Get Started with Workday Live Data Query

Workday Live Data Query (LDQ) enables real-time SQL access from external systems to Workday's core business objects without using ETL or data replication. External clients query data within Workday on demand through a JDBC or Python driver.

You can set up your LDQ connection with either of these authentication methods:

	Integration System User (ISU)	User As Self (UAS)
Description	Allows the external system to authenticate as a dedicated, non-person system account. Access to data is limited to the tables and columns authorized for the ISU through domain permissions.	Allows the external system to read data on behalf of a Workday user. Enforces Workday's full security model, including row-level controls and contextual security, based on the permissions of the user who authorizes the connection.
Security Scope	Tables, Columns	Tables, Columns, Rows, Cells, Contextual Security
Security Controls	Unconstrained security groups > Domain permissions	Full Workday security model enforced externally. Functional area scope configured on API client.
OAuth Mechanism	Public/private key pair.	Client ID, client secret, and browser-based login.
Suggested Usage	Data platforms (Example: Snowflake)	Analytics tools (Example: Tableau) AI/LLMs/Agents (Example: Gemini)
Setup Instructions	Set Up Live Data Query ISU Authentication in Workday	Set Up Live Data Query User-as-Self Authentication in Workday

Live Data Query offers these combinations of external clients and drivers:

To download the drivers, see Live Data Query Downloads.

After you’ve established a data connection from the external client with the driver, you can run SQL statements to query Workday data. See Query Workday Data Using Live Data Query.