Download Cassandra JDBC Driver

What Is a JDBC Driver?

A JDBC driver is a Java library file (.jar) that enables Java applications — including DbSchema — to communicate with a database over a standard API. The driver translates generic JDBC calls into the network protocol understood by Cassandra, so you never have to write low-level socket code. Drivers are typically distributed by the database vendor or as open-source projects.

Understanding the JDBC URL

Every JDBC driver identifies the target database through a connection URL. The URL encodes the hostname, port, database name, and any driver-specific parameters as a single string. The exact syntax varies per driver — the details for Cassandra are listed in the section below.

Download the Cassandra JDBC Driver

Apache Cassandra is a highly scalable, distributed NoSQL database designed for high availability with no single point of failure. It uses a wide-column data model and is ideal for write-intensive workloads, time-series data, and globally distributed applications.

For connecting to Cassandra we wrote our own open-source JDBC driver, available on GitHub.

Apache Cassandra JDBC Driver Details

Required File(s): cassandra-driver.jar
Java Driver Class: com.dbschema.Cassandra.JdbcDriver
JDBC URL: jdbc:cassandra://host1[:port1][,host2[:port2],...[,hostN[:portN]]][/[keyspace];dataCenter[&options]]
Website: DbSchema.com

The driver is written on top of the native Cassandra Java Driver. For connecting to multiple hosts you can pass an URL like: jdbc:cassandra://host1[:port1][,host2[:port2],...[,hostN[:portN]]][/[keyspace];dataCenter[&options]]

Find the DataCenter using nodetool status or nodetool -h ::FFFF:127.0.0.1 status

Connecting to Cassandra with SSL

Connecting using SSL is possible setting the parameters: javax.net.ssl.trustStore=/path/to/client.truststore&javax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword=password123& javax.net.ssl.keyStore=/path/to/client.keystore&javax.net.ssl.keyStorePassword=password123
These parameters can be also set in DbSchema.vmoptions file in the installation folder or ./DbSchema.app/Contents/vmoptions.txt on Mac OS, and add:

    -Djavax.net.ssl.trustStore=/path/to/client.truststore
    -Djavax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword=password123
    # If you're using client authentication:
    -Djavax.net.ssl.keyStore=/path/to/client.keystore
    -Djavax.net.ssl.keyStorePassword=password123

Downloading the Cassandra JDBC Driver

Download Cassandra JDBC Driver

The driver archive is a zip file. Unzip the downloaded archive to get the driver files. The driver source code can be found on GitHub repository. Check the GitHub link for details on how to use the driver and configure SSL.

The driver is written on top of the standard DataStax Java driver.

DbSchema and Apache Cassandra

DbSchema's open-source Cassandra JDBC driver maps keyspaces and tables into a visual schema explorer. Use DbSchema to browse partition keys, clustering columns, and secondary indexes, and to run CQL queries through the SQL editor interface.

Have connection issues? Contact the DbSchema team for help.

Explore Cassandra Visually with DbSchema

Once the JDBC driver is configured, DbSchema connects to your Cassandra database and gives you a full graphical workbench — no command-line required. Available as a free Community Edition and a full-featured PRO Edition. No registration needed to get started.

Interactive ER Diagrams

Reverse-engineer your Cassandra schema into a drag-and-drop ER diagram. Arrange tables visually, add new columns, define foreign keys, and let DbSchema generate the DDL — all without writing SQL by hand.

Interactive ER diagram for Cassandra in DbSchema

Visual Query Builder

Compose Cassandra queries by clicking on tables and columns — no SQL knowledge required. Add joins, filters, groupings, and aggregations through a point-and-click interface, then copy the generated SQL or run it directly against the live database.

Relational Data Explorer

Browse Cassandra table data and follow foreign key relationships across tables in a single view. Edit cells inline, filter rows, and paginate through large datasets — all without leaving the explorer.

Schema Synchronization

Compare your Cassandra schema across development, staging, and production environments. DbSchema generates the exact ALTER statements needed to close the gap and lets you review every change before executing — reducing the risk of unintended schema drift.

SQL Editor

Write and execute Cassandra queries in the integrated SQL editor with schema-aware autocomplete, syntax highlighting, and instant result display. Run scripts, inspect execution plans, and export results to CSV or JSON from a single interface.

HTML Schema Documentation

Generate a static HTML site documenting every table, column, type, index, and relationship in your Cassandra schema. Share it with your team or embed it in your project wiki — no extra tooling required.

Schema documentation generator for Cassandra in DbSchema