Prerequisites
- A Postgres database (MySQL and MongoDB coming soon)
- Read-only database credentials
- A DataFerry account
1. Create an account
Sign up at app.dataferry.dev. You’ll be guided through the setup process.2. Add a connection
Go to Connections and click Add Connection. Enter your database credentials:- Name — A label for this connection (e.g., “Production DB”)
- Host — Your database host
- Port — Usually 5432 for Postgres
- Database — Database name
- Username — Read-only user recommended
- Password — Database password
- SSL — Enable for production databases
Tip: Create a read-only database user for DataFerry. We only run SELECT queries, but read-only credentials are a good security practice.
3. Configure tenancy mode
Go to Settings and find Database Architecture. Choose your tenancy mode:- Single-tenant — One database per customer. All rows belong to that customer.
- Multi-tenant — Shared database with a column identifying each customer (e.g.,
user_id,organization_id).
- Owner table — The table that represents your customers (e.g.,
users,organizations) - Owner column — The foreign key column that links data to customers (e.g.,
user_id)
4. Scan your schema
Go to Schema Map and click Scan Schema. DataFerry reads your database structure and detects tables that can be exported. This takes a few seconds.5. Configure your schema
After scanning, you’ll see a list of detected tables. For each one, you can:- Include/exclude — Toggle whether this data is available for export
- Set a label — Human-readable name your customers will see (e.g., “Messages” instead of
user_messages) - Exclude columns — Hide sensitive fields from exports (e.g.,
password_hash,internal_notes)
6. Customize your portal (optional)
Go to Settings → Portal to customize the export portal your customers will see:- Product name — Your app’s name
- Logo — Your logo (PNG, JPG, or SVG, max 500KB)
- Primary color — Button and accent color