Connect to {{{ .starter }}} or Essential via Public Endpoint

This document describes how to connect to your {{{ .starter }}} or {{{ .essential }}} instance via a public endpoint, using a SQL client from your computer, as well as how to disable a public endpoint.

Connect via a public endpoint

Tip:

To learn how to connect to a TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster via public endpoint, see Connect to TiDB Cloud Dedicated via Public Connection.

To connect to a {{{ .starter }}} or {{{ .essential }}} instance via public endpoint, take the following steps:

1. Navigate to the My TiDB page, and then click the name of your target {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instance to go to its overview page.

2. Click Connect in the upper-right corner. A connection dialog is displayed.

3. In the dialog, keep the default setting of the connection type as Public, and select your preferred connection method and operating system to get the corresponding connection string.

   Note:

   • Keeping the connection type as Public means the connection is via standard TLS connection. For more information, see TLS Connection to {{{ .starter }}} or Essential.

   • If you choose Private Endpoint in the Connection Type drop-down list, it means that the connection is via private endpoint. For more information, see the following documents:

     • Connect to {{{ .starter }}} or Essential via AWS PrivateLink
     • Connect to {{{ .starter }}} or Essential via Alibaba Cloud Private Endpoint

   Note:

   • Keeping the connection type as Public means the connection is via standard TLS connection. For more information, see TLS Connection to {{{ .starter }}} or Essential.
   • If you choose Private Endpoint in the Connection Type drop-down list, it means that the connection is via private endpoint. For more information, see Connect to {{{ .starter }}} or Essential via AWS PrivateLink.

4. TiDB Cloud lets you create branches for your {{{ .starter }}} or {{{ .essential }}} instance. After a branch is created, you can choose to connect to the branch via the Branch drop-down list. main represents the {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instance itself.

5. If you have not set a password yet, click Generate Password to generate a random password. The generated password will not show again, so save your password in a secure location.

6. Connect to your {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instance with the connection string.

   Note:

   When you connect to a {{{ .starter }}} or {{{ .essential }}} instance, you must include the prefix for your {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instance in the user name and wrap the name with quotation marks. For more information, see User name prefix. Your client IP must be in the allowed IP rules of the public endpoint of your {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instance. For more information, see Configure {{{ .starter }}} or Essential Firewall Rules for Public Endpoints.

Disable a public endpoint

If you do not need to use a public endpoint of a {{{ .starter }}} or {{{ .essential }}} instance, you can disable it to prevent connections from the internet:

1. Navigate to the My TiDB page, and then click the name of your target {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instance to go to its overview page.

2. In the left navigation pane, click Settings > Networking.

3. On the Networking page, click Disable. A confirmation dialog is displayed.

4. Click Disable in the confirmation dialog.

After disabling the public endpoint, the Public entry in the Connection Type drop-down list of the connect dialog is disabled. If users are still trying to access the {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instance from the public endpoint, they will get an error.

Note:

Disabling the public endpoint does not affect existing connections. It only prevents new connections from the internet.

You can re-enable the public endpoint after disabling it:

1. Navigate to the My TiDB page, and then click the name of your target {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instance to go to its overview page.

2. In the left navigation pane, click Settings > Networking.

3. On the Networking page, click Enable.

What's next

After you have successfully connected to your {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instance, you can explore SQL statements with TiDB.