BI and Analytics Integration

Most modern BI tools speak SQL over PostgreSQL — and so does ArcadeDB. The PostgreSQL wire protocol on port 5432 lets virtually any Postgres-compatible tool connect to ArcadeDB without a custom driver, an ODBC bridge, or middleware. For tools that need richer integration than ANSI SQL provides, ArcadeDB also ships native plugins (Grafana today, more on the roadmap).

Connection paths

There are two ways a BI tool talks to ArcadeDB. Pick the one your tool supports:

Path	What it is	When to use
Native plugin / data source	A tool-specific extension that ArcadeData publishes (or that the tool ships out of the box) which knows ArcadeDB-specific features — graph queries, multiple query languages, time-series macros, graph visualization.	Use whenever ArcadeDB ships a native plugin (today: Grafana). Always preferred over the generic Postgres path because it surfaces graph-aware visualizations, multi-language queries, and time-series-aware query builders.
PostgreSQL wire protocol	ArcadeDB exposes port 5432 as a Postgres-compatible endpoint. Any tool with a built-in PostgreSQL connector — or any Java tool that loads the standard PostgreSQL JDBC driver — points at that endpoint and runs ArcadeDB SQL exactly as it would against Postgres.	Use for tools that already speak Postgres natively: Apache Superset, Metabase, Tableau, Power BI, DBeaver, dbt, Looker, and so on.

Path

What it is

When to use

Native plugin / data source

A tool-specific extension that ArcadeData publishes (or that the tool ships out of the box) which knows ArcadeDB-specific features — graph queries, multiple query languages, time-series macros, graph visualization.

Use whenever ArcadeDB ships a native plugin (today: Grafana). Always preferred over the generic Postgres path because it surfaces graph-aware visualizations, multi-language queries, and time-series-aware query builders.

PostgreSQL wire protocol

ArcadeDB exposes port 5432 as a Postgres-compatible endpoint. Any tool with a built-in PostgreSQL connector — or any Java tool that loads the standard PostgreSQL JDBC driver — points at that endpoint and runs ArcadeDB SQL exactly as it would against Postgres.

Use for tools that already speak Postgres natively: Apache Superset, Metabase, Tableau, Power BI, DBeaver, dbt, Looker, and so on.

ArcadeDB does not ship its own JDBC driver. Tools that require a JDBC URL connect through the standard PostgreSQL JDBC driver (org.postgresql:postgresql); the connection target is ArcadeDB’s port 5432 instead of a real PostgreSQL server. Functionally it is the same wire-level path as the built-in Postgres connectors — same protocol, same auth, same query surface — and the same set of language prefixes works (see "Sending non-SQL queries" below).

Supported tools

Tool Connection path ArcadeDB-specific features

Tool	Connection path	ArcadeDB-specific features
Grafana	Native plugin (recommended); Postgres data source fallback	Visual time-series query builder, ArcadeDB SQL with `$__timeFilter` macros, OpenCypher with Node-Graph visualization, Gremlin traversals, full alerting support.
Apache Superset	PostgreSQL wire protocol (SQLAlchemy + psycopg2)	ArcadeDB SQL through Superset’s SQL Lab and dashboards. Cross-database joins via Superset’s virtual datasets.
Metabase	Built-in PostgreSQL JDBC connector	ArcadeDB SQL through Metabase’s question editor and dashboards.
Tableau	Built-in PostgreSQL connector	ArcadeDB SQL via Tableau’s PostgreSQL data source. Live or extract mode.
Power BI	Built-in PostgreSQL connector	ArcadeDB SQL via Power BI’s PostgreSQL connector. Import or DirectQuery mode.

Grafana

Native plugin (recommended); Postgres data source fallback

Visual time-series query builder, ArcadeDB SQL with $__timeFilter macros, OpenCypher with Node-Graph visualization, Gremlin traversals, full alerting support.

Apache Superset

PostgreSQL wire protocol (SQLAlchemy + psycopg2)

ArcadeDB SQL through Superset’s SQL Lab and dashboards. Cross-database joins via Superset’s virtual datasets.

Metabase

Built-in PostgreSQL JDBC connector

ArcadeDB SQL through Metabase’s question editor and dashboards.

Tableau

Built-in PostgreSQL connector

ArcadeDB SQL via Tableau’s PostgreSQL data source. Live or extract mode.

Power BI

Built-in PostgreSQL connector

ArcadeDB SQL via Power BI’s PostgreSQL connector. Import or DirectQuery mode.

Setting up the Postgres endpoint

The Postgres protocol plugin is bundled with the standard distribution; you only need to enable it. See Postgres Protocol Plugin for the exact server-side configuration. Once enabled, ArcadeDB listens on port 5432 (TLS optional) and the tool sees it as a regular PostgreSQL server — same hostname/port/database/username/password fields you already know.

For Java tools that connect via JDBC, drop the standard PostgreSQL JDBC driver (org.postgresql:postgresql) on the classpath and use a JDBC URL of the form:

jdbc:postgresql://<host>:5432/<database>

with <database> being your ArcadeDB database name. There is no ArcadeDB-specific driver to install — the wire protocol is what carries the connection.

Sending non-SQL queries from a Postgres-only tool

The PostgreSQL connection lets you send any ArcadeDB SQL query, including graph traversals (MATCH, TRAVERSE) and vector functions. To send Cypher, Gremlin, GraphQL, MongoDB QL, or a multi-statement SQL Script from a tool that only speaks SQL, prefix the query with the language tag:

{cypher} MATCH (m:Movie)<-[a:ACTED_IN]-(p:Person) WHERE id(m) = '#1:0' RETURN *

The {cypher} prefix tells ArcadeDB to route the query to the OpenCypher engine instead of the SQL planner. The same pattern works for {gremlin}, {graphql}, {mongo}, and {sqlscript}. The result set is returned over the Postgres protocol like any other query, so the BI tool can chart it without knowing it came from a non-SQL engine.

Suggesting a missing tool

If your favourite BI or analytics tool is not in the list above and it supports PostgreSQL, it almost certainly works against ArcadeDB out of the box — try it and let us know how it goes on GitHub Discussions. If the tool needs a dedicated plugin or has rough edges over the Postgres protocol, open an issue at https://github.com/ArcadeData/arcadedb/issues — community-driven plugin work is very welcome.