Connecting with Neo4j applications

There are several ways to interact with and use graph data in AuraDS.

  • Neo4j Browser - A browser-based interface for querying and viewing graph data with rudimentary visualization.

  • Neo4j Bloom - A graph exploration application for visually interacting with graph data.

  • Neo4j Workspace - A browser-based interface used to import, visualize, and query graph data.

  • Neo4j Desktop - An installable desktop application used to manage local and cloud databases.

  • Neo4j Cypher Shell - A command-line tool used to run Cypher queries against a Neo4j instance.

Tip: For first-time users, we recommend using Neo4j Browser.

Neo4j Browser

To open an AuraDS instance with Neo4j Browser:

  1. Navigate to the Neo4j Aura Console in your browser.

  2. Select the Query button on the instance you want to open.

  3. Enter the Username and Password credentials in the Neo4j Browser window that opens. These are the same credentials you stored when you created the instance.

  4. Select Connect.

Once you have successfully connected, there are built-in guides you can complete to familiarize yourself with Neo4j Browser. See the Browser manual for more information.

Neo4j Bloom

To open an AuraDS instance with Neo4j Bloom:

  1. Navigate to the Neo4j Aura Console in your browser.

  2. Select the Explore button on the instance you want to open.

  3. Enter the Username and Password credentials in the Neo4j Browser window that opens. These are the same credentials you stored when you created the instance.

  4. Select Connect.

See the Neo4j Bloom documentation for more details.

Perspectives in AuraDS

Due to the nature of AuraDS’s infrastructure, it is not currently possible to share Perspectives in Bloom, as the data for a given Perspective is stored in local storage in the user’s web browser.

An alternative is to export your Perspective as a JSON file and import it into another Bloom session.

To export a Perspective:

  1. Open the Bloom interface for your Neo4j AuraDS instance.

  2. Navigate to the Perspectives Gallery.

  3. Click on the vertical ellipsis (…​) and select Export.

  4. Save the file to your local disk.

You can import perspectives by clicking the blue "Import Perspective" button in the Perspective gallery. Please note that the Perspective exposes details about your graph’s schema but not the actual data within.

For more information, see Bloom Perspectives.

Deep links

As data for a given Perspective is stored in local storage in the user’s web browser, if you want to access a deep link referencing perspectives, you will first need to import the perspectives into your local instance of Bloom.

Neo4j Workspace

Neo4j Workspace combines the functionality of Neo4j Browser, Neo4j Bloom, and Neo4j Data Importer into a single interface.

To open an instance with Workspace:

  1. Navigate to the Neo4j Aura Console in your browser.

  2. Select the Open button on the instance you want to open.

  3. Enter the Database user and Password credentials in the window that opens. These are the same credentials you stored when you created the instance.

  4. Select Connect.

For more information on using Neo4j Workspace, see the Product page.

Workspace is enabled by default on AuraDB Free and AuraDB Professional instances but needs to be enabled for AuraDB Enterprise instances. If you do not see the Open button on your instance, you can enable it by selecting the Settings cog in the top menu bar and toggling Enable workspace.

Neo4j Desktop

You can connect AuraDS instances to the Neo4j Desktop application, allowing the ability to have a single portal for interacting with all instances of Neo4j, whether local or located in the cloud.

To connect to an AuraDS instance using Neo4j Desktop:

  1. Navigate to the Neo4j Aura Console in your browser.

  2. Copy the Connection URI of the instance you want to connect to. The URI is in the page that opens when clicking on the instance.

  3. In Neo4j Desktop, select the Projects tab and select an existing project or create a new one.

  4. Select the Add dropdown and choose Remote connection.

  5. Enter a name for the instance and enter the URL from the Neo4j Aura console from the second step. Once complete, select Next.

  6. With Username/Password selected, enter your credentials and select Next. These are the same credentials you stored when you created the instance.

  7. When available, activate the connection by clicking the Connect button.

Notes:

  • Neo4j Desktop only allows 1 connection at a time to a database (local or remote).

  • Deactivating an instance in Neo4j Desktop won’t shut it down or stop a remote instance - it will only temporarily close the connection to it in Neo4j Desktop.

As with other databases in Neo4j Desktop, you can install Graph Apps for monitoring and other functionality. To do this, follow the same process to install the graph application you need, and open it from Neo4j Desktop or a web browser with the running and activated Neo4j AuraDS instance.

Neo4j Cypher Shell

You can connect to an AuraDS instance using the Neo4j Cypher Shell command-line interface (CLI) and run Cypher commands against your instance from the command line. Refer to the Operations manual for instructions on how to install the Cypher Shell.

To connect to an AuraDS instance using Neo4j Cypher Shell:

  1. Navigate to the Neo4j Aura Console in your browser.

  2. Copy the Connection URI of the instance you want to connect to. The URI is in the page that opens when clicking on the instance.

  3. Open a terminal and navigate to the folder where you have installed the Cypher Shell.

  4. Run the following cypher-shell command replacing:

    • <connection_uri> with the URI you copied in step 2

    • <username> with the username for your instance

    • <password> with the password for your instance

      ./cypher-shell -a <connection_uri> -u <username> -p <password>

Once connected, you can run :help for a list of available commands.

For more information on Cypher Shell, including how to install it, see the Cypher Shell documentation.