can add and vote on feature requests here.

To connect

1. Sign in to Looker Studio.
2. On the Looker Studio home page, in the top left, click Create, and then select Data Source.
3. Select the MySQL connector
4. Set up the connection to your database:

   Connect with a hostname or IP address,

   1. On the left, select BASIC.
   2. Enter the connection details:
      1. Hostname or IP address
      2. Port (Optional)
      3. Database
      4. Username
      5. Password

   Connect with a JDBC URL

   1. On the left, select JDBC URL.
   2. Enter the connection details:
      1. JDBC URL

         Example
         
         jdbc:mysql://<hostname or IP address>[:<port>]/<database>

      2. Username
      3. Password

   If you use the JDBC hostname option, you can make sure it's accessible with public DNS lookup tools such as Whois.

   To connect using an IPv6 literal address, enclose the address in square brackets. For example: jdbc:mysql://[2001:db8:1:1:1:1:1:1]/your_db

   For more information, see https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2732
   Note: Looker Studio can't connect to localhost. You must use a public hostname or IP address.

5. Enable SSL

   Looker Studio supports secure (encrypted) connections to the server using the TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol. TLS is also referred to as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). To enable a secure connection, check Enable SSL, then provide your SSL configuration files.

   This setting is not required by Looker Studio but may be required for your database configuration. Check with your database vendor for details.

6. Enable client authentication

   When this box is checked, you can upload a client private key and a client certificate if required to access your database.

   This setting is not required by Looker Studio but may be required for your database configuration. Check with your database vendor for details.
7. Click AUTHENTICATE.
8. Select a table from the list or enter a custom query.

   Select the CUSTOM QUERY option to provide a SQL query instead of connecting to a single table. Looker Studio uses this custom SQL as an inner select statement for each generated query to the database.

   Custom SQL queries may only have a single statement.

   For example, the following will not work because it has multiple SQL statements:

   DECLARE cost_per_tb_in_dollar FLOAT64 DEFAULT 4.2;

   SELECT total_bytes_billed / (1024 * 1024))* cost_per_tb_in_dollar)/(1024*1024))) FROM billing-table;

   Note: Queries in Looker Studio may time out after three to five minutes. If your custom queries time out, try the following approaches to resolve the issue:

   • Simplify the query so that it runs faster.
   • Run the query in your database and store the results in a separate table. Then connect to that table in your data source.
9. Click CONNECT.

In a moment, the data source fields list page appears. Click CREATE REPORT to start visualizing your data.

Notes

Data types

Looker Studio maps your database's native data types to a unified set of data types. If Looker Studio encounters a column in your table or query of an unsupported type, it will not create a field for that column.

Note: Looker Studio does not support MySQL's Spatial Data Extensions.

Firewall and database access

To allow Looker Studio to connect to and query databases that are behind a firewall, you will need to open access to one of the IP addresses shown below. You may also need to configure your database to accept traffic from these addresses. Consult the documentation for your specific database for instructions on how to do this.

IP addresses

• 142.251.74.0/23
  

• 2001:4860:4807::/48 (Optional, for platforms that support IPv6)

Limits of the MySQL connector

• You can query a maximum of 150 K rows per query using this connector. If you exceed this limit, the data will be truncated.
• Column headers (field names) must use ASCII characters only. Non-ASCII characters aren't supported.

 Troubleshooting

See the Looker Studio troubleshooting guide for a list of common error messages and steps to resolve them.

Related resources

Create a data source