---
title: "Technologies"
description: "Technology names what a data source is; the provider names how CAT connects to it. Full list of what CAT can test."
url: "https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/technologies/"
---
# Technologies


Every data source definition has a `Provider` — the component that opens the connection and runs the queries. A definition may also carry a `Technology` — the name of the system behind that connection. The two are not the same thing: `SqlServer@2` is one provider, and it connects to MS SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, Azure Synapse Analytics, MS Fabric Warehouse, MS Fabric Lakehouse and Dataverse alike. The [provider catalogue](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/overview/ "Providers") therefore shows less than half of what CAT can test; the [table below](#supported-technologies) shows all of it.

## The Technology property

| | |
|---|---|
| Key | `Technology` — unlike the other properties, matched literally, not by synonym |
| Value | one of the codes in the table below; the match ignores case |
| Required | no |
| Read and written by | CAT Studio only. CAT CLI, the PowerShell module and the Python module run the definition without looking at it, and no tool other than Studio writes it |

```yaml
Data sources:
- Name: Sales DWH
  Provider: SqlServer@2
  Technology: AzureSqlDatabase
  Connection string: "%SALES_DWH%"
```

The property lives on the definition like any other, so it travels with it: it is written in the project file, in another YAML file, or in a column of a list served by any provider — see [Lists](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/project-file/lists/ "Lists").

## What CAT Studio does with it

CAT Studio is the only tool that reads the property, and it reads it for four things:

* **Display.** The data source's icon and caption, wherever a data source is shown — the data sources page, the project page, the test editor.
* **The guided connection form.** Each technology has its own form — server, database, authentication, file path and so on — and its own help panel. The form writes the connection string; you never type it.
* **The default provider.** Choosing a technology in Studio sets `Provider` to the technology's default (see the table) and clears the connection string and any other settings — a data source switched from MS SQL Server to Excel starts over.
* **Technology slots.** On the Starter plan a user can work with two technologies at a time; the codes counted are exactly the ones in the table. Studio checks the slot when a data source is added or edited. Other plans have no limit. See [Compare plans](https://docs.justcat.it/compare-plans/ "Compare plans").

### Without the property

Leaving the property out is safe. A definition with no `Technology`, or with a value Studio does not know, runs exactly as it would with one — `Provider` and `Connection string` are all that is needed to connect. The only difference is in CAT Studio, where such a data source is shown as **Manually set**: a generic icon, and the expert view instead of a guided form, with `Provider` and `Connection string` edited as written. When Studio next saves that data source, it writes `Technology: ManuallySet` into it.

So a project file written by hand, or generated by a script, does not need the property. Add the `Technology` line when you want the icon and the guided form, and Studio picks them up on the next open.

### Technology and provider should match

Each technology has the provider Studio uses for it, listed in the [table below](#supported-technologies), and a definition should pair them as listed — `Technology: AzureSqlDatabase` with `SqlServer@2`, `Technology: PowerBISemanticModel` with `Dax@2`. Studio does not enforce the pair: it keeps whatever provider a definition carries and shows the technology's guided form over it, so a mismatch is not reported but the form and the connection string may no longer agree. The technology is a label; the provider does the work.

## Supported technologies

Grouped as in Studio's technology picker. **Code** is the value of the `Technology` property; **Provider** is the one Studio uses for it.

| Technology | Code | Provider |
|---|---|---|
| **Database** | | |
| Dataverse | `Dataverse` | [SqlServer@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/sqlserver-2/ "SqlServer@2") |
| Google Cloud for MySQL | `GoogleCloudForMySql` | [MySql@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/mysql-1/ "MySql@1") |
| Google Cloud for PostgreSQL | `GoogleCloudForPostgreSql` | [Postgres@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/postgres-1/ "Postgres@1") |
| MariaDB | `MariaDB` | [MySql@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/mysql-1/ "MySql@1") |
| MS SQL Server | `SqlServer` | [SqlServer@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/sqlserver-2/ "SqlServer@2") |
| MySQL | `MySql` | [MySql@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/mysql-1/ "MySql@1") |
| ORACLE | `Oracle` | [Oracle@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/oracle-1/ "Oracle@1") |
| Percona Software for MySQL | `PerconaSoftwareForMySql` | [MySql@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/mysql-1/ "MySql@1") |
| PostgreSQL | `PostgreSql` | [Postgres@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/postgres-1/ "Postgres@1") |
| **Analytics** | | |
| ClickHouse | `ClickHouse` | [ClickHouse@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/clickhouse-1/ "ClickHouse@1") |
| Power BI Desktop | `PowerBIDesktop` | [PowerBI@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/powerbi-2/ "PowerBI@2") |
| Power BI Semantic Model | `PowerBISemanticModel` | [Dax@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/dax-2/ "Dax@2") |
| Snowflake | `Snowflake` | [Snowflake@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/snowflake-1/ "Snowflake@1") |
| SQL Server Analysis Services | `Ssas` | [Dax@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/dax-2/ "Dax@2") |
| Teradata | `Teradata` | [Teradata@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/teradata-1/ "Teradata@1") |
| **File** | | |
| CSV file | `Csv` | [Csv@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/csv-2/ "Csv@2") |
| MS Excel file (xlsx) | `Excel` | [Excel@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/excel-2/ "Excel@2") |
| YAML | `Yaml` | [Yaml@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/yaml-1/ "Yaml@1") |
| **Azure** | | |
| Azure Analysis Services | `AzureAnalysisServices` | [Dax@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/dax-2/ "Dax@2") |
| Azure Database for MySQL | `AzureDatabaseForMySql` | [MySql@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/mysql-1/ "MySql@1") |
| Azure Database for PostgreSQL | `AzureDatabaseForPostgreSql` | [Postgres@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/postgres-1/ "Postgres@1") |
| Azure SQL Database | `AzureSqlDatabase` | [SqlServer@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/sqlserver-2/ "SqlServer@2") |
| Azure SQL Managed Instance | `AzureSqlManagedInstance` | [SqlServer@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/sqlserver-2/ "SqlServer@2") |
| Azure Synapse Analytics | `AzureSynapseAnalytics` | [SqlServer@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/sqlserver-2/ "SqlServer@2") |
| **AWS** | | |
| Amazon Aurora MySQL | `AmazonAuroraMySql` | [MySql@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/mysql-1/ "MySql@1") |
| Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL | `AmazonAuroraPostgreSql` | [Postgres@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/postgres-1/ "Postgres@1") |
| **MS Fabric** | | |
| MS Fabric Lakehouse | `MsFabricLakehouse` | [SqlServer@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/sqlserver-2/ "SqlServer@2") |
| MS Fabric Semantic Model | `MsFabricSemanticModel` | [Dax@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/dax-2/ "Dax@2") |
| MS Fabric Warehouse | `MsFabricWarehouse` | [SqlServer@2](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/sqlserver-2/ "SqlServer@2") |
| **Other** | | |
| ODBC | `Odbc` | [Odbc@1](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/odbc-1/ "Odbc@1") |
| Manually set | `ManuallySet` | none — `Provider` and `Connection string` as written |

Anything with an ODBC driver is reachable through `Odbc` — Databricks, for one; see [Test Databricks](https://docs.justcat.it/how-to-guides/data-platforms/test-databricks/ "Test Databricks"). Anything else is **Manually set**: any provider, any connection string, no guided form.

## Related

* [Properties](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/properties/ "Data source properties") — the other properties of a data source definition.
* [Providers](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/data-sources/providers/overview/ "Providers") — the components that do the connecting, with drivers and platform notes.
* [Data sources in CAT Studio](https://docs.justcat.it/reference/cat-studio/data-sources/ "Data sources in CAT Studio") — the picker and the guided forms, with screenshots.