Model Context Protocol (MCP) finally gives AI models a way to access the business data needed to make them really useful at work. CData MCP Servers have the depth and performance to make sure AI has access to all of the answers.
Try them now for free →Connect to Workday Data in NetBeans
Connect to Workday data in NetBeans with the data source configuration wizard.
The CData JDBC Driver for Workday integrates connectivity to live Workday data in IDEs that support JDBC. The JDBC standard enables you to use built-in data access wizards and other tools supporting rapid development. This article shows how to connect to Workday data in NetBeans. You will create a connection and edit and save Workday data in the Table Editor.
About Workday Data Integration
CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from Workday. Customers use CData connectivity to:
- Access the tables and datasets you create in Prism Analytics Data Catalog, working with the native Workday data hub without compromising the fidelity of your Workday system.
- Access Workday Reports-as-a-Service to surface data from departmental datasets not available from Prism and datasets larger than Prism allows.
- Access base data objects with WQL, REST, or SOAP, getting more granular, detailed access but with the potential need for Workday admins or IT to help craft queries.
Users frequently integrate Workday with analytics tools such as Tableau, Power BI, and Excel, and leverage our tools to replicate Workday data to databases or data warehouses. Access is secured at the user level, based on the authenticated user's identity and role.
For more information on configuring Workday to work with CData, refer to our Knowledge Base articles: Comprehensive Workday Connectivity through Workday WQL and Reports-as-a-Service & Workday + CData: Connection & Integration Best Practices.
Getting Started
Create a JDBC Data Source for Workday in NetBeans
To create the JDBC data source, expand the Database node in the Service window, right-click the Drivers node, and select New Driver. In the New Driver wizard that results, enter the following information:
- Driver File(s): Click Add and, in the file explorer dialog that appears, select the cdata.jdbc.workday.jar file. The driver JAR is located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
- Driver Class: Click Find to search for the driver class inside the JAR. Then select cdata.jdbc.workday.WorkdayDriver from the menu.
- Name: Enter the name for the driver.

Define Connection Parameters
Follow the steps below to define required connection properties:
In the Service window, right-click the Database node and click New Connection.
In the New Connection Wizard, enter the following connection properties:
- Driver Name: In the menu, select the CData JDBC Driver for Workday.
- User Name: Enter the username. This can also be defined in the JDBC URL.
- Password: Enter the password. This can also be defined in the JDBC URL.
JDBC URL: Specify the JDBC URL.
To connect to Workday, users need to find the Tenant and BaseURL and then select their API type.
Obtaining the BaseURL and Tenant
To obtain the BaseURL and Tenant properties, log into Workday and search for "View API Clients." On this screen, you'll find the Workday REST API Endpoint, a URL that includes both the BaseURL and Tenant.
The format of the REST API Endpoint is: https://domain.com/subdirectories/mycompany, where:
- https://domain.com/subdirectories/ is the BaseURL.
- mycompany (the portion of the url after the very last slash) is the Tenant.
Using ConnectionType to Select the API
The value you use for the ConnectionType property determines which Workday API you use. See our Community Article for more information on Workday connectivity options and best practices.
API ConnectionType Value WQL WQL Reports as a Service Reports REST REST SOAP SOAP
Authentication
Your method of authentication depends on which API you are using.
- WQL, Reports as a Service, REST: Use OAuth authentication.
- SOAP: Use Basic or OAuth authentication.
See the Help documentation for more information on configuring OAuth with Workday.
Built-in Connection String Designer
For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Workday JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.
java -jar cdata.jdbc.workday.jar
Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.
A typical JDBC URL is the following:
jdbc:workday:User=myuser;Password=mypassword;Tenant=mycompany_gm1;BaseURL=https://wd3-impl-services1.workday.com;ConnectionType=WQL;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH

Query Workday Data
To connect to Workday data, right-click the connection in the Database node and click Connect. After the connection is established, you can expand it to discover schema information.
To load a table in the Data Views window, right-click the table and then click View Data. You can also insert, update, or delete records in the Data Views window.
