Retool is a platform for building internal tools. You connect a database as a resource, write queries against it, and wire the results to tables, forms, and charts to build dashboards and admin panels.
How does the integration work?
Appwrite native PostgreSQL and MySQL databases are standard engines that Appwrite provisions in your project's region, each with its own hostname, credentials, and TLS. Retool connects to them through its built-in PostgreSQL or MySQL resource, with no Appwrite-specific setup. Retool stores the credentials server-side, so app users query through the resource instead of connecting from the browser.
Retool sends queries as prepared statements by default, so it connects to the direct engine port or a session-mode pooler rather than the default transaction-mode pooler.
Native PostgreSQL and MySQL databases run in every Appwrite Cloud region and are available on paid plans.
How to implement
To connect Retool to an Appwrite native database, there are several steps you must complete:
Step 1: Create a native database
Create an account on Appwrite Cloud if you haven't already. In your project, go to Databases, click Create database, and select PostgreSQL or MySQL from the Native databases group. Pick a specification and click Create database. The database becomes ready within a few minutes.
For PostgreSQL, open the database and click Credentials to copy the connection string or individual values. For MySQL, read them from the database object with mysql.get() and an API key that has the databases.read scope.
Step 2: Choose credentials
On PostgreSQL, use admin only for setup and schema work. For a Retool app, create a narrower role from the database's Roles tab in the Console and grant only the table privileges the app needs, for example SELECT for a dashboard, or SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE on specific tables for an admin tool.
On MySQL, use the returned admin.<hash> credentials and limit access with Retool resource permissions, Appwrite network controls, and narrowly scoped queries.
Step 3: Create the resource
In Retool, go to Resources, click Create new > Resource, and select the PostgreSQL or MySQL tile. Paste the Appwrite connection string, or fill in the fields:
| Retool setting | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| Host | db-<hash>.<region>.appwrite.center | db-<hash>.<region>.appwrite.center |
| Port | 5432 | 3306 |
| Database name | <database> | default |
| Username | admin or a narrower role | admin.<hash> |
| Password | From the credentials | From connectionPassword |
Enable SSL/TLS. The certificate is signed by a public CA, so keep Reject unauthorized on, choose Full verification if Retool shows a verification mode, and leave CA certificate empty. Click Test connection, then Create resource.
If you enabled an IP allowlist on the database, add the Retool Cloud egress addresses for the resource's outbound region from Retool's IP address documentation.
Step 4: Build an admin tool
Create a query in SQL mode to feed a Table or chart, and use GUI mode actions such as Insert a record and Update an existing record for forms and editable tables. Reference component values with {{ }} expressions, and keep Retool's prepared statements on, because they separate values from SQL text. Refresh the read query after writes, and confirm deletes in a modal.
For staging, create a PostgreSQL or MySQL branch and add a second Retool resource that points at it.
Read more about Retool and Appwrite Databases
If you would like to learn more about Retool and Appwrite Databases, we have some resources that you should visit:
