How to integrate Asana using Java

Learn how to quickly and efficiently connect Asana with Java for smooth data access.

Read and write Asana data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate tasks, projects, workspaces, and time entries — almost no coding required. You can do it all using the high-performance Asana ODBC Driver for Java (often referred to as the Asana Connector). How is this possible? You will connect to the ZappySys Data Gateway, which acts as a seamless bridge between the ODBC and JDBC layers. We'll walk you through the entire setup.

Ready to dive in? Download the product to jump right in, or follow the step-by-step guide below to see how it works.

Asana ODBC Driver Powering this integration

High performance
Bidirectional
Low-code / No-code
Easy to use

Built on the ZappySys API Driver, the Asana ODBC Driver is a high-performance, low-code / no-code solution. It enables you to connect to Asana data without any coding right in your SQL Server, or any ODBC/JDBC application. Part of the ODBC PowerPack.

Documentation

Create data source in ZappySys Data Gateway

In this section we will create a data source for Asana in the Data Gateway. Let's follow these steps to accomplish that:

Download and install ODBC PowerPack (if you haven't already).
Search for gateway in the Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:
Go to the Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:
- Click the Add button
- In the Login field enter a username, e.g., john
- Then enter a Password
- Check the Is Administrator checkbox
- Click OK to save
Now we are ready to add a data source:
- Click the Add button
- Give the Data source a name (have it handy for later)
- Then select Native - ZappySys API Driver
- Finally, click OK
AsanaDSN

ZappySys API Driver
When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Asana" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Asana" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

AsanaDSN

Asana

Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

Personal Access Token

Asana authentication

Here is how to obtain a Personal Access Token (PAT) in Asana:

Open My apps in Asana portal and click Create new token button:
Once a popup opens, name your new token:
Then click Copy button to copy the token:
Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and use this token in Personal Access Token authentication configuration.
Choose Default Workspace and Default Project to work with.
Click Test Connection to confirm the connection is working.
Done! Now you are ready to use Asana Connector!

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to Personal Access Token [Http]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Finally, hit OK button:

AsanaDSN

Asana

Personal Access Token [Http]

https://app.asana.com/api/1.0

Required Parameters
Enter Token (Personal Access Token - PAT)	Fill-in the parameter...
Default Workspace	Fill-in the parameter...
Default Project	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

OAuth app

Asana authentication

Here is how to register an OAuth app in Asana:

Open My apps in Asana portal and click Create new app button:
Once a popup opens, name your app and check two options, and click Create app button:
Then copy Client ID and Client secret and save them in a file (we will need them for authentication):
Continue by selecting OAuth menu item on your left and click Add redirect URL button (you can have your own or use https://zappysys.com/oauth):
Proceed by clicking on the Manage distribution section on your left.
Then specify workspaces your app needs to access (use Any workspace to access them all):
Once you do that, click Save changes button.
Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and use Client ID, Client Secret, and Redirect URL in OAuth app authentication configuration.
When you are done with that, click Generate Token button to generate Access and Refresh Tokens.
Choose Default Workspace and Default Project to work with.
Click Test Connection to confirm the connection is working.
Done! Now you are ready to use Asana Connector!

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to OAuth app [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

AsanaDSN

Asana

OAuth app [OAuth]

https://app.asana.com/api/1.0

Required Parameters
ClientId	Fill-in the parameter...
Client Secret	Fill-in the parameter...
Default Workspace ( Select after Token is generated )	Fill-in the parameter...
Default Project ( Select after Token is generated )	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
Permissions	default
Redirect URL	https://zappysys.com/oauth
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

ZappySys API Driver - Asana

Read and write Asana data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate tasks, projects, workspaces, and time entries — almost no coding required.

AsanaDSN
Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in Java to retrieve data from Asana. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.
```
SELECT * FROM Workspaces
```
Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Asana API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.
Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in Java:
ZappySys API Driver - Asana

Read and write Asana data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate tasks, projects, workspaces, and time entries — almost no coding required.

AsanaDSN
```
SELECT * FROM Workspaces
```
You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.

A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the Asana API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in Asana servers).
Click OK to finish creating the data source.
Once done, go to the Network Settings tab and Add a firewall rule for inbound traffic:
- This will initially allow all inbound traffic.
- Click Edit IP filters to restrict access to specific IP addresses or ranges.
Crucial Step: After creating or modifying the data source, you must:
- Click the Save button to persist your changes.
- Hit Yes when prompted to restart the Data Gateway service.
This ensures all changes are properly applied:

Skipping this step may cause the new settings to fail, preventing you from connecting to the data source.

Read data in Java from the DSN

Java code to get the data:

"jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=AsanaDSN;user=john;password=test"
When you run the code it will make the API call and read the data:

Here is Java program's code in text format:


//Step-1: Install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack and Configure Data Gateway

//Step-2:Assuming the Microsoft SQL Server JDBC Driver is in below folder
//C:\Program Files\Microsoft Jdbc Driver 6.0 for SQL Server\sqljdbc_6.0\enu\auth\x64
package padaone;

import java.sql.*;

public class zappy {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        // Create a variable for the connection string.
        String connectionUrl = "jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=AsanaDSN;user=test;password=test";

        // Declare the JDBC objects.
        Connection con = null;
        Statement stmt = null;
        ResultSet rs = null;

            try {
                // Establish the connection.
                Class.forName("com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerDriver");
                con = DriverManager.getConnection(connectionUrl);

                // Create and execute an SQL statement that returns some data.
                String SQL = "SELECT Country , SUM(UnitPrice * Quantity) Total " 
                           + "FROM value " 
                           + "GROUP BY Country "
                           + "WITH (SRC='https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Invoices?$format=json')";
                stmt = con.createStatement();
                rs = stmt.executeQuery(SQL);

                // Iterate through the data in the result set and display it.
                while (rs.next()) {
                    System.out.println(rs.getString(1) + " " + rs.getString(2));
                }
            }

        // Handle any errors that may have occurred.
        catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        } 
        
        finally {
            if (rs != null) try { rs.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
            if (stmt != null) try { stmt.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
            if (con != null) try { con.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
        }
    }
}

Supported Asana Connector actions

Got a specific use case in mind? We've mapped out exactly how to perform a variety of essential Asana operations directly in Java, so you don't have to figure out the setup from scratch. Check out the step-by-step guides below:

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to Asana in Java and integrate data without writing complex code — all of this was powered by Asana ODBC Driver.

Download ODBC PowerPack now or ping us via chat if you have any questions or are looking for a specific feature (you can also reach out to us by submitting a ticket):

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