Heroku

Connecting Heroku

Step 1: Retrieve Your Postgres Credentials from Heroku

If you haven’t logged into your Heroku app yet, do so now. After you’re logged in, do the following to retrieve your Heroku Postgres database credentials:

1. In the main dashboard section of the Heroku app, locate the Add-ons section. Add-ons will list any Postgres databases currently added to your Heroku account.
2. Click the name of the database you want to connect to Stitch.
3. The credentials needed to connect to Stitch will display in the Connection Settings section.
4. To finish the setup, you’ll need the Host, Database, User, Port, and Password. Click Show to display the password.

Here’s a look at the credentials page:

Leave this open for now - you’ll need it in the next step to complete the setup.

Step 2: Connect Stitch

1. Sign into your Stitch account, if you haven’t already.

2. On the Stitch Dashboard page, click the Add Integration button.

3. Click the Heroku icon.

4. Fill in the fields as follows:

   • Integration Name: Enter a name for the integration. This is the name that will display on the Stitch Dashboard for the integration; it’ll also be used to create the schema in your data warehouse.

     For example, the name “Stitch Heroku” would create a schema called stitch_heroku in the data warehouse. Note: The schema name cannot be changed after the integration is saved.

   • Host (Endpoint): Enter the host address (endpoint) used by the Heroku instance.

     In general, this will be 127.0.0.1 (localhost), but could also be some other network address (ex: 192.68.0.1) or your server’s public IP address. Note: This must be the actual address - entering localhost into this field will cause connection issues.

   • Port: Enter the port used by the Heroku instance. The default is 5432.

   • Username: Enter the Stitch Heroku database user’s username.

   • Password: Enter the password for the Stitch database user.

   • Database: Enter the name of the Heroku database you want to connect to Stitch. Stitch will ‘find’ all databases you give the Stitch user access to - a default database is only used to complete the connection.

     This is required for Heroku integrations.

Remember: Because Heroku enforces SSL by default, you don’t need to take any further action to encrypt your data.

Step 3: Create a replication schedule

In the Replication Frequency section, you’ll create the integration’s replication schedule. An integration’s replication schedule determines how often Stitch runs a replication job, and the time that job begins.

Stitch offers two methods of creating a replication schedule:

• Replication Frequency: This method requires selecting the interval you want replication to run for the integration. Start times of replication jobs are based on the start time and duration of the previous job. Refer to the Replication Frequency documentation for more information and examples.

• Anchor scheduling: Based on the Replication Frequency, or interval, you select, this method “anchors” the start times of this integration’s replication jobs to a time you select to create a predictable schedule. Anchor scheduling is a combination of the Anchor Time and Replication Frequency settings, which must both be defined to use this method. Additionally, note that:

  • A Replication Frequency of at least one hour is required to use anchor scheduling.

  • An initial replication job may not begin immediately after saving the integration, depending on the selected Replication Frequency and Anchor Time. Refer to the Anchor Scheduling documentation for more information.

  • You’ll need to contact support to request using an Anchor Time with this integration.

To help prevent overages, consider setting the integration to replicate less frequently. See the Understanding and Reducing Your Row Usage guide for tips on reducing your usage.

Step 4: Select data to replicate

The last step is to select the tables and columns you want to replicate. When you track a table, you’ll also need to define its Replication Method and, if using Key-based Incremental Replication, its Replication Key.

You can track tables and columns by:

1. In the Integration Details page, click the Tables to Replicate tab.
2. Locate a table you want to replicate.
3. Click the checkbox next to the object’s name. A green checkmark means the object is set to replicate.
4. If there are child objects, they’ll automatically display and you’ll be prompted to select some.
5. After you set a table to replicate, the Table Settings page will display. Note: When you track a table, by default all columns will also be tracked.

6. In the Table Settings page, define the table’s Replication Method and, if using Key-based Incremental Replication, its Replication Key.

7. Repeat this process for every table you want to replicate.

Initial and historical replication jobs

After you finish setting up Heroku, its Sync Status may show as Pending on either the Stitch Dashboard or in the Integration Details page.

For a new integration, a Pending status indicates that Stitch is in the process of scheduling the initial replication job for the integration. This may take some time to complete.

Free historical data loads

The first seven days of replication, beginning when data is first replicated, are free. Rows replicated from the new integration during this time won’t count towards your quota. Stitch offers this as a way of testing new integrations, measuring usage, and ensuring historical data volumes don’t quickly consume your quota.

Extracting data from Heroku

When you connect a database as an input, Stitch only needs read-only access to the databases, tables, and columns you want to replicate. There are two processes Stitch runs during the Extraction phase of the replication process: a structure sync and a data sync.

Structure sync queries

The first part of the replication process is called a structure sync. This process will detect any changes to the structure of your database. For example: a new column is added to one of the tables you’re syncing in Stitch.

To perform a structure sync, Stitch runs queries on the following tables in the pg_catalog schema:

• pg_class
• pg_attribute
• pg_index
• pg_namespace

Data sync queries

The second step in the Extraction phase is called a data sync. This is where Stitch extracts data and replicates it. The method Stitch uses is the same for all databases, but differs depending on the Replication Method that each table uses.

Key-based Incremental Replication

For tables using Key-based Incremental Replication, Stitch runs a single query and reads out of the associated cursor in batches:

  SELECT column_a, column_b <,...>
    FROM table_a
   WHERE replication_key_column >= 'last_maximum_replication_key_value'
ORDER BY replication_key_column

Full Table Replication

For tables using Full Table Replication, Stitch runs a single query and reads out of the resulting cursor in batches:

SELECT column_a, column_b <,...>
  FROM table_a

Recommendations

While we make every effort to ensure the queries that Stitch executes don’t impart significant load on your databases, we still have some recommendations for guaranteeing database performance:

• Use a replica database instead of connecting directly. We recommend using read replicas in lieu of directly connecting production databases with high availability and performance requirements.
• Apply indexes to Replication Key columns. We restrict and order our replication queries by this column, so applying an index to the columns you’re using as Replication Keys can improve performance.

Did this article help? If you have questions or feedback, feel free to submit a pull request with your suggestions, open an issue on GitHub, or reach out to us.