clickhouse docs

docs/how_to_connect_to_the_datastore.md

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+# Connecting to the IGVF Datastore (ClickhouseDB)
+
+This guide provides instructions on how to connect to the IGVF Datastore, the columnar database ClickhouseDB.
+
+We provide two instances of the ClickhouseDB:
+
+* https://datastore.catalog.igvf.org - the production instance
+* https://datastore-dev.catalog.igvf.org - the development instance
+
+Both are available using the port 8123. The endpoints above are just addresses, clicking on them will not lead to any page.
+
+The production instance has our current data, which was tested and validated. The development instance has our current work in progress, work and it is usually used to share ideas with other groups before the final work is officially released in production.
+
+There are several forms to connect to a Clickhouse database.
+
+The most basic form is by using its native client. If you have it installed, you can use the following command:
+
+```
+clickhouse-client --host=datastore.catalog.igvf.org --port=8123 --user=<username> --password=<password>
+```
+
+Please contact our group to receive a username and password.
+
+We recommend using a client interface to interact with our database. It is easier and doesn't require much more knowledge of Clickhouse to explore our data.
+
+One free client that supports connection to ClickhouseDB is DBVisualizer (https://www.dbvis.com/).
+
+To set up DBVisualizer, create a new Database Connection and select Clickhouse.
+
+As the database server name, use: `datastore.catalog.igvf.org` or `datastore-dev.catalog.igvf.org`, for the database port use `8123`, and for the database value, use `igvf`. Next, add your credentials to Userid and Password.