Direct PostgreSQL Connection

Connect ForceCnx to any PostgreSQL database using standard host/port credentials.

Prerequisites

A PostgreSQL database (version 12 or later recommended)
A database user with SELECT permission on the tables you want to expose
Network access from ForceCnx to your database host and port

Create a Connection

Open the New Connection form

From your ForceCnx Dashboard, click + New Connection and select the Direct tab.

Enter connection details

Fill in your database connection parameters:

Field	Description	Example
`Host`	Database server hostname or IP	`db.example.com`
`Port`	PostgreSQL port	`5432`
`Database`	Database name	`myapp`
`Username`	Database user	`forcecnx_reader`
`Password`	Database password	—
`SSL Mode`	SSL connection mode	`require`

Test and save

Click Create Connection. ForceCnx will test the connection and automatically introspect your database schema to discover available tables.

Network Configuration

Your database must be reachable from ForceCnx over the internet. If your database is behind a firewall, you'll need to allow inbound connections on your PostgreSQL port.

Security: We recommend creating a dedicated read-only database user for ForceCnx rather than using your application's credentials. Grant only SELECT on the specific tables you need.

Recommended Database User Setup

-- Create a read-only user for ForceCnx
CREATE USER forcecnx_reader WITH PASSWORD 'your-secure-password';

-- Grant access to specific tables
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA public TO forcecnx_reader;
GRANT SELECT ON TABLE customers, orders, products TO forcecnx_reader;

SSL Modes

ForceCnx supports all standard PostgreSQL SSL modes:

Mode	Description
`disable`	No SSL (not recommended for production)
`require`	SSL required, no certificate verification
`verify-ca`	SSL required, verify server certificate CA
`verify-full`	SSL required, verify CA and hostname

Tip: For most cloud-hosted databases, require is sufficient. Use verify-full for maximum security in production environments.

Verify Connection

After creating the connection, ForceCnx automatically runs schema introspection. You'll see your tables listed on the connection detail page. If the connection fails, check:

Your database host is reachable from the public internet
The port is not blocked by a firewall
The username and password are correct
The SSL mode matches your database's SSL configuration

Next Steps

Once connected, follow the Getting Started guide to map entities, configure field mappings, and set up Salesforce Connect.