Database clients

The database is a read-only microscope. It is not a fix tool.

If Network, logs, and the API already explain the ticket, do not open the database. Every extra query is PII exposure and load on production.

Tools

Tool	Fits
DBeaver	Cross-engine GUI (Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server, and more)
TablePlus	Fast GUI for people who live in SQL
psql	PostgreSQL CLI; scriptable; honest
mysql / sqlcmd	MySQL and SQL Server CLIs
mongosh	MongoDB shell; required vocabulary is in MongoDB for support
Cloud consoles (RDS Query Editor, Atlas, Azure Data Studio)	Fine if access is audited and read-only

Prefer accounts that cannot write. If your only credential can UPDATE, you do not have a support credential. You have a loaded gun.

Session rules

1. Confirm you are on the intended environment (prod vs staging) before you type.
2. Set a statement timeout if the engine allows it (Postgres: SET statement_timeout = '5s';).
3. SELECT with LIMIT (or find().limit()).
4. Never run a query you cannot explain to the DBA in one sentence.
5. Log tenant id + ticket id in your internal note: who looked, why, when.

SQL patterns: SQL for support. MongoDB patterns: MongoDB for support.

What you paste back into the ticket

Paste counts and redacted rows, not the result grid.

Ticket 18422 / tenant acme-prod
users with email like the reported address: 1 row
role = billing_admin, deleted_at IS NULL
invoices.inv_9 status = disputed (matches API 403 body)

Strip emails if policy says so. Strip access tokens always.