Tabellum for mobile · Chapter 2

Connections

A connection is the address of one database and how to log in to it. Tabellum keeps as many as you like and can have several open at once.

2.1 Adding a connection#

1. Open the menu and tap + next to CONNECTIONS.
2. Pick the Driver 1: PostgreSQL, MySQL / MariaDB, SQL Server, BigQuery, SQLite or MongoDB.
3. Fill in the host, port, database, user and password.
4. Tap Test 4. When the test passes, tap Save.

1234

1. The database type
2. Fill the form from a connection string
3. Refuse every write on this connection
4. Try the connection before saving

Three switches decide what may happen on the connection:

• Read-only 3: every session opens read-only. The server refuses writes, and Tabellum refuses them before they reach it.
• Sensitive: the connection is drawn in a warning color, and the AI agent gets only its schema.
• Agent may see rows: off by default. While it is off, the agent sees tables, columns and row counts, never values.

If you have a connection string (postgres://…, mysql://…, mongodb+srv://…, a JDBC URL), copy it, tap the clipboard button 2 and paste it. Tabellum fills in the form, puts the password into secure storage and lists what it set and what it could not.

2.2 Cloud databases#

For a hosted database, pick its provider under Cloud preset 1. The preset fills in the port, TLS mode and driver settings the provider needs and explains what is special about it 2 — for example, that a transaction pooler has no prepared statements.

12

1. A cloud provider's settings
2. What the provider needs

2.3 SQLite files#

An SQLite database is a file, so its connection has no host or login. Browse… 2 picks a file and New… 3 creates an empty one. A picked file is copied into the workspace’s sqlite/ folder, because the app may only keep access to its own folder.

123

1. The database file
2. Pick a file
3. Create a new database file

2.4 Editing a connection#

Each connection in the menu has a pencil button, Edit, that opens the same form; a long press on the connection opens its menu with everything else. A connection that cannot connect shows one line saying what failed and what to check — a refused port, a timeout, a wrong password or a TLS problem.

When you come back to the app after a while, Tabellum reconnects the open connections by itself. A read that failed because the connection dropped is retried once; anything else offers Run again.

2.5 SSH and WireGuard tunnels#

When a database is only reachable through a server or a VPN, add a tunnel and choose it in the connection’s Tunnel field (the + next to it creates one). Tunnels run inside the app: they need no VPN profile and change nothing else on the phone.

123

1. SSH, or a WireGuard peer
2. How the server's key is checked
3. Reach it through another tunnel

• SSH 1 logs in with a private key (and its passphrase) or a password. WireGuard connects as a peer; paste a wg-quick configuration and the fields are filled in.
• Host key 2 decides how the server’s key is checked. With Ask on first connection, Tabellum shows the key’s fingerprint the first time and remembers it.
• Via (jump host) 3 reaches the server through another tunnel.

2.6 Sharing connections#

Connections and tunnels move between devices with a code: set them up on the computer, then scan them into the phone. Choose Share connections… in the Tabellum menu (⋯), or Share… in a connection’s menu.

123

1. Pick the connections; their tunnels come along
2. Passwords and keys, encrypted, only if you ask
3. Show it as a QR code, a text, or a file

Tick what to send 1 a connection’s tunnel comes along by itself. Passwords and keys stay on this device unless you turn on Include passwords and keys 2 and type a passphrase twice, at least 6 characters. Then show it as a QR code, a text to copy, or a file 3.

To receive, choose Import connections…. On QR code, point the camera at the code, or choose a photo or screenshot of it with Choose a photo instead. Paste and File take the code as text. Tabellum asks for the camera and the photos only here.

12

1. The passphrase you were given
2. What is added, and what to do with a name taken here

If the code carries passwords, type the passphrase 1 and choose Unlock Skip the passwords leaves them to type later. The list 2 shows what will be added, and asks what to do when a connection of that name is already on the phone. Nothing is written until Import.