Connect with the Java client

You can connect to your Serverless (Vector) databases with the astra-db-java client.

For a guided experience to get started with the Java client, see the Astra DB Serverless quickstart.

Prerequisites

An active Astra account
An active Serverless (Vector) database

Install the Java client

Install the Java client with Maven or Gradle.

Maven
Gradle

Install Java 17 or later (21 recommended) and Maven 3.9 or later.

Create a pom.xml file in the root of your project, and then replace VERSION with the latest version of astra-db-java .

pom.xml

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0
                             http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

  <groupId>com.example</groupId>
  <artifactId>test-java-client</artifactId>
  <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>

  <!-- The Java client -->
  <dependencies>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.datastax.astra</groupId>
      <artifactId>astra-db-java</artifactId>
      <version>VERSION</version>
    </dependency>
  </dependencies>

  <build>
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
        <artifactId>exec-maven-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>3.0.0</version>
        <configuration>
          <executable>java</executable>
          <mainClass>com.example.Quickstart</mainClass>
        </configuration>
        <executions>
          <execution>
            <goals>
              <goal>java</goal>
            </goals>
          </execution>
        </executions>
      </plugin>
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
        <configuration>
          <source>11</source>
          <target>11</target>
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
    </plugins>
  </build>
</project>

Install Gradle and Java 17 or later (21 recommended).

Create a build.gradle file in the root of your project:

build.gradle

plugins {
    id 'java'
    id 'application'
}

repositories {
    mavenCentral()
}

dependencies {
    implementation 'com.datastax.astra:astra-db-java:1.+'
}

application {
    mainClassName = 'com.example.Quickstart'
}

When a new client version is released, upgrade your client to get the latest features, improvements, and bug fixes. For information about major changes in specific client versions, see Data API client upgrade guide.

To upgrade your Java client, modify the astra-db-java version in your project’s build.gradle or pom.xml.

Set environment variables

The Data API requires your database’s API endpoint and application tokens with sufficient permissions to perform the requested operations.

Store application tokens and API endpoints in environment variables to simplify reuse in your scripts.

In the Astra Portal navigation menu, select your Serverless (Vector) database.
On the Overview tab, in the Database Details section, click Generate Token.

The generated token has a custom Database Administrator role that is scoped to this database only. For more information, see Generate an application token for a database and Custom roles.
Copy the token and store it securely. The Astra Portal shows the token only once.
In the Database Details section, copy your database’s Data API endpoint.

The Data API endpoint format is https://DATABASE_ID-REGION.apps.astra.datastax.com. If you aren’t using a client, be aware that DevOps API calls use a different endpoint format.
(Optional) Create application tokens with other roles.

The Database Administrator role authorizes operations within a database, but you might need a broader or narrower role for other operations, for example:
- For operations above the database level, such as creating databases or keyspaces, you need an application token with the Organization Administrator role.
- For production applications that only read data from a database, consider using an application token with a narrower scope, such as the Read Only User role.

Set environment variables for your application tokens and Data API endpoint.

Linux or macOS
Windows

export ASTRA_DB_API_ENDPOINT=API_ENDPOINT
export ASTRA_DB_APPLICATION_TOKEN=TOKEN

set ASTRA_DB_API_ENDPOINT=API_ENDPOINT

set ASTRA_DB_APPLICATION_TOKEN=TOKEN

Connect to a Serverless (Vector) database

When you use a Data API client, your main entry point is the DataAPIClient object. Then, you get a database object to connect to a database. These operations are the basis of your client scripts. For more information, see Instantiate a client object and Connect to a database.

import com.datastax.astra.client.Collection;
import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClient;
import com.datastax.astra.client.Database;
import com.datastax.astra.client.model.Document;
import com.datastax.astra.client.model.FindIterable;
import com.datastax.astra.client.model.SimilarityMetric;

public class Quickstart {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Loading Arguments
    String astraToken = System.getenv("ASTRA_DB_APPLICATION_TOKEN");
    String astraApiEndpoint = System.getenv("ASTRA_DB_API_ENDPOINT");

    // Initialize the client
    DataAPIClient client = new DataAPIClient(astraToken);
    System.out.println("Connected to AstraDB");

    Database db = client.getDatabase(astraApiEndpoint);
    System.out.println("Connected to Database.");
  }
}

Next steps

After you connect to a database, you can extend your script to work with the collections and documents in it. You can also use the Java client to manage databases and keyspaces.

For more information, see Get started with the Data API and Java client usage.

Connect with the Java client

Prerequisites

Install the Java client

Upgrade the Java client

Set environment variables

Connect to a Serverless (Vector) database

Next steps

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