Using the Neo4j BI Connector

In this tutorial we use the Neo4j Connector for BI to read graph data from an Aura instance using some common SQL clients and BI tools.

This tutorial includes instructions on the usage of third-party software, which may be subject to changes beyond our control. In case of doubt, refer to the third-party software documentation.

Downloading the connector

Download the connector from the Download Center. Depending on the SQL client or BI tool it will be used with, you will need either the JDBC or the ODBC connector; see the usage examples for further details.

Preparing example data

Before trying the connector with any of the listed tools, some data needs to be loaded on Aura. This can be achieved by running the following Cypher query in the Neo4j Browser:

CREATE
  (john:Person {name: "John", surname: "Doe", age: 42}),
  (jane:Person {name: "Jane", surname: "Doe", age: 40}),
  (john)-[:KNOWS]->(jane)

Using BI tools

Commonly used BI tools include Tableau (which uses the JDBC driver) and Power BI (which uses the ODBC driver).

When connecting with a JDBC driver, the neo4j+s URI scheme must be changed into neo4j and the SSL=true parameter must be added to the URL.

Tableau

This example requires Tableau Desktop.

Refer to the Tableau documentation for more information on how to add a JDBC database.

After downloading the JDBC Neo4j Connector for BI from the Download Center:

  1. Close any running instances of Tableau Desktop.

  2. Copy the Neo4j driver JAR file into the appropriate Tableau Drivers folder.

    • Use C:\Program Files\Tableau\Drivers on Windows.

    • Use ~/Library/Tableau/Drivers on macOS. If the folder is not visible, select Go → Go to Folder in Finder to open the folder manually.

  3. Start Tableau and search for the Other Databases (JDBC) option.

  4. Insert the Aura URL as jdbc:neo4j://xxxxxxxx.databases.neo4j.io?SSL=true, leave the SQL dialect as SQL92, and complete the relevant credentials.

After the connection is established, you can select the neo4j database and the Node schema to find the Person table. You can then explore the table to find the example data.

Troubleshooting

If the connection fails with a Generic JDBC connection error, check if you installed the Neo4j driver in the correct location and then:

  • Download the SSL.com root certificates as explained on ssl.com and install them as shown in the Tableau documentation, then restart Tableau and repeat the previous steps (recommended option).

  • Add &sslTrustStrategy=TRUST_ALL_CERTIFICATES to the connection string (after SSL=true) and try to connect again. This option requires caution and should not be used in a production environment.

Power BI

This example requires Microsoft Windows and Power BI Desktop.

Refer to the Power BI documentation for more information on how to add an ODBC database.

After downloading and installing the ODBC Neo4j Connector for BI from the Download Center:

  1. Open Power BI Desktop.

  2. Search for ODBC in the Get data from another source panel.

  3. Select Simba Neo4j in the DSN dropdown menu.

  4. Insert the connection string Host=xxxxxxxx.databases.neo4j.io;SSL=1 in the Advanced options section.

  5. Insert your username and password.

Once connected, open sequentially ODBC → neo4j → Node → Person in the Navigator window to see a preview of the table.