Can you update data in PostgreSQL database directly with user input through dashboard?

[michaela_balazo]

Hello everyone,

I found some topics which are talking about directly updating data in database with user’s input through data actions in dashboard, but none of them was using PostgreSQL database. I wanted to ask you if you have any experience or past use cases which can be applied to this issue.  

I am using Looker 21.0.25 & PostgreSQL 9.5+. 

Have a lovely day,

Michaela

[Eric_Lyons]

Hi @michaela_balazo,

Is this database hosted by a service like AWS? They have a native API you may be able to leverage. Otherwise, I would try to create a webhook with something like a simple Express Node JS server/app that can access the Postgres DB directly. 

This article has some good information and this article explains how to set up the node sever to listen for the webhook. 

You could also definitely try to use a service like a Google Cloud function or an AWS Lambda function. 

Please let us know if you have any questions!

Thanks,

Eric

[michaela_balazo]

Hello @Eric_Lyons,

thank you so much for your answer, it helped a lot. After some research I still do have some questions. 

I decided that it would be best to use the Node.js, Express.js, and PostgreSQL combination, which was mentioned here. 

But I am still not quite sure how it would be connected to the Looker or called from the Looker. Do I need to create a custom action in Action hub according to the template here? Or is there any other way to just create a webhook somewhere else? 

Thank you so much and have a nice day,

Michaela