Documentation

Engine-specific tips, connection formats, and compatibility notes for each supported database.

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SQLite

Connection: Select a .db, .sqlite, or .sqlite3 file from disk. Keisen opens it directly with no server process needed.

Compatibility: SQLite 3.x.

Tips:

• SQLite databases are single-file — great for local development and prototyping
• WAL mode is used by default for better concurrent read performance
• Use PRAGMA table_info(table_name) to inspect column details
• SQLite does not enforce column types strictly — any value can go in any column

Limitations:

• No ALTER COLUMN — to change a column type, you need to recreate the table
• No native BOOLEAN or DATE types — use integers or text
• No concurrent writes from multiple processes

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PostgreSQL

Connection URL: postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/dbname

Compatibility: PostgreSQL 12+. Also works with PostgreSQL-compatible services: Neon, Supabase, CockroachDB, and others.

SSL modes: disable, prefer, require, verify-ca, verify-full. For cloud providers (Neon, Supabase), use require or higher.

Tips:

• Use schemas to organize tables — Keisen shows all schemas in the sidebar
• EXPLAIN ANALYZE gives actual execution times and row counts
• Array and JSON/JSONB columns are displayed with syntax highlighting in the results grid
• Functions and routines are listed in the schema browser

Cloud services:

• Neon — use the connection string from your Neon dashboard. SSL is required.
• Supabase — use the connection string from Settings > Database. Enable SSL.
• CockroachDB — use the PostgreSQL connection string. Most PostgreSQL features work out of the box.

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MySQL / MariaDB

Connection URL: mysql://user:pass@host:3306/dbname

Compatibility: MySQL 5.7+ and MariaDB 10.3+. Also works with PlanetScale and other MySQL-compatible services.

Tips:

• Use backticks for identifiers that conflict with reserved words
• EXPLAIN output includes type, possible_keys, key, rows, and Extra columns
• Keisen shows stored procedures and functions in the schema browser
• For PlanetScale, use the connection string from your dashboard — SSL is required

Differences from PostgreSQL:

• LIMIT offset, count syntax instead of LIMIT count OFFSET offset
• AUTO_INCREMENT instead of SERIAL or sequences
• Case sensitivity depends on the collation (usually case-insensitive on macOS/Windows)

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Redis

Connection URL: redis://localhost:6379 or redis://:password@host:6379

Compatibility: Redis 6+. Keisen connects using the RESP protocol.

Tips:

• Keisen provides a key browser — browse, search, and inspect key values
• Supports all major data types: strings, lists, sets, sorted sets, hashes, and streams
• Use the command input to run any Redis command directly
• TTL (time to live) is displayed alongside key values

Differences from SQL databases:

• Redis is a key-value store — there are no tables, columns, or SQL queries
• The query editor works as a command input (e.g., GET key, HGETALL hash)
• Schema diagrams and EXPLAIN plans are not available for Redis
• Inline editing works for string values and hash fields