Read-Only Mode
Read-only mode is a safety configuration in which a tool or database connection can run SELECT queries to read data but is blocked from any operation that modifies it—no INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, or schema changes.
In Depth
Read-only mode is the simplest, strongest guarantee you can give a database: analysis cannot become alteration. It can be enforced at two layers—inside the tool, which refuses to run write statements, and inside the database, via a user account granted only SELECT privileges. The database layer is the stronger one, because no software bug or clever prompt can exceed permissions the database never granted. For AI query tools this is non-negotiable: an AI exploring your data should be physically incapable of changing it, so the worst possible outcome of any query is a wrong answer, never lost data.
How AI for Database Helps
AI for Database runs read-only by default, and connecting with a read-only database user adds a second enforcement layer at the database itself.
Related Terms
Query Sandbox
A query sandbox is a restricted execution environment where queries run under strict limits—on permissions, runtime, and resources—so that no query, however wrong, can damage the database or the data.
AI Guardrails
AI guardrails are the technical constraints placed around an AI system that limit what it can do regardless of what it is asked—in database tools, controls like read-only execution, query validation, schema-only context, and operation allowlists.
Role-Based Access Control
A security model that restricts database access based on user roles and permissions within an organization.
Database Connection String
A database connection string is a single line of text containing everything needed to connect to a database: the host address, port, database name, username, password, and options like SSL settings.
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