Engines
SQLite
Bobby Tables opens SQLite database files on this computer in a SQL workspace, with no server to run.
Where to find it
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Save a SQLite connection | New connection, ⌘N (Ctrl+N), then SQLite under Choose a provider |
| Open a file without saving it | Open SQLite file... in the Home screen's connection actions menu |
| Open from the desktop | Open With on a .sqlite, .sqlite3, .db or .db3 file |
| Drop a file | Drag a database file onto the window |
A file opened without a saved connection shows Save connection in the status bar.
Connecting
The form has a Database file section with a Path field and a folder button that opens the file picker. Create new database... creates an empty file at a location you choose before you save. A local file has no host, port, TLS or SSH tunnel.
What works
- Browse tables, views, indexes and triggers in the table grid, with attached databases shown as schemas.
- Stage inserts, updates and deletes, then commit them in one transaction, as described in Editing.
- Change columns, indexes and keys in the Structure tab, with the changes run inside a transaction.
- Take a snapshot as a SQL script or as a copy of the database file.
- Draw a schema diagram from declared foreign keys.
- Format result columns with result directives.
- Stop a running statement with
Cancel, ⌘. (Ctrl+.), which interrupts SQLite. - Run
Explain, ⌘⇧E (Ctrl+Shift+E), in the SQL editor.
Engine notes
Open in read-only mode opens the file with SQLite's read-only flag, so SQLite refuses writes even from the SQL editor. SQLite allows one writer at a time, and the app waits briefly for another process's lock before a write fails. A table without a primary key is edited by SQLite rowid, which stays hidden from the grid. The snapshot dialog also offers Database file (page copy) and Database file, compacted, which are staged in this computer's temporary directory first.
Good to know
- A SQLite connection opens one file, so
Switch databaseis not available. - SQLite connections cannot be copied as URLs.
- The PostgreSQL page has a short video of opening a connection from Home.