> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mindsdb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# TiDB

This is the implementation of the TiDB data handler for MindsDB.

[TiDB](https://www.pingcap.com/tidb/) is an open-source NewSQL database that supports Hybrid Transactional and Analytical Processing workloads. It is MySQL-compatible and can provide horizontal scalability, strong consistency, and high availability.

## Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure the following prerequisites are met:

1. Install MindsDB locally via [Docker](/setup/self-hosted/docker) or [Docker Desktop](/setup/self-hosted/docker-desktop).
2. To connect TiDB to MindsDB, install the required dependencies following [this instruction](/setup/self-hosted/docker#install-dependencies).
3. Install or ensure access to TiDB.

## Implementation

This handler is implemented by extending the MySQL data handler.

The required arguments to establish a connection are as follows:

* `user` is the database user.
* `password` is the database password.
* `host` is the host name, IP address, or URL.
* `port` is the port used to make TCP/IP connection.
* `database` is the database name.

## Usage

In order to make use of this handler and connect to the TiDB database in MindsDB, the following syntax can be used:

```sql theme={null}
CREATE DATABASE tidb_datasource
WITH
  ENGINE = 'tidb',
  PARAMETERS = {
    "host": "127.0.0.1",
    "port": 4000,
    "database": "tidb",
    "user": "root",
    "password": "password"
  };
```

You can use this established connection to query your table as follows:

```sql theme={null}
SELECT *
FROM tidb_datasource.demo_table;
```