How to connect Firebird 3.0 ERP database to Supabase (near real-time sync)
Hi everyone 👋
I’m connecting to an existing ERP system that runs on Firebird 3.0 (with Object Pascal). I’m building a separate app that depends on this ERP and needs to stay in sync with it, almost in real time.
What’s the best way to connect a Firebird database to Supabase for this kind of setup?
3 Replies
Disclaimer: I don't know much about Firebird.
I'm not aware of any out of the box solution that could easily sync Supabase with Firebird.
It's possible that there's some firebird->postgres /postgres->firebird replication solution that could fit (copycat seems to be an attempt at that, but not sure if it works well) and give you db sync.
It's hard to say without knowing about your project, but personally, I would avoid "sync" as a concept as much as possible. The first path I'd go would probably be through the ERP APIs in edge functions. If that's insufficient, perhaps an FDW? Only then I'd consider db syncing.
The ERP doesn’t have an API yet — they’re planning to implement one in the future, but for now that’s not an option I can rely on.
I understand the paths you mentioned (ERP APIs → edge functions, FDW, and replication). Since I can’t use APIs yet, FDW might be too complex, and I don’t have much experience creating a custom integration service with Python.
Given this context, what would you recommend as the most practical alternative to get Firebird data into Supabase in near real time?
I’ve heard about Airbyte (which seems to have a Firebird → Postgres connector). Would Airbyte (or a similar tool) be a good fit here, considering my constraints? Or do you think it’s better to approach this in another way until the ERP API is ready?
TIL about airbyte. Seems worth it to give it a try 🙂