dbDBCraftDocs
Overview
IGetting started
About this guideWhat DBCraft AI Studio isInstallationActivating your licenceConnecting to a databaseA tour of the workspace
IIThe workspace
The menu barThe icon toolbarThe connection chip and container switcherThe docking railThe left panel (cluster drawer)The bottom dockThe status barThe command paletteExtra windows
IIIDevelopment modules
SQL EditorResults grid and data editingGraphsObject Browser and Object ViewerPL/SQL DebuggerUnit Test ManagerReports
IVDBA modules
Schema ToolsVersion HistorySession BrowserDBA Dashboards (Health)Storage BrowserPerformance Profiler and SQL OptimizerIndex AdvisorER Diagram ModelerAutomation and JobsLoad Tester
VTools and utilities
SQL TerminalAI AssistantExport Tables and Import Tables
VIConfiguration and reference
Settings referenceKeyboard shortcutsLicence managementLogging, diagnostics and bug reportsSecurity and data handlingTroubleshootingFile and folder locationsBackend API referenceGlossary
Documentation/Getting started
Chapter 5

Connecting to a database

DBCraft has no user accounts of its own. Connecting to a database is logging in. When you sign out, you disconnect.

#5.1The login screen

![Connect to Oracle Database]

FieldNotes
HostHostname or IP of the database server. Defaults to localhost.
PortListener port. Defaults to 1521.
TypeService or SID. Choose which identifier your database is registered under.
Service Name / SIDThe value for the type you chose. Defaults to ORCL for service name.
UsernameThe database user.
PasswordThat user’s password.
Remember passwordOff by default. See §5.3 before you turn it on.

Click Connect & Login. DBCraft tests the connection; on success the IDE opens. On failure the reason is shown in red at the top of the form — usually ORA-01017 (bad username/password), ORA-12541 (no listener), or ORA-12514 (the listener does not know that service).

Connecting as SYS. If you enter sys as the username, DBCraft automatically connects with SYSDBA privileges. You do not need to type as sysdba. The connection chip and the left panel will show a red SYSDBA badge so you always know when you are working with that authority.

#5.2What the connection determines

The account you connect as decides what the whole application can do:

  • The default schema in the Object Browser, snippet templates and the Visual Query Builder is your own schema.
  • DBA-only panels — the System section of Settings — unlock only when the account holds DBA privileges.
  • Health checks, session lists, storage views and ASM/RAC panels need SELECT on the corresponding DBA_* / V$ views. Where a privilege is missing, DBCraft reports the specific check as "Unable to evaluate" with the exact grant needed, instead of failing the whole panel.
  • Killing sessions and opening/closing PDBs need ALTER SYSTEM and a SYSDBA session respectively.

#5.3Remembering the password (and the security behind it)

The Remember password checkbox is deliberately off by default. Here is exactly what happens when you tick it:

  • Everything except the password (alias, host, port, service, username) is saved on this machine regardless of the checkbox — so the login form is pre-filled next time.
  • The password is saved only when the box is ticked, and only as ciphertext produced by the Windows credential vault (DPAPI). It is never written in plain text.
  • If the OS vault is unavailable, the checkbox is disabled and the text under it explains that the password cannot be saved. There is no plaintext fallback — by design.
  • The password is never written to log files, never included in a bug report, and never transmitted anywhere except to your Oracle database.

Clear saved credentials — the small red link beneath the checkbox, shown when a saved profile exists — erases the saved profile. This is a deep erase, not a simple delete: the underlying storage is rewritten so that no remnant of the old value survives, while your settings and theme are preserved. The link also shows when the profile was last used.

Signing out clears the saved profile too. "Remember" means "don’t ask me again next launch", not "keep it after I explicitly sign out". If you sign out via File → Sign out or the profile menu, you will need to enter your credentials again.

#5.4Reconnecting and session restore

On launch, if a saved profile with a saved password exists, DBCraft restores the connection automatically and takes you straight to the IDE. If a profile exists but no password was saved, you land on the login screen with the fields pre-filled.

#5.5Multitenant (CDB/PDB) databases

If you connect to a container database, DBCraft detects it and shows a container chip next to the connection chip in the header. See chapter 9.