Managing Databases in MODX Cloud
Remote Database Clients
To manage your database from the MODX Cloud dashboard, including being able to create, edit and export records, our recommended method is to use a remote database management client for Windows, Mac, or Linux.
Here's a list of Remote Database Clients, we've tested successfully; all seem to work fine. Most are free:
Windows
- HeidiSQL — heidisql.com/download.php. Windows-native and free. It connects to MySQL and MariaDB.
macOS
- Sequel Ace — sequel-ace.com. Mac-only, free, and open source (MIT). It is built for MySQL and MariaDB. It’s also on the Mac App Store and Homebrew.
Cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux)
- DBeaver Community — dbeaver.io/download. Free and open source. It installs from a Windows installer, a Mac DMG, or Linux packages (Debian, RPM, Snap, Flatpak).
- Beekeeper Studio Community Edition — beekeeperstudio.io/get-community. It is a free GPLv3 edition for Windows, macOS and Linux, with SSH tunnelling. Its Community Edition is intended for individuals, students, non-profits and small businesses, as noted earlier.
- DbGate Community — dbgate.org/download-community. Free and open source. It lists MariaDB as a supported database and can also run in a web browser.
You can find a list of more graphical tools to work with MariaDB on the official MariaDB documentation.
phpMyAdmin and other PHP-based Web Clients
Technically, you can upload and install your own php-based management tool, however, given the modern threat risk for automated attacks and vulnerabilites often found in unmaintained database tools, we strongly discourage their use.
Connecting With Your Remote Database Client
Use the following directions to set up your remote database tool to connect to your site:
- From the Clouds page of the MODX Cloud Dashboard, locate the Cloud you'd like to connect to.
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On the Cloud Edit Page, scroll down to the sections entitled "MySQL" and "SSH/SFTP Connection Information", near the bottom of the page, as indicated by the arrows on the image. You will use these credentials to set up your remote database management tool to access your Cloud database.
- You can connect to your MODX instance's database via an SSH tunnel. Most GUI clients such as Sequel Pro or HeidiSQL handle the tunneling in the background—all you have to do is take the MySQL and SSH credentials you located in step 2 and type or copy/paste the appropriate information into your preferred remote database management tool. One thing of note, the databases in MODX Cloud always use 127.0.0.1 rather than localhost as the Hostname.
Example: HeidiSQL
In this example you can see how we used the MySQL and SSH/SFTP Connection Information, in the steps above in the HeidiSQL.