Cosmos DB Connector for UiPath

Connect to your Azure Cosmos DB databases to read, query, create, update, and delete documents and more!

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Cosmos DB data in UiPath without coding. We will use high-performance Cosmos DB Connector to easily connect to Cosmos DB and then access the data inside UiPath.

Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that!

Download Documentation

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from Cosmos DB using UiPath we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from Cosmos DB. We will later be able to read data using UiPath. Perform these steps:

  1. Download and install ODBC PowerPack.

  2. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):

    Open ODBC Data Source
  3. Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

    ZappySys API Driver
    Create new User DSN for ZappySys API Driver
    • Create and use User DSN if the client application is run under a User Account. This is an ideal option in design-time, when developing a solution, e.g. in Visual Studio 2019. Use it for both type of applications - 64-bit and 32-bit.
    • Create and use System DSN if the client application is launched under a System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. Usually, this is an ideal option to use in a production environment. Use ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit), instead of 64-bit version, if Windows Service is a 32-bit application.
  4. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Cosmos DB" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Cosmos DB" 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:

    CosmosDbDSN
    Cosmos DB
    ODBC DSN Template Selection
  5. 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.

    Steps how to get and use Cosmos DB credentials : API Key [Http]
    Connecting to your Azure Cosmos DB data requires you to authenticate your REST API access. Follow the instructions below:
    1. Go to your Azure portal homepage: https://portal.azure.com/.
    2. In the search bar at the top of the homepage, enter Azure Cosmos DB. In the dropdown that appears, select Azure Cosmos DB.
    3. Click on the name of the database account you want to connect to (also copy and paste the name of the database account for later use).
    4. On the next page where you can see all of the database account information, look along the left side and select Keys: Use API key to get Cosmos DB data via REST API in Azure
    5. On the Keys page, you will have two tabs: Read-write Keys and Read-only Keys. If you are going to write data to your database, you need to remain on the Read-write Keys tab. If you are only going to read data from your database, you should select the Read-only Keys tab.
    6. On the Keys page, copy the PRIMARY KEY value and paste it somewhere for later use (the SECONDARY KEY value may also be copied and used).
    7. Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and use this PRIMARY KEY in API Key authentication configuration.
    8. Enter the primary or secondary key you recorded in step 6 into the Primary or Secondary Key field.
    9. Then enter the database account you recorded in step 3 into the Database Account field.
    10. Next, enter or select the default database you want to connect to using the Defualt Database field.
    11. Continue by entering or selecting the default table (i.e. container/collection) you want to connect to using the Default Table (Container/Collection) field.
    12. Select the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Azure Devops account.
    13. If the connection test succeeds, select OK.
    14. Done! Now you are ready to use Asana Connector!

    Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

    CosmosDbDSN
    Cosmos DB
    API Key [Http]
    https://[$Account$].documents.azure.com
    Required Parameters
    Primary or Secondary Key Fill-in the parameter...
    Account Name (Case-Sensitive) Fill-in the parameter...
    Database Name (keep blank to use default) Case-Sensitive Fill-in the parameter...
    API Version Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    Default Table (needed to invoke #DirectSQL)
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

  6. 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 - Cosmos DB
    Connect to your Azure Cosmos DB databases to read, query, create, update, and delete documents and more!
    CosmosDbDSN
    Open Query Builder in API ODBC Driver to read and write data to REST API
  7. 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 UiPath to retrieve data from Cosmos DB. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.

    #DirectSQL SELECT * FROM root where root.id !=null order by root._ts desc
    Configure table/endpoint parameters in ODBC data source based on API Driver
    Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Cosmos DB 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.
  8. 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 UiPath:

    ZappySys API Driver - Cosmos DB
    Connect to your Azure Cosmos DB databases to read, query, create, update, and delete documents and more!
    CosmosDbDSN
    #DirectSQL SELECT * FROM root where root.id !=null order by root._ts desc
    API ODBC Driver-based data source data preview
    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 Cosmos DB 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 Cosmos DB servers).
  9. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video Tutorial

Read Cosmos DB data in UiPath Studio (workstation)

Here we will be reading Cosmos DB data on your workstation. To accomplish that we will create and run UiPath process package locally. Later on, we'll explore how to publish the package to Orchestrator and run it remotely. For now, let's focus on working locally and get started!

  1. Open UiPath Studio.
  2. Before we really begin the work, make sure UiPath Studio is set as your profile (blue application icon).
  3. In case, it is set to UiPath StudioX, you can change it in UiPath StudioX Settings: Choosing UiPath Studio profile Simply select UiPath Studio option: Choosing UiPath Studio profile
  4. Start by creating a new project based on UiPath Process template: Creating new process in UiPath Studio to import ODBC data
  5. Add Run Query activity in Main Sequence box: Adding ODBC data source in UiPath Studio
  6. Click Configure Connection... button to create an ODBC connection: Configuring ODBC data source in UiPath in Run Query activity
  7. Continue by clicking Connection Wizard: Using connection wizard to setup ODBC source in UiPath Studio
  8. When the window opens, select ODBC-based driver, provider, and then choose ODBC data source:
    CosmosDbDSN
    CosmosDbDSN
    Choosing ODBC DSN in UiPath Studio connection wizard
    You can also select Use connection string option and use whole ODBC connection string instead. Obtain the connection string by pressing Copy Settings button in your data source configuration.
  9. Once you do that, it's time to configure a SQL query: Inputting SQL query for ODBC data source in UiPath Studio
    Make sure, you enclose the query in double quotes!
  10. Proceed by adding a Write CSV activity after Run Query: Adding Write CSV activity to write ODBC data in UiPath
    In this article we are using Write CSV, but you can freely add any other destination of your choice, e.g. Write DataTable to Excel.
  11. Once you do that, configure the added Write CSV, this will write Cosmos DB data to a CSV file: Configuring Write CSV activity to write ODBC data in UiPath
  12. It's time for fun! Which means it's time for debugging! Just run the package locally to debug: Running UiPath process package to get ODBC data
  13. Finally, ensure there are no execution errors! Successful UiPath package debugging

Run UiPath package using Orchestrator (via robot)

UiPath also offers the ability to execute packages remotely using Orchestrator and a robot. This is achieved by publishing the package to UiPath Orchestrator, installing UiPath Assistant on the remote machine, connecting it to Orchestrator, enabling us to run the package remotely. It may sound complicated at first glance, but further steps will clear things out. Let's not waste our precious time and delve into the details!

Publish process package from UiPath Studio

  1. First of all, open the UiPath process package we created in the previous step
  2. Set the option that our process package Starts in Background: Marking UiPath process package to start in background
  3. We are ready to Publish it: Publishing UiPath process package to read ODBC data
  4. Make sure, you publish it to the Shared folder in UiPath Orchestrator Tenant workspace: Setting package publishing path in UiPath Studio
  5. Finally, success! We are ready for the next step - creating UiPath robot - so we can automate the job: Great news! The UiPath package is now published

Create robot in UiPath Orchestrator

  1. First of all, let's open UiPath Orchestrator from UiPath Automation Cloud console: Opening UiPath Orchestrator
  2. It's time to create a robot, which will run unattended packages: Creating unattended setup in UiPath Orchestrator
  3. But first we have to create a runtime. Choose to host our robot on-premise, not in UiPath infrastructure: Creating self-hosted robot in UiPath Orchestrator
  4. Let's move along and Create new machine template, this will create a machine in UiPath Orchestrator: Creating new machine template in UiPath Orchestrator
  5. Configure the machine to run in Production environment: Adding machine template in UiPath Orchestrator
  6. We are ready to Create new robot account in the new machine: Creating new robot account in UiPath Orchestrator
  7. Let's make our robot to work only on background automations: Configuring new robot account in UiPath Orchestrator
  8. Continue by selecting newly created robot: Selecting robot account in UiPath Orchestrator
  9. Select Shared folder, so that everyone in the team can benefit from it: Selecting folder for robot in UiPath Orchestrator
    This is the folder where we published our UiPath process package "MyProcess"
  10. We are almost done! We are given machine Client ID and Client secret which we will use to connect UiPath Assistant to our created machine in Orchestrator. Let's leave this open for a while and see how we can do it in the next step. Configuring machine template, Client ID, and Secret in UiPath Orchestrator

Connect UiPath Assistant to Orchestrator

We are ready to connect UiPath Assistant to the machine we created in Orchestrator. UiPath Assistant will run our package in a remote machine. Let's connect it and give it some work!

  1. Connect to a remote machine (where your UiPath process package will be running).
  2. Install UiPath Studio there.
  3. Then configure ODBC data source:

    If you chose Use user or system data source option in connection configuration, when creating UiPath process package, then create an identical ODBC data source on the same remote machine. Use the same configuration as the one created in your workstation in the first step.

    Use Copy Settings and Load Settings buttons to make your life easier. They will help you to transfer settings between different ODBC data sources.

    If you chose Use connection string option, then you don't have to do anything. However, you still have to install ODBC PowerPack on the remote machine.

  4. Continue by opening UiPath Assistant and going to Preferences: Configuring UiPath Assistant to read ODBC data
  5. Find Orchestrator Settings menu item and click it: Configuring Orchestrator settings in UiPath Assistant
  6. And here even bigger fun begins! But fear not, all you have to do is open your web browser window with Client ID & Client secret we obtained in the previous step and simply copy and paste those values into UiPath Assistant. Also, don't forget to configure Orchestrator URL: Configuring Client ID and Secret in UiPath Assistant
  7. Finally, we get rewarded for the hard work with the Connected as Unattended status: Successfully connecting UiPath Assistant to get ODBC data

Create and run UiPath process in Orchestrator

We are at the finish line! Let's create and run UiPath process. This will execute the package on your remote machine using the UiPath Assistant configured earlier.

  1. First of all, open UiPath Orchestrator from UiPath Automation Cloud console.
  2. Then proceed by going to Process in Shared folder: Going to Processes to create UiPath process
  3. Continue by simply clicking on Add process button: Creating UiPath process in UiPath Orchestrator
  4. Select the process package we created in UiPath Studio: Selecting UiPath package in UiPathp process
  5. Rest a while, and just hit Next, unless your package has requirements: Configuring UiPath package requirements (optional)
  6. Then simply hit Create button: Naming UiPath process and setting priority
  7. But let's not stop here and Start the process by creating a job right away: Finishing creating UiPath process to get Cosmos DB Data
  8. Use the same Production runtime we created before and hit Start: Starting UiPath job
  9. We've reached the final step! In the CSV destination file or destination of your choice you should see Cosmos DB data: Successfully running UiPath job

Actions supported by Cosmos DB Connector

Learn how to perform common Cosmos DB actions directly in UiPath with these how-to guides:

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to Cosmos DB in UiPath and integrate data without any coding, saving you time and effort. It's worth noting that ZappySys API Driver allows you to connect not only to Cosmos DB, but to any Java application that supports JDBC (just use a different JDBC driver and configure it appropriately).

We encourage you to download Cosmos DB Connector for UiPath and see how easy it is to use it for yourself or your team.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact ZappySys support team. You can also open a live chat immediately by clicking on the chat icon below.

Download Cosmos DB Connector for UiPath Documentation

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