Frequently Asked Questions

Credentials are encrypted at rest using AES-256. The encryption key is stored separately from the database. If the database were ever compromised, credentials would not be recoverable in plain text.

→ Read guide: What is AES encryption and how secure is it

No. Query results are returned directly to your browser and are not stored by ByeSQL. What is stored is metadata: the natural language prompt, the generated SQL, execution status, row count, and duration. The actual rows from your database are never persisted.

ByeSQL introspects whatever the database user you configure has access to. The recommended approach is to create a dedicated read-only user with access restricted to only the tables you want to expose.

→ Read guide: How to create a read-only user in PostgreSQL

→ Read guide: How to create a read-only user in MySQL

→ Read guide: How to restrict a database user to specific tables

No. ByeSQL runs in SAFE mode by default, which only allows SELECT statements. Any write operation (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, DROP, CREATE, ALTER, TRUNCATE) is blocked before execution. This is a product-level guarantee, not a configuration option.

Yes. The default limit is 200 rows, automatically applied if your prompt does not specify one. The maximum allowed is 5,000 rows per query.

Queries time out after 20 seconds. If this happens, ByeSQL will suggest adding more specific filters to narrow down the result set.

Yes. ByeSQL supports multi-turn conversations. You can follow up with prompts like "now group by country" or "filter from January" and ByeSQL will build on the previous query maintaining context.

ByeSQL supports prompts in any major language. Write your queries in whatever language you prefer.

Currently supported: PostgreSQL and MySQL. Planned: MariaDB, SQL Server, SQLite, Oracle, and others.

It depends on which version you use. With the web app, yes: ByeSQL connects to your database over the network, so it must be reachable from ByeSQL's servers. With the ByeSQL Desktop app, no: the connection is made directly from your computer, so you can query local databases, VPN-only databases, or databases on a private network without exposing them to the internet.

The database user only needs SELECT permission on the tables you want to query. No write permissions are needed or recommended.

→ Read guide: How to create a read-only user in PostgreSQL

→ Read guide: How to create a read-only user in MySQL

→ Read guide: How to restrict a database user to specific tables

Yes. ByeSQL supports multiple connections per account. You can switch between them in the Query Studio.

ByeSQL caches your schema at connection time. If your schema changes, use the manual "Refresh" button available on each connection to re-introspect and update the cache. Until you refresh, ByeSQL will work from the outdated schema.

We don't currently publish a fixed IP range. If you need to whitelist ByeSQL's access, please contact support@byesql.com and we'll provide the current egress IPs for your infrastructure setup.

No. With the desktop app, your database connection and query execution happen entirely on your machine. The only data sent to ByeSQL is your database schema (table and column names, no actual data) — this is needed to generate accurate SQL. Query results are displayed locally and never reach ByeSQL's servers.

Yes. The desktop app connects directly from your computer to your database — there is no intermediary server. This means it works with databases on localhost, private LANs, or behind a VPN, without any need to expose your database to the internet.

The web app connects to your database through ByeSQL's servers — your database must be reachable from the internet. The desktop app connects directly from your computer, so it works with local, private, and VPN-only databases, and your connection and query results never pass through ByeSQL's infrastructure.

Both versions use the same AI to generate SQL, support multi-turn query refinement, and enforce SAFE mode. The desktop app is available on Basic, Pro and Enterprise plans.

→ Download the desktop app

ByeSQL sends your real database schema as context with every prompt, so the model works with the actual table and column names from your database — not guesses. This eliminates the most common source of SQL hallucinations. That said, complex queries with ambiguous prompts may still require refinement.

No. Your queries and schema data are never used to train models.