ClickHouse

Learn how to add ClickHouse as a datasource in StrongDM.

Overview

This guide describes how to add a ClickHouse database as a datasource in StrongDM. StrongDM supports HTTP, MySQL, Postgres, and TCP for connection to ClickHouse. If you want to use a Postgres client to connect to ClickHouse, simply follow the Postgres guide.

When the resource is added, StrongDM proxies client connections through a node (gateway, relay, or proxy cluster). This enables centralized access control, credential management, and audit logging. StrongDM supports standard ClickHouse clients and drivers using the ClickHouse native protocol.

To add the resource to StrongDM, you will need the ClickHouse server's hostname, port, and a valid set of credentials. Optionally, you can store these credentials in a supported secret manager and reference them in StrongDM. The ClickHouse server must be reachable from the selected StrongDM node and configured to accept connections from that node’s IP or network.

Use this guide to perform all necessary preparations to add ClickHouse to your StrongDM environment; input the correct properties in the Admin UI, CLI, SDKs, or Terraform provider; and test for a successful connection. Once complete, you can use the StrongDM Desktop application or CLI to connect to ClickHouse.

For general information about how to add a database as a resource in StrongDM, see our main guide, Add a Datasource.

Supported Versions and Clients

StrongDM supports ClickHouse versions 20.8 and higher, including widely used, production-ready deployments.

StrongDM is compatible with all ClickHouse client tools and drivers that use the ClickHouse native protocol (HTTP or TCP).

Prerequisites

To add your resource in StrongDM, you need to meet several technical and configuration prerequisites. Please ensure that the following requirements are met.

In StrongDM, you must have the following:

• Administrator permission level

• At least one operational StrongDM node (gateway, relay, or proxy cluster) with network access to the ClickHouse host and port (typically 9440 for HTTPS or 9000 for native TCP)

• If using secrets management tools for storing your database credentials, a Secret Store configured in StrongDM

To verify that the resource is accessible by the node, log in to the gateway or relay and use Netcat: nc -zv <HOSTNAME> <PORT> (in this example, nc -zv testdb-01.fancy.org 3306). If your gateway server can connect to this hostname, proceed.

Netcat is a tool for checking various hostnames and ports by either sending data (a ping) or checking for listeners on the ports. The command in the aforementioned example use "-z" to check for listeners without sending data and "-v" to show verbose output. If you don't have Netcat, you can install the Netcat package with whatever package manager you are using, such as "apt-get install netcat".

On the ClickHouse side, you must have the following:

• Running ClickHouse cluster or standalone server, reachable at the specified hostname/port

• User account with valid credentials in ClickHouse

• Network configuration (firewalls, VPC rules, etc.) that permits access from StrongDM nodes

Resource Management in StrongDM

After all prerequisites and prep work is done, you are ready to add the resource to StrongDM. This section provides instructions for adding the resource in either the StrongDM Admin UI, CLI, Terraform provider, or SDKs.

Admin UI

Set up and Manage With the Admin UI

If using the Admin UI to add ClickHouse as a resource to StrongDM, use the following steps.

1. Log in to the StrongDM Admin UI.

2. Go to Resources > Datasources.

3. Click Add datasource.

4. For Datasource Type, select ClickHouse (HTTP), ClickHouse (MySQL), ClickHouse (TCP), or PostgreSQL.

5. Complete all required configuration properties for your selected datasource type.

6. Click Create to save the resource.

7. Click the resource name to view status, diagnostic information, and setting details.

CLI

Set up and Manage With the CLI

This section provides an example of how to add the resource using the StrongDM CLI. For more information and examples, please see the CLI Reference documentation.

# Add ClickHouse (HTTP) datasource
sdm admin datasources add clickhousehttp clickhouse-http-prod
  --hostname="clickhouse-http.example.org"
  --port=8443
  --username="ch_http_user"
  --password="secret"
  --tls-required
  --bind-interface="127.0.0.1"
  --egress-filter="tag:env=prod"
  --port-override="12346"
  --proxy-cluster-id="n-1a2b345c67890123"
  --secret-store-id="se-e1b2"
  --subdomain="clickhouse-http-prod"
  --tags="env=production,team=analytics"

# Add ClickHouse (MySQL) datasource
sdm admin datasources add clickhousemysql clickhouse-mysql-prod
  --hostname="clickhouse-mysql.example.org"
  --port=9004
  --username="ch_mysql_user"
  --password="secret"
  --tls-required
  --bind-interface="127.0.0.1"
  --egress-filter="tag:env=prod"
  --port-override="12347"
  --proxy-cluster-id="n-1a2b345c67890123"
  --secret-store-id="se-e1b2"
  --subdomain="clickhouse-mysql-prod"
  --tags="env=production,team=analytics"

# Add ClickHouse (TCP) datasource
sdm admin datasources add clickhousetcp clickhouse-tcp-prod
  --hostname="clickhouse-tcp.example.org"
  --port=9000
  --username="ch_tcp_user"
  --password="secret"
  --tls-required
  --bind-interface="127.0.0.1"
  --egress-filter="tag:env=prod"
  --port-override="12348"
  --proxy-cluster-id="n-1a2b345c67890123"
  --secret-store-id="se-e1b2"
  --subdomain="clickhouse-tcp-prod"
  --tags="env=production,team=analytics"

# Add PostgreSQL (for ClickHouse) datasource
sdm admin datasources add postgres clickhouse-pg-prod
  --hostname="pg.example.org"
  --port=9005
  --database="default"
  --username="ch_pg_user"
  --password="secret"
  --tls-required
  --bind-interface="127.0.0.1"
  --egress-filter="tag:env=prod"
  --port-override="12349"
  --proxy-cluster-id="n-1a2b345c67890123"
  --secret-store-id="se-e1b2"
  --subdomain="clickhouse-pg-prod"
  --tags="env=production,team=analytics"

Terraform

Set up and Manage With Terraform

This section provides an example of how to configure and manage the resource using the Terraform provider. For more information and examples, please see the Terraform provider documentation.

# Install StrongDM provider
terraform {
  required_providers {
    sdm = {
      source  = "strongdm/sdm"
      version = "5.1.0"
    }
  }
}

# Configure StrongDM provider
provider "sdm" {
  # Add API access key and secret key from Admin UI
  api_access_key = "njjSn...5hM"
  api_secret_key = "ziG...="
}

# Create ClickHouse (Native) resource
resource "sdm_clickhouse" "ch_prod" {
  name             = "clickhouse-prod"
  hostname         = "clickhouse.example.org"
  port             = 9440
  username         = "ch_user"
  password         = "secret"

  tls_required     = true
  bind_interface   = "127.0.0.1"
  egress_filter    = "tag:env=prod"
  port_override    = 12345
  proxy_cluster_id = "n-1a2b345c67890123"

  secret_store_id  = "se-e1b2"
  subdomain        = "clickhouse-prod"
  tags = {
    env  = "production"
    team = "analytics"
  }
}

# Create ClickHouse (HTTP) resource
resource "sdm_clickhousehttp" "ch_http_prod" {
  name             = "clickhouse-http-prod"
  hostname         = "clickhouse-http.example.org"
  port             = 8443
  username         = "ch_http_user"
  password         = "secret"

  tls_required     = true
  bind_interface   = "127.0.0.1"
  egress_filter    = "tag:env=prod"
  port_override    = 12346
  proxy_cluster_id = "n-1a2b345c67890123"

  secret_store_id  = "se-e1b2"
  subdomain        = "clickhouse-http-prod"
  tags = {
    env  = "production"
    team = "analytics"
  }
}

# Create ClickHouse (MySQL) resource
resource "sdm_clickhousemysql" "ch_mysql_prod" {
  name             = "clickhouse-mysql-prod"
  hostname         = "clickhouse-mysql.example.org"
  port             = 9004
  username         = "ch_mysql_user"
  password         = "secret"

  tls_required     = true
  bind_interface   = "127.0.0.1"
  egress_filter    = "tag:env=prod"
  port_override    = 12347
  proxy_cluster_id = "n-1a2b345c67890123"

  secret_store_id  = "se-e1b2"
  subdomain        = "clickhouse-mysql-prod"
  tags = {
    env  = "production"
    team = "analytics"
  }
}

# Create ClickHouse (TCP) resource
resource "sdm_clickhousetcp" "ch_tcp_prod" {
  name             = "clickhouse-tcp-prod"
  hostname         = "clickhouse-tcp.example.org"
  port             = 9000
  username         = "ch_tcp_user"
  password         = "secret"

  tls_required     = true
  bind_interface   = "127.0.0.1"
  egress_filter    = "tag:env=prod"
  port_override    = 12348
  proxy_cluster_id = "n-1a2b345c67890123"

  secret_store_id  = "se-e1b2"
  subdomain        = "clickhouse-tcp-prod"
  tags = {
    env  = "production"
    team = "analytics"
  }
}

# Create ClickHouse (PostgreSQL wire protocol) resource
resource "sdm_clickhousepostgres" "ch_pg_prod" {
  name             = "clickhouse-pg-prod"
  hostname         = "clickhouse-pg.example.org"
  port             = 9005
  database         = "default"
  username         = "ch_pg_user"
  password         = "secret"

  tls_required     = true
  bind_interface   = "127.0.0.1"
  egress_filter    = "tag:env=prod"
  port_override    = 12349
  proxy_cluster_id = "n-1a2b345c67890123"

  secret_store_id  = "se-e1b2"
  subdomain        = "clickhouse-pg-prod"
  tags = {
    env  = "production"
    team = "analytics"
  }
}

SDKs

Set up and manage with SDKs

In addition to the Admin UI, CLI, and Terraform, you may configure and manage your resource with any of the following SDK options: Go, Java, Python, and Ruby. Please see the following references for more information and examples.

Language	Reference	GitHub	Examples
Go	pkg.go.dev	strongdm-sdk-go	Go SDK Examples
Java	javadoc	strongdm-sdk-java	Java SDK Examples
Python	pdocs	strongdm-sdk-python	Python SDK Examples
Ruby	RubyDoc	strongdm-sdk-ruby	Ruby SDK Examples

Configuration Properties

The following configuration properties are required to define a ClickHouse datasource in StrongDM. These settings control how StrongDM connects to the database, authenticates the connection, and optionally uses encryption or secret management. Each property must be correctly configured to ensure connectivity and access enforcement through StrongDM.

ClickHouse (HTTP)

ClickHouse (HTTP) resource properties

The following table describes the settings available for the ClickHouse (HTTP) datasource type.

Both HTTP and HTTPS are supported. For HTTP, the default port value is 8123. For HTTPS, the default port value is 8443.

Property	Requirement	Description
Display Name	Required	Meaningful name to display the resource throughout StrongDM; exclude special characters like quotes (") or angle brackets (< or >)
Datasource Type	Required	Select Clickhouse (HTTP)
Proxy Cluster	Required	Defaults to "None (use gateways)"; if using proxy clusters, select the appropriate cluster to proxy traffic to this resource
Connectivity Mode	Required	Select either Virtual Networking Mode, which lets users connect to the resource with a software-defined, IP-based network; or Loopback Mode, which allows users to connect to the resource using the local loopback adapter in their operating system
IP Address	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, an IP address value in the range 100.64.0.1 to 100.127.255.252 (default 100.64.100.100); optionally change the default value for Virtual Networking Mode to your preferred IP address value, as long as it's a valid IP address defined by your organization settings; edit either on this form or later on the Admin UI's Port Overrides page after the resource is created; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, the IP address value must be within the range of 127.0.0.1 to 127.0.0.34
Port Override	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1 and 65535 that is not already in use by another resource; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1024 to 64999 that is not already in use by another resource; when left empty, the system assigns the default port to this resource; preferred port also can be modified later from the Port Overrides settings
DNS	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a unique hostname alias for this resource; when set, causes the desktop app to display this resource's human-readable DNS name (for example, k8s.my-organization-name) instead of the bind address that includes IP address and port (for example, 100.64.100.100:5432)
Database	Optional	Database name you would like to connect to using this datasource
Secret Store	Optional	Credential store location; defaults to Strong Vault; learn more about Secret Store options
Username	Required	Username to utilize when connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type
Password	Required	Password for the user connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type
Username (path)	Required	Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type
Password (path)	Required	Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type
Base URL	Required	Base address of the database without the path (for example, https://www.example.com)
Resource Tags	Optional	Datasource Tags consisting of key-value pairs <KEY>=<VALUE> (for example, env=dev)

ClickHouse (MySQL)

ClickHouse (MySQL) resource properties

The following table describes the settings available for the ClickHouse (MySQL) datasource type.

Property	Requirement	Description
Display Name	Required	Meaningful name to display the resource throughout StrongDM; exclude special characters like quotes (") or angle brackets (< or >)
Datasource Type	Required	Select ClickHouse (MySQL)
Proxy Cluster	Required	Defaults to "None (use gateways)"; if using proxy clusters, select the appropriate cluster to proxy traffic to this resource
Hostname	Required	Hostname for your ClickHouse (MySQL) database resource; must be accessible to a gateway or relay
Port	Required	Port to use when connecting to your ClickHouse (MySQL) database; default port value is 9004
Connectivity Mode	Required	Select either Virtual Networking Mode, which lets users connect to the resource with a software-defined, IP-based network; or Loopback Mode, which allows users to connect to the resource using the local loopback adapter in their operating system
IP Address	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, an IP address value in the range 100.64.0.1 to 100.127.255.252 (default 100.64.100.100); optionally change the default value for Virtual Networking Mode to your preferred IP address value, as long as it's a valid IP address defined by your organization settings; edit either on this form or later on the Admin UI's Port Overrides page after the resource is created; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, the IP address value must be within the range of 127.0.0.1 to 127.0.0.34
Port Override	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1 and 65535 that is not already in use by another resource; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1024 to 64999 that is not already in use by another resource; when left empty, the system assigns the default port to this resource; preferred port also can be modified later from the Port Overrides settings
DNS	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a unique hostname alias for this resource; when set, causes the desktop app to display this resource's human-readable DNS name (for example, k8s.my-organization-name) instead of the bind address that includes IP address and port (for example, 100.64.100.100:5432)
Healthcheck Database	Optional	Database used exclusively for healthchecks; note that the database sent by clients is respected otherwise
Secret Store	Optional	Credential store location; defaults to Strong Vault; learn more about Secret Store options
Username	Required	Username to utilize when connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type
Password	Required	Password for the user connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type
Username (path)	Required	Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type
Password (path)	Required	Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type
Require Native Password Authentication	Optional	If the resource requires the use of mysql_native_password for all connections, enable this option; this option is available for backwards compatibility with prior MySQL versions
Resource Tags	Optional	Datasource Tags consisting of key-value pairs <KEY>=<VALUE> (for example, env=dev)

ClickHouse (TCP)

ClickHouse (TCP) resource properties

The following table describes the settings available for the ClickHouse (TCP) datasource type.

The ClickHouse (TCP) datasource type supports ClickHouse server versions 24.1.0 to 24.1.3 and versions 24.2 to 24.10.

Property	Requirement	Description
Display Name	Required	Meaningful name to display the resource throughout StrongDM; exclude special characters like quotes (") or angle brackets (< or >)
Datasource Type	Required	Select ClickHouse (TCP)
Proxy Cluster	Required	Defaults to "None (use gateways)"; if using proxy clusters, select the appropriate cluster to proxy traffic to this resource
Hostname	Required	Hostname for your ClickHouse (TCP) database resource; must be accessible to a gateway or relay
Port	Required	Port to use when connecting to your ClickHouse (TCP) database; default port value for TCP is 9000; default port value for TCP with TLS is 9440
Connectivity Mode	Required	Select either Virtual Networking Mode, which lets users connect to the resource with a software-defined, IP-based network; or Loopback Mode, which allows users to connect to the resource using the local loopback adapter in their operating system
IP Address	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, an IP address value in the range 100.64.0.1 to 100.127.255.252 (default 100.64.100.100); optionally change the default value for Virtual Networking Mode to your preferred IP address value, as long as it's a valid IP address defined by your organization settings; edit either on this form or later on the Admin UI's Port Overrides page after the resource is created; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, the IP address value must be within the range of 127.0.0.1 to 127.0.0.34
Port Override	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1 and 65535 that is not already in use by another resource; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1024 to 64999 that is not already in use by another resource; when left empty, the system assigns the default port to this resource; preferred port also can be modified later from the Port Overrides settings
DNS	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a unique hostname alias for this resource; when set, causes the desktop app to display this resource's human-readable DNS name (for example, k8s.my-organization-name) instead of the bind address that includes IP address and port (for example, 100.64.100.100:5432)
Database	Optional	Database name you would like to connect to using this datasource
Secret Store	Optional	Credential store location; defaults to Strong Vault; learn more about Secret Store options
Username	Required	Username to utilize when connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type
Password	Required	Password for the user connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type
Username (path)	Required	Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type
Password (path)	Required	Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type
TLS Required	Optional	When selected, requires TLS for connections to this resource
Resource Tags	Optional	Datasource Tags consisting of key-value pairs <KEY>=<VALUE> (for example, env=dev)

PostgreSQL (for ClickHouse)

PostgreSQL (for ClickHouse) resource properties

To allow users to use Postgres clients to connect to ClickHouse, select PostgreSQL as the Datasource Type and set all required properties. For your convenience, the PostgreSQL resource properties are pasted here.

The PostgreSQL protocol only supports plaintext passwords. The plaintext password type must be configured on the ClickHouse server in order for the Postgres protocol to work.

Property	Requirement	Description
Display Name	Required	Meaningful name to display the resource throughout StrongDM; exclude special characters like quotes (") or angle brackets (< or >)
Datasource Type	Required	Select PostgreSQL
Proxy Cluster	Required	Defaults to "None (use gateways)"; if using proxy clusters, select the appropriate cluster to proxy traffic to this resource
Hostname	Required	Hostname for the resource; must be accessible to a gateway or relay
Port	Required	Port to use when connecting to the resource; default port value is 9005
Connectivity Mode	Required	Select either Virtual Networking Mode, which lets users connect to the resource with a software-defined, IP-based network; or Loopback Mode, which allows users to connect to the resource using the local loopback adapter in their operating system; this field is shown if Virtual Networking Mode enabled for your organization
IP Address	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, an IP address value in the configured Virtual Networking Mode subnet in the organization network settings; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, an IP address value in the configured Loopback IP range in the organization network settings (by default, 127.0.0.1); if not specified, an available IP address in the configured IP address space for the selected connectivity mode will be automatically assigned; this field is shown if Virtual Networking Mode and/or multi-loopback mode is enabled for your organization
Port Override	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1 and 65535 that is not already in use by another resource with the same IP address; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1024 to 64999 that is not already in use by another resource with the same IP address; when left empty with Virtual Networking Mode, the system assigns the default port to this resource; when left empty for Loopback Mode, an available port that is not already in use by another resource is assigned; preferred port also can be modified later from the Port Overrides settings
DNS	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a unique hostname alias for this resource; when set, causes the desktop app to display this resource's human-readable DNS name (for example, k8s.my-organization-name) instead of the bind address that includes IP address and port (for example, 100.64.100.100:5432)
Database	Required	Database name you would like to connect to using this datasource
Secret Store	Optional	Credential store location; defaults to Strong Vault; learn more about Secret Store options
Username	Required	Username to utilize when connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type
Password	Required	Password for the user connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type
Username (path)	Required	Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type
Password (path)	Required	Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type
Override Database	Optional	By default, StrongDM will limit all connections to the configured PostgreSQL database; uncheck the box to disable this option
Resource Tags	Optional	Datasource Tags consisting of key-value pairs <KEY>=<VALUE> (for example, env=dev)

Secret Store options

By default, datasource credentials are stored in StrongDM. However, these credentials can also be saved in a secrets management tool.

Non-StrongDM options appear in the Secret Store dropdown if they are created under Network > Secret Stores. When you select another Secret Store type, its unique properties display. For more details, see Configure Secret Store Integrations.

Resource status

After a resource is created, the Admin UI displays that resource as unhealthy until the healthchecks run successfully. When the resource is ready, the Health icon indicates a positive, green status.

When the resource does not display a positive status, click the resource name to go to the Diagnostics tab and check for errors.

Test the Connection

After you have added your resource in StrongDM, follow these steps to verify that it’s working correctly.

1. Assign yourself access by ensuring that your user or role has access to the resource. In the StrongDM Admin UI, go to Access > Roles, and verify that the resource is attached to a role you’re in.

2. In the CLI, run sdm status to list the available datasources. Confirm that the resource is available.

3. Start a session. For example:

   sdm connect clickhouse-prod

   See the CLI Reference documentation for details on sdm connect.

4. Use a ClickHouse CLI to connect. For example:

   clickhouse-client --host $CLICKHOUSE_HOST --port $CLICKHOUSE_PORT --user $CLICKHOUSE_USER --password $CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD --query "SELECT now()"

5. Run a test, as in the following example:

   SELECT count(*) FROM your_shard_table LIMIT 1;

6. In the StrongDM Admin UI, check Logs > Queries (and Logs > Connections) to verify your session and query were captured.

When these steps succeed, you’re ready to connect to your resource through StrongDM.

Help

If you encounter issues, please consult the StrongDM Help Center.

Be prepared to provide the following information to StrongDM Support, so that they can inspect logs and confirm node and resource health:

• Resource name or ID

• CLI error output or logs

• Node name and region