This documentation describes the integration of MindsDB with Salesforce, the world’s most trusted customer relationship management (CRM) platform. The integration allows MindsDB to access data from Salesforce and enhance it with AI capabilities.

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Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure the following prerequisites are met:

  1. Install MindsDB locally via Docker or Docker Desktop.
  2. To connect Salesforce to MindsDB, install the required dependencies following this instruction.

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Connection

Establish a connection to Salesforce from MindsDB by executing the following SQL command and providing its handler name as an engine.

CREATE DATABASE salesforce_datasource
WITH
    ENGINE = 'salesforce',
    PARAMETERS = {
        "username": "demo@example.com",
        "password": "demo_password",
        "client_id": "3MVG9lKcPoNINVBIPJjdw1J9LLM82HnZz9Yh7ZJnY",
        "client_secret": "5A52C1A1E21DF9012IODC9ISNXXAADDA9"
    };

Required connection parameters include the following:

  • username: The username for the Salesforce account.
  • password: The password for the Salesforce account.
  • client_id: The client ID (consumer key) from a connected app in Salesforce.
  • client_secret: The client secret (consumer secret) from a connected app in Salesforce.

Optional connection parameters include the following:

  • is_sandbox: The setting to indicate whether to connect to a Salesforce sandbox environment (true) or production environment (false). This parameter defaults to false.

To create a connected app in Salesforce and obtain the client ID and client secret, follow the steps given below:

  1. Log in to your Salesforce account.
  2. Go to Settings > Open Advanced Setup > Apps > App Manager.
  3. Click New Connected App, select Create a Connected App and click Continue.
  4. Fill in the required details, i.e., Connected App Name, API Name and Contact Phone.
  5. Select the Enable OAuth Settings checkbox, set the Callback URL to wherever MindsDB is deployed followed by /verify-auth (e.g., http://localhost:47334/verify-auth), and choose the following OAuth scopes:
  • Manage user data via APIs (api)
  • Perform requests at any time (refresh_token, offline_access)
  1. Click Save and then Continue.
  2. Click on Manage Consumer Details under API (Enable OAuth Settings), and copy the Consumer Key (client ID) and Consumer Secret (client secret).
  3. Click on Back to Manage Connected Apps and then Manage.
  4. Click Edit Policies.
  5. Under OAuth Policies, configure the Permitted Users and IP Relaxation settings according to your security policies. For example, to enable all users to access the app without enforcing any IP restrictions, select All users may self-authorize and Relax IP restrictions respectively. Leave the Refresh Token Policy set to Refresh token is valid until revoked.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Go to Identity > OAuth and OpenID Connect Settings.
  8. Ensure that the Allow OAuth Username-Password Flows checkbox is checked.

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Usage

Retrieve data from a specified table by providing the integration and table names:

SELECT *
FROM salesforce_datasource.table_name
LIMIT 10;

Run SOQL queries directly on the connected Salesforce account:

SELECT * FROM salesforce_datasource (

    --Native Query Goes Here
    SELECT Name, Account.Name, Account.Industry
    FROM Contact
    WHERE Account.Industry = 'Technology'
    LIMIT 5

);

The above examples utilize salesforce_datasource as the datasource name, which is defined in the CREATE DATABASE command.

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Salesforce Table Filtering

We have implemented a filtering logic to exclude tables that are generally not useful for direct business queries, which fall into the following categories:

  • System and Auditing Tables: We exclude tables that track field history, record sharing rules, and data change events (e.g., objects ending in History, Share, or ChangeEvent). These are important for system administration but not for typical business analysis.
  • Configuration and Metadata: We remove tables that define the structure and configuration of Salesforce itself. This includes objects related to user permissions, internal rules, platform settings, and data definitions (e.g., FieldDefinition, PermissionSet, AssignmentRule).
  • Feature-Specific Technical Objects: Tables that support specific backend Salesforce features are excluded. This includes objects related to:
    • AI and Einstein: (AI…)
    • Developer Components: (Apex…, Aura…)
    • Data Privacy and Consent: (objects ending in Consent or containing Policy)
    • Chatter and Collaboration Feeds: (…Feed, Collaboration…)
  • Archived or Legacy Objects: Older objects that have been replaced by modern equivalents, such as ContentWorkspace, are also excluded to simplify the list.