Manage an Endpoint

An endpoint in Data Service (beta) is a web API that you can customize to execute SQL statements. You can specify parameters for the SQL statements, such as the value used in the WHERE clause. When a client calls an endpoint and provides values for the parameters in a request URL, the endpoint executes the SQL statement with the provided parameters and returns the results as part of the HTTP response.

This document describes how to manage your endpoints in a Data App in the TiDB Cloud console.

Before you begin

• Before you create an endpoint, make sure the following:

  • You have created a cluster and a Data App. For more information, see Create a Data App.
  • The databases, tables, and columns that the endpoint will operate on already exist in the target cluster.

• Before you call an endpoint, make sure that you have created an API key in the Data App. For more information, see Create an API key.

Create an endpoint

In Data Service, you can either generate an endpoint automatically or create an endpoint manually.

Generate an endpoint automatically

In TiDB Cloud Data Service, you can generate one or multiple endpoints automatically in one go as follows:

1. Navigate to the Data Service page of your project.

2. In the left pane, locate your target Data App, click + to the right of the App name, and then click Autogenerate Endpoint. The dialog for endpoint generation is displayed.

3. In the dialog, do the following:

   1. Select the target cluster, database, and table for the endpoint to be generated.

      Note

      The Table drop-down list includes only user-defined tables with at least one column, excluding system tables and any tables without a column definition.

   2. Select at least one HTTP operation (such as GET Retrieve, POST Create, and PUT Update) for the endpoint to be generated.

      For each operation you selected, TiDB Cloud Data Service will generate a corresponding endpoint. If you have selected a batch operation (such as POST Batch Create), the generated endpoint lets you operate on multiple rows in a single request.

   3. (Optional) Configure a timeout and tag for the operations. All the generated endpoints will automatically inherit the configured properties, which can be modified later as needed.

   4. (Optional) The Auto-Deploy Endpoint option (disabled by default) controls whether to enable the direct deployment of the generated endpoints. When it is enabled, the draft review process is skipped, and the generated endpoints are deployed immediately without further manual review or approval.

4. Click Generate.

   The generated endpoint is displayed at the top of the endpoint list.

5. Check the generated endpoint name, SQL statements, properties, and parameters of the new endpoint.

   • Endpoint name: the generated endpoint name is the name of the selected table, and the request method (such as GET, POST, and PUT) is displayed before the name. For example, if the selected table name is sample-table and the selected operation is POST Create, the generated endpoint is displayed as POST sample-table.

     • If a batch operation is selected, TiDB Cloud Data Service appends _batch to the name of the generated endpoint. For example, if the selected table name is sample-table and the selected operation is POST Batch Create, the generated endpoint is displayed as POST sample-table_batch.
     • If there has been already an endpoint with the same request method and endpoint name, TiDB Cloud Data Service appends _copy to the name of the generated endpoint. For example, sample-table_copy.

   • SQL statements: TiDB Cloud Data Service automatically writes SQL statements for the generated endpoints according to the table column specifications and the selected endpoint operations. You can click the endpoint name to view its SQL statements in the middle section of the page.

   • Endpoint properties: TiDB Cloud Data Service automatically configures the endpoint path, request method, timeout, and tag according to your selection. You can find the properties in the right pane of the page.

   • Endpoint parameters: TiDB Cloud Data Service automatically configures parameters for the generated endpoints. You can find the parameters in the right pane of the page.

6. If you want to modify the details of the generated endpoint, such as its name, SQL statements, properties, or parameters, refer to the instructions provided in Develop an endpoint.

Create an endpoint manually

To create an endpoint manually, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Data Service page of your project.
2. In the left pane, locate your target Data App, click + to the right of the App name, and then click Create Endpoint.
3. Update the default name if necessary. The newly created endpoint is added to the top of the endpoint list.
4. Configure the new endpoint according to the instructions in Develop an endpoint.

Develop an endpoint

For each endpoint, you can write SQL statements to execute on a TiDB cluster, define parameters for the SQL statements, or manage the name and version.

Configure properties

On the right pane of the endpoint details page, you can click the Properties tab to view and configure properties of the endpoint.

Basic properties

• Path: the path that users use to access the endpoint.

  • The combination of the request method and the path must be unique within a Data App.
  • Only letters, numbers, underscores (_), and slashes (/) are allowed in a path. A path must start with a slash (/) and end with a letter, number, or underscore (_). For example, /my_endpoint/get_id.
  • The length of the path must be less than 64 characters.

• Endpoint URL: (read-only) the URL is automatically generated based on the region where the corresponding cluster is located, the service URL of the Data App, and the path of the endpoint. For example, if the path of the endpoint is /my_endpoint/get_id, the endpoint URL is https://<region>.data.tidbcloud.com/api/v1beta/app/<App ID>/endpoint/my_endpoint/get_id.

• Request Method: the HTTP method of the endpoint. The following methods are supported:

  • GET: use this method to query or retrieve data, such as a SELECT statement.
  • POST: use this method to insert or create data, such as an INSERT statement.
  • PUT: use this method to update or modify data, such as an UPDATE statement.
  • DELETE: use this method to delete data, such as a DELETE statement.

• Description (Optional): the description of the endpoint.

Advanced properties

• Timeout(ms): the timeout for the endpoint, in milliseconds.

• Max Rows: the maximum number of rows that the endpoint can operate or return.

• Tag: the tag used for identifying a group of endpoints.

• Pagination: this property is available only when the request method is GET and the last SQL statement of the endpoint is a SELECT operation. When Pagination is enabled, you can paginate the results by specifying page and page_size as query parameters when calling the endpoint, such as https://<region>.data.tidbcloud.com/api/v1beta/app/<App ID>/endpoint/my_endpoint/get_id?page=<Page Number>&page_size=<Page Size>. For more information, see Call an endpoint.

  Note

  • If you do not include the page and page_size parameters in the request, the default behavior is to return the maximum number of rows specified in the Max Rows property on a single page.
  • The page_size must be less than or equal to the Max Rows property. Otherwise, an error is returned.

• Cache Response: this property is available only when the request method is GET. When Cache Response is enabled, TiDB Cloud Data Service can cache the response returned by your GET requests within a specified time-to-live (TTL) period.

• Time-to-live (s): this property is available only when Cache Response is enabled. You can use it to specify the time-to-live (TTL) period in seconds for cached response. During the TTL period, if you make the same GET requests again, Data Service returns the cached response directly instead of fetching data from the target database again, which improves your query performance.

• Batch Operation: this property is visible only when the request method is POST or PUT. When Batch Operation is enabled, you can operate on multiple rows in a single request. For example, you can insert multiple rows of data in a single POST request by adding an array of data objects in the --data-raw option of your curl command when calling the endpoint.

Write SQL statements

On the SQL editor of the endpoint details page, you can write and run the SQL statements for an endpoint. You can also simply type -- followed by your instructions to let AI generate SQL statements automatically.

1. Select a cluster.

   Note

   Only clusters that are linked to the Data App are displayed in the drop-down list. To manage the linked clusters, see Manage linked clusters.

   On the upper part of the SQL editor, select a cluster on which you want to execute SQL statements from the drop-down list. Then, you can view all databases of this cluster in the Schema tab on the right pane.

2. Write SQL statements.

   Before querying or modifying data, you need to first specify the database in the SQL statements. For example, USE database_name;.

   In the SQL editor, you can write statements such as table join queries, complex queries, and aggregate functions. You can also simply type -- followed by your instructions to let AI generate SQL statements automatically.

   To define a parameter, you can insert it as a variable placeholder like ${ID} in the SQL statement. For example, SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE id = ${ID}. Then, you can click the Params tab on the right pane to change the parameter definition and test values. For more information, see Parameters.

   When defining an array parameter, the parameter is automatically converted to multiple comma-separated values in the SQL statement. To make sure that the SQL statement is valid, you need to add parentheses (()) around the parameter in some SQL statements (such as IN). For example, if you define an array parameter ID with test value 1,2,3, use SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE id IN (${ID}) to query the data.

   Note

   • The parameter name is case-sensitive.
   • The parameter cannot be used as a table name or column name.

3. Run SQL statements.

   If you have inserted parameters in the SQL statements, make sure that you have set test values or default values for the parameters in the Params tab on the right pane. Otherwise, an error is returned.

   To run a SQL statement, select the line of the SQL with your cursor and click Run > Run at cursor.

   To run all SQL statements in the SQL editor, click Run. In this case, only the last SQL results are returned.

   After running the statements, you can see the query results immediately in the Result tab at the bottom of the page.

Configure parameters

On the right pane of the endpoint details page, you can click the Params tab to view and manage the parameters used in the endpoint.

In the Definition section, you can view and manage the following properties for a parameter:

• The parameter name: the name can only include letters, digits, and underscores (_) and must start with a letter or an underscore (_). DO NOT use page and page_size as parameter names, which are reserved for pagination of request results.

• Required: specifies whether the parameter is required in the request. The default configuration is set to not required.

• Type: specifies the data type of the parameter. Supported values are STRING, NUMBER, INTEGER, BOOLEAN, and ARRAY. When using a STRING type parameter, you do not need to add quotation marks (' or "). For example, foo is valid for the STRING type and is processed as "foo", whereas "foo" is processed as "\"foo\"".

• Enum: (optional) specifies the valid values for the parameter and is available only when the parameter type is STRING, INTEGER, or NUMBER.

  • If you leave this field empty, the parameter can be any value of the specified type.
  • To specify multiple valid values, you can separate them with a comma (,). For example, if you set the parameter type to STRING and specify this field as foo, bar, the parameter value can only be foo or bar.

• ItemType: specifies the item type of an ARRAY type parameter.

• Default Value: specifies the default value of the parameter.

  • For ARRAY type, you need to separate multiple values with a comma (,).
  • Make sure that the value can be converted to the type of parameter. Otherwise, the endpoint returns an error.
  • If you do not set a test value for a parameter, the default value is used when testing the endpoint.

In the Test Values section, you can view and set test parameters. These values are used as the parameter values when you test the endpoint. Make sure that the value can be converted to the type of parameter. Otherwise, the endpoint returns an error.

Manage versions

On the right pane of the endpoint details page, you can click the Deployments tab to view and manage the deployed versions of the endpoint.

In the Deployments tab, you can deploy a draft version and undeploy the online version.

Rename

To rename an endpoint, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Data Service page of your project.
2. In the left pane, click the name of your target Data App to view its endpoints.
3. Locate the endpoint you want to rename, click ... > Rename., and enter a new name for the endpoint.

Test an endpoint

To test an endpoint, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Data Service page of your project.

2. In the left pane, click the name of your target Data App to view its endpoints.

3. Click the name of the endpoint you want to test to view its details.

4. (Optional) If the endpoint contains parameters, you need to set test values before testing.

   1. On the right pane of the endpoint details page, click the Params tab.

   2. Expand the Test Values section and set test values for the parameters.

      If you do not set a test value for a parameter, the default value is used.

5. Click Test in the upper-right corner.

   Tip

   Alternatively, you can also press F5 to test the endpoint.

After testing the endpoint, you can see the response as JSON at the bottom of the page. For more information about the JSON response, refer to Response of an endpoint.

Deploy an endpoint

To deploy an endpoint, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Data Service page of your project.

2. In the left pane, click the name of your target Data App to view its endpoints.

3. Locate the endpoint you want to deploy, click the endpoint name to view its details, and then click Deploy in the upper-right corner.

4. If Review Draft is enabled for your Data App, a dialog is displayed for you to review the changes you made. You can choose whether to discard the changes based on the review.

5. Click Deploy to confirm the deployment. You will get the Endpoint has been deployed prompt if the endpoint is successfully deployed.

   On the right pane of the endpoint details page, you can click the Deployments tab to view the deployed history.

Call an endpoint

To call an endpoint, you can send an HTTPS request to either an undeployed draft version or a deployed online version of the endpoint.

Prerequisites

Before calling an endpoint, you need to create an API key. For more information, refer to Create an API key.

Request

TiDB Cloud Data Service generates code examples to help you call an endpoint. To get the code example, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Data Service page of your project.

2. In the left pane, click the name of your target Data App to view its endpoints.

3. Locate the endpoint you want to call and click ... > Code Example. The Code Example dialog box is displayed.

   Tip

   Alternatively, you can also click the endpoint name to view its details and click ... > Code Example in the upper-right corner.

4. In the dialog box, select the environment and authentication method that you want to use to call the endpoint, and then copy the code example.

   Note

   • The code examples are generated based on the properties and parameters of the endpoint.
   • Currently, TiDB Cloud Data Service only provides the curl code example.

   • Environment: choose Test Environment or Online Environment depending on your need. Online Environment is available only after you deploy the endpoint.

   • Authentication method: choose Basic Authentication or Digest Authentication.

     • Basic Authentication transmits your API key as based64 encoded text.
     • Digest Authentication transmits your API key in an encrypted form, which is more secure.

     Compared with Basic Authentication, the curl code of Digest Authentication includes an additional --digest option.

   Here is an example of a curl code snippet for a POST request that enables Batch Operation and uses Digest Authentication:

   • Test Environment
   • Online Environment

   To call a draft version of the endpoint, you need to add the endpoint-type: draft header:

   curl --digest --user '<Public Key>:<Private Key>' \
     --request POST 'https://<region>.data.tidbcloud.com/api/v1beta/app/<App ID>/endpoint/<Endpoint Path>' \
     --header 'content-type: application/json'\
     --header 'endpoint-type: draft'
     --data-raw '[{
       "age": "${age}",
       "career": "${career}"
   }]'
   

   You must deploy your endpoint first before checking the code example in the online environment.

   To call the current online version of the endpoint, use the following command:

   curl --digest --user '<Public Key>:<Private Key>' \
     --request POST 'https://<region>.data.tidbcloud.com/api/v1beta/app/<App ID>/endpoint/<Endpoint Path>'
     --header 'content-type: application/json'\
     --data-raw '[{
       "age": "${age}",
       "career": "${career}"
   }]'
   

   Note

   • By requesting the regional domain <region>.data.tidbcloud.com, you can directly access the endpoint in the region where the TiDB cluster is located.
   • Alternatively, you can also request the global domain data.tidbcloud.com without specifying a region. In this way, TiDB Cloud Data Service will internally redirect the request to the target region, but this might result in additional latency. If you choose this way, make sure to add the --location-trusted option to your curl command when calling an endpoint.

5. Paste the code example in your application, edit the example according to your need, and then run it.

   • You need to replace the <Public Key> and <Private Key> placeholders with your API key. For more information, refer to Manage an API key.

   • If the request method of your endpoint is GET and Pagination is enabled for the endpoint, you can paginate the results by updating the values of page=<Page Number> and page_size=<Page Size> with your desired values. For example, to get the second page with 10 items per page, use page=2 and page_size=10.

   • If the request method of your endpoint is POST or PUT, fill in the --data-raw option according to the rows of data that you want to operate on.

     • For endpoints with Batch Operation enabled, the --data-raw option accepts an array of data objects so you can operate on multiple rows of data using one endpoint.
     • For endpoints with Batch Operation not enabled, the --data-raw option only accepts one data object.

   • If the endpoint contains parameters, specify the parameter values when calling the endpoint.

Response

After calling an endpoint, you can see the response in JSON format. For more information, see Response and Status Codes of Data Service.

Undeploy an endpoint

To undeploy an endpoint, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Data Service page of your project.
2. In the left pane, click the name of your target Data App to view its endpoints.
3. Locate the endpoint you want to undeploy, click ... > Undeploy.
4. Click Undeploy to confirm the undeployment.

Delete an endpoint

To delete an endpoint, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Data Service page of your project.
2. In the left pane, click the name of your target Data App to view its endpoints.
3. Click the name of the endpoint you want to delete, and then click ... > Delete in the upper-right corner.
4. Click Delete to confirm the deletion.