Connect and run queries against the Adobe Commerce database

Learn how to connect to an Adobe Commerce on cloud project, create a database dump for offsite use, and handle Personally Identifiable Information (PII) by masking or removing it. Learn about accessing Adobe Commerce data using various methods, including local DB dumps, remote DB connections with applications like MySQL Workbench or TablesPlus, and direct connections via the Magento Cloud CLI tool.

Video Contents

Learn how to connect to an Adobe Commerce on cloud project, dump a database for use offsite, and mask PII and remove it.

You can access Adobe Commerce data from your cloud project using any of the following methods:

The preferred method is to do a database dump and scrub it to remove any customer information. Remove the customer data entirely if the data is not needed.

Using the Adobe Commerce Cloud CLI tool

Creating a database dump requires you to have the Adobe Commerce Cloud CLI installed. On your local laptop, go to a directory and run the following command. Be sure to replace your-project-id with the project ID, which is similar to asasdasd45q. You also need to replace your-environment-name with the name of your environment, such as master or staging.

magento-cloud db:dump -p your-project-id -e your-environment-name

If you are not sure of the project ID or the environment, you can omit these in the command:

magento-cloud db:dump

The CLI asks you to specify the correct project and environment. The following example displays that dialogue. This example shows several projects assigned to your account, but you will likely have only one project available.

Change into a directory

cd ~/Downloads/db-tutorial

Now execute the command to create the database dump

magento-cloud db:dump

Because we did not specify a project or environment, the Adobe Commerce CLI will ask a few questions, here is some example dialog

Enter a number to choose a project:
  [0] demo-ralbin (ral32nryq4123)
  [1] adobe-commerce-demo (abc123zzkipexnqo)
  [2] DX Tutorials - Commerce (abasrpikfw4123)
 > 2

Enter a number to choose an environment:
Default: master
  [0] master (type: production)
  [1] remote-db (type: development)
 > 1

Creating SQL dump file: /Users/<username>/Downloads/db-tutorial/abasrpikfw4123--remote-db-ecpefky--mysql--main--dump.sql

Using the Adobe Commerce ECE-tools

If you do not have the Adobe Commerce CLI tool, you can ssh into your project and run the ece command vendor/bin/ece-tools db-dump:
Sample response:

ssh abasrpikfw4123-remote-db-ecpefky--mymagento@ssh.us-4.magento.cloud

 __  __                   _          ___ _             _
|  \/  |__ _ __ _ ___ _ _| |_ ___   / __| |___ _  _ __| |
| |\/| / _` / _` / -_) ' \  _/ _ \ | (__| / _ \ || / _` |
|_|  |_\__,_\__, \___|_||_\__\___/  \___|_\___/\_,_\__,_|
            |___/

 Welcome to Magento Cloud.

 This is environment remote-db-ecpefky
 of project abasrpikfw4123.

web@mymagento.0:~$ vendor/bin/ece-tools db-dump
The db-dump operation switches the site to maintenance mode, stops all active cron jobs and consumer queue processes, and disables cron jobs before starting the dump process.
Your site will not receive any traffic until the operation completes.
Do you wish to proceed with this process? (y/N)?y
[2024-02-13T19:01:45.130999+00:00] INFO: Starting backup.
[2024-02-13T19:01:45.155039+00:00] NOTICE: Enabling Maintenance mode
[2024-02-13T19:01:46.404427+00:00] INFO: Trying to kill running cron jobs and consumers processes
[2024-02-13T19:01:46.420149+00:00] INFO: Running Magento cron and consumers processes were not found.
[2024-02-13T19:01:46.420434+00:00] INFO: Waiting for lock on db dump.
[2024-02-13T19:01:46.420499+00:00] INFO: Start creation DB dump for main database...
[2024-02-13T19:01:50.697886+00:00] INFO: Finished DB dump for main database, it can be found here: /app/var/dump-main-1707850906.sql.gz
[2024-02-13T19:01:51.628328+00:00] NOTICE: Maintenance mode is disabled.
[2024-02-13T19:01:51.628419+00:00] INFO: Backup completed.
web@mymagento.0:~$ exit
logout
Connection to ssh.us-4.magento.cloud closed.

Use SFTP or rsync to pull the database dump to your local environment.

The following example uses rsync to pull the file to the ~/Downloads/db-tutorial folder.

rsync -avrp -e ssh abasrpikfw4123-remote-db-ecpefky--mymagento@ssh.us-4.magento.cloud:/app/var/dump-main-1707850906.sql.gz ~/Downloads/db-tutorial

The terminal window will output some information, here is some example output

rsync -avrp -e ssh abasrpikfw4123-remote-db-ecpefky--mymagento@ssh.us-4.magento.cloud:/app/var/dump-main-1707850906.sql.gz ~/Downloads/db-tutorial
receiving file list ... done
dump-main-1707850906.sql.gz

sent 38 bytes  received 2691041 bytes  358810.53 bytes/sec
total size is 2690241  speedup is 1.00

View the contents of the file to verify it was successfully downloaded.

ls -lah
total 29840
drwxr-xr-x    4 <ussername>  staff   128B Feb 13 13:02 .
drwx------@ 103 <ussername>   staff   3.2K Feb 13 12:52 ..
-rw-r--r--    1 <ussername>   staff    11M Feb 13 12:53 abasrpikfw4123--remote-db-ecpefky--mysql--main--dump.sql
-rw-r--r--    1 <ussername>   staff   2.6M Feb 13 13:01 dump-main-1707850906.sql.gz

Once you have the data, make sure you clean it up by removing or masking the customer data. The following sample script will help you get started.

This example turns customer data into random strings, but keeps all the items. This example contains a few extra tables to demonstrate that customer PII can be found in third-party tables as well as core tables. Carefully examine data in every table and mask or remove any customer data.

Typically the architect or lead developer is the only person responsible for masking and sanitizing database dumps. Having a dedicated sanitizer lowers the exposure of the raw data, which reduces the opportunity for violating compliance rules and regulations.

SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=0;
UPDATE customer_entity SET email = REPLACE(email, SUBSTRING(email, LOCATE('@', email) +1), CONCAT(UUID(), '.com'));
UPDATE email_contact SET email = REPLACE(email, SUBSTRING(email, LOCATE('@', email) +1), CONCAT(UUID(), '.com'));
UPDATE sales_invoice_grid SET customer_email = 'customer@example.com', customer_name  = 'Jack Smith';
UPDATE sales_order SET customer_email = 'customer@example.com', customer_firstname = 'Sally', customer_lastname = 'Smith', remote_ip = '127.0.0.1';
UPDATE sales_order_address SET region = 'Ohio', postcode = '12345-1234', lastname = 'Smith', street = '123 Main street', region_id = 44, city = 'Phoenix', telephone = NULL, firstname = 'Jane', company = NULL;
UPDATE sales_order_grid SET customer_email = 'customer@example.com', shipping_name = 'Jack', billing_name = 'Jack Smith', billing_address = '123 Main Street', shipping_address = '321 Pine Street', customer_name = 'Jane Smith';
UPDATE sales_shipment_grid SET customer_email = 'customer@example.com', customer_name = 'Jane Smith', billing_address = '123 Main street', billing_name = 'Jack Doe', shipping_name = 'Susie Smith';
UPDATE quote SET customer_email = 'customer@example.com', customer_firstname = 'Sally', customer_lastname = 'Jones', customer_dob = NULL, remote_ip = '127.0.0.1';
UPDATE quote_address SET email = 'customer@example.com', firstname = 'Jack', lastname = 'Smith', company = NULL, street = '123 Main st', city = 'AnyCity', region = 'Some State', region_id = 44, postcode = '12345-1234', telephone = NULL;
UPDATE magento_rma SET customer_custom_email = 'customer@example.com' WHERE customer_custom_email IS NOT NULL;
UPDATE customer_address_entity SET firstname = 'Jack', lastname = 'Smith', telephone = '909-555-1212', postcode = NULL,  region = NULL, street = '123 Main street', city = 'Anycity', company = NULL;
UPDATE customer_grid_flat SET name = 'Jane Doe', email = 'customer@example.com', dob = NULL, gender = NULL, taxvat = NULL, shipping_full = '', billing_full = '', billing_firstname = 'Jack', billing_lastname = 'Smith', billing_telephone = NULL, billing_postcode = NULL, billing_country_id = NULL, billing_region = NULL, billing_street = '123 Main street', billing_city = 'Anycity', billing_fax = NULL, billing_vat_id = NULL, billing_company = NULL;
UPDATE sales_creditmemo_grid SET billing_name = 'Sally', billing_address = '123 Main Street', customer_name = 'Jack Smith', customer_email = 'customer@example.com';
UPDATE magento_rma_grid SET customer_name = 'Jack Smith';
UPDATE newsletter_subscriber SET subscriber_email = 'customer@example.com';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'orderexport/general/serial';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'productexport/general/serial';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'trackingimport/general/serial';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'stockimport/general/serial';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'remarketing/onescript/merchant_id';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'remarketing/onescript/merchant_id';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'algoliasearch_credentials/credentials/application_id';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'algoliasearch_credentials/credentials/search_only_api_key';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'tax/avatax/production_account_number';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'tax/avatax/production_license_key';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'design/head/includes';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'payment/braintree/merchant_id';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'payment/braintree/public_key';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'payment/braintree/private_key';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'system/full_page_cache/fastly/fastly_service_id';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'system/full_page_cache/fastly/fastly_api_key';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'google/analytics/container_id';
UPDATE core_config_data SET value = '' WHERE path = 'analytics/general/token';
UPDATE vault_payment_token SET public_hash = UUID(), details = '{"type":"VI","maskedCC":"1111","expirationDate":"01\/2019"}';
TRUNCATE customer_log;
TRUNCATE customer_visitor;
TRUNCATE magento_logging_event;
TRUNCATE oauth_consumer;
TRUNCATE oauth_nonce;
TRUNCATE oauth_token;
TRUNCATE password_reset_request_event;
TRUNCATE acknowledgement;
TRUNCATE acknowledgement_report;
TRUNCATE avatax_log;
TRUNCATE avatax_queue;
TRUNCATE cron_schedule;
SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=1;

Alternatively, you can delete the records instead of masking the information, which also make the new DB smaller. Once PII is masked or removed, the data can be safely provided to a teammate for use on their local environment.

Remote DB connection to an Adobe Commerce Cloud project

This method does allow for accidental editing and deletion of real data. This approach should be used with caution. Using a database backup and reviewing the data offline is the preferred approach. There are occasions where accessing the data directly on the Adobe Commerce Cloud is needed, but this does come with risk. There are no “are you sure?” questions asked, so it is possible to alter or remove data inadvertently.

Super important! Doing a remote DB connection is convenient and using real live data but comes with risk. I personally and as a Principal Technical Architect for Adobe Commerce do not recommend it. It is too easy to forget you are on the remote DB and delete or modify data accidentally. There is an option to connect to the read-only replica, but that provides some impact to the site depending on how heavy the SQL activities are. However, since it is possible, these are the steps to accomplish it.

Establish an SSH tunnel:

magento-cloud tunnel:open

After the project is chosen and the environment is picked, there is output from the command that is used in the settings for the mysql graphical interface.

magento-cloud tunnel:open

Enter a number to choose a project:
  [0] demo-ralbin (ral32nryq4123)
  [1] adobe-commerce-demo (abc123zzkipexnqo)
  [2] DX Tutorials - Commerce (abasrpikfw4123)
 > 2

Enter a number to choose an environment:
Default: master
  [0] master (type: production)
  [1] remote-db (type: development)
 > 1

SSH tunnel opened to database at: mysql://user:@127.0.0.1:30000/main
SSH tunnel opened to redis at: redis://127.0.0.1:30001
SSH tunnel opened to opensearch at: http://127.0.0.1:30002
SSH tunnel opened to rabbitmq at: amqp://guest:guest@127.0.0.1:30003

Logs are written to: /Users/<user>/.magento-cloud/tunnels.log

List tunnels with: magento-cloud tunnels
View tunnel details with: magento-cloud tunnel:info
Close tunnels with: magento-cloud tunnel:close

Save encoded tunnel details to the MAGENTO_CLOUD_RELATIONSHIPS variable using:
  export MAGENTO_CLOUD_RELATIONSHIPS="$(magento-cloud tunnel:info --encode)"

Establish a connection using a MySQL graphical interface by using the SSH tunnel opened to database at command option.

SSH tunnel opened to database at: mysql://user:@127.0.0.1:30000/main

Now that you have the right information, continue to insert these values into the Cloud Console.

You can find the SSH hostname and username from the cloud credentials in the Cloud Console.

Here is one example: ssh abasrpikfw4123-remote-db-ecpefky--mymagento@ssh.us-4.magento.cloud
The SSH hostname is everything after the @ sign: ssh.us-4.magento.cloud in this example.
The SSH Username is everything before the @ sign: abasrpikfw4123-remote-db-ecpefky—mymagento

Finding values to connect to the database

Accessing the MariaDB database directly requires using SSH to log in to the remote Cloud environment and connect to the database.

Then use the configuration values in your MySQL GUI. The following example uses MySQL Workbench, but any app that supports MySQL connections will have similar fields.

After everything is set up, it is possible to use a MySQL GUI to run queries on a remote Adobe Commerce Cloud project.

Connecting directly to the cloud project database to run SQL

The following method uses the magento-cloud cli to directly connect to the mysql database and run SQL, which allows for faster database querying. If you need to copy this database, refer to one of the alternative methods to create a database dump.

magento-cloud db:sql

Enter a number to choose a project:
  [0] demo-ralbin (ral32nryq4123)
  [1] adobe-commerce-demo (abc123zzkipexnqo)
  [2] DX Tutorials - Commerce (abasrpikfw4123)
 > 2

Enter a number to choose an environment:
Default: master
  [0] master (type: production)
  [1] remote-db (type: development)
 > 1

Welcome to the MariaDB monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MariaDB connection id is 273454
Server version: 10.6.15-MariaDB-1:10.6.15+maria~deb10-log mariadb.org binary distribution

Copyright (c) 2000, 2018, Oracle, MariaDB Corporation Ab and others.

Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.

For example, you can find all the records from the core_config_data table that contain the word secure as part of the column path:

MariaDB [main]> SELECT * FROM core_config_data WHERE path LIKE '%secure%' \G;
*************************** 1. row ***************************
 config_id: 5
     scope: default
  scope_id: 0
      path: web/unsecure/base_url
     value: http://remote-db-ecpefky-abasrpikfw4123.us-4.magentosite.cloud/
updated_at: 2024-02-02 18:03:17
*************************** 2. row ***************************
 config_id: 6
     scope: default
  scope_id: 0
      path: web/secure/base_url
     value: https://remote-db-ecpefky-abasrpikfw4123.us-4.magentosite.cloud/
updated_at: 2024-02-02 18:03:17
*************************** 3. row ***************************
 config_id: 8
     scope: default
  scope_id: 0
      path: web/secure/use_in_adminhtml
     value: 1
updated_at: 2023-04-26 19:43:58
3 rows in set (0.001 sec)

ERROR: No query specified

MariaDB [main]>

Additional resources

Adobe Commerce Cloud CLI
Set up MySQL service
Set up a remote MySQL database connection
Create database dump on Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure