Connect Bolt.new to On-Prem SQL Server Without Exposing Sql Server to the Internet

DreamFactory | AI & Applications Data Gateway

Oct 13, 2026

Connect Bolt to an on-prem SQL Server database without opening a single firewall port or handing over a database password.

In this video I put DreamFactory in front of a SQL Server database on my local network, generate a REST API from it, lock that API down with a read-only role and a scoped API key, then I have Bolt build a live delivery operations dashboard on top of it. Bolt calls the API from a Bolt server function, so the key never reaches the browser.

What's covered:

Connecting SQL Server in DreamFactory and generating a REST API with no code
Testing the API live in the API docs, including filters that run as SQL on the server
Creating a read-only role scoped to specific tables
Creating an API key tied to that role: the only credential Bolt ever holds
Connecting Bolt to the API with the key kept server-side
A live dashboard over 2 million shipments: KPI cards, delivery center filter, late deliveries, tracking number search

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro and architecture

0:18 SQL Server connection in DreamFactory

1:31 Live API docs and filters

2:39 Read-only role

4:21 Scoped API key

5:06 The Bolt prompt, explained

6:32 Bolt builds the app (15x)

6:48 Adding the secrets

7:49 The filter fix and the live dashboard

8:01 Filtering by delivery center

8:25 Wrap-up