Documentation

Install Seybase, connect your databases, and activate your license.

Requirements

A machine running Docker with Docker Compose. It should be the machine that hosts your database, or one on the same network.
A MySQL, MariaDB or PostgreSQL server that Seybase can reach from that machine.
A modern browser.

Install

Sign in to your account and download the Seybase package (it is available once you have a license). Unzip it, then run this from inside the folder:

docker compose up --build

The first build takes a few minutes while it downloads its dependencies. After that, Seybase listens on port 8080.

First run

Open http://localhost:8080/setup and create the administrator account. This is the login for Seybase itself, not for your databases.
Sign in, then add your first connection.
Optional: paste your license key to unlock everything. See Activate a license.

If Seybase runs on a different machine from the one you browse from, replace localhost with that machine's address.

Connections

A connection is a saved login to one database server: the engine (MySQL, MariaDB or PostgreSQL), host, port, user and password. You can test a connection before saving it. Saved passwords are encrypted with the app key.

Which host do I enter? Seybase runs inside a container, so localhost means the container itself. For a database on the Docker host, use host.docker.internal. For a database elsewhere on your LAN, use its normal IP address or hostname.

The free edition allows one connection. A license removes the limit.

Tables and views

The tree on the left goes connection, database, then tables, views and saved queries. PostgreSQL connections have an extra schema level. Open a table to see its rows.

With a license you can edit a cell in place, add a row, and delete rows. Without one, tables open read-only.

Table designer

The designer lets you define a new table field by field, in a grid like the one in Navicat, and shows the SQL it will run before you create it. It creates new tables; changing an existing table is on the roadmap. The designer needs a license.

Queries

Open a query editor on any connection, type SQL, and run it. Results appear below the editor. You can save a query and it will show up in the tree for next time.

The free edition runs SELECT-style statements only. A license allows any statement, including ones that change or delete data, so check the connection you are on before you run them.

Database users

Add and edit database users and their privileges from the users screen. On MySQL and MariaDB, privileges are applied as a difference from what the user has now, so privileges Seybase does not show are never revoked. On PostgreSQL, users are roles. This feature needs a license.

Dark and light theme

Seybase starts in dark mode. Use the theme switch in the app to change to light mode.

Activate a license

Buy a license. Your key appears in your account as soon as payment completes.
Copy the key. It starts with SEYB1. and is one long line.
In Seybase, open the license dialog, paste the key, and confirm.

Activating a key links it to your Seybase installation, so it needs an internet connection once. After that Seybase checks in with our license server about once a day to renew its certificate. If the server cannot be reached it simply keeps working: the certificate stays valid for 14 days, and it renews as soon as the connection is back. Your databases, queries and credentials are never sent to us.

A key can be active on one installation at a time. To move Seybase to another server, choose Remove license in the old Seybase (or Release activation next to the key in your account), then enter the key in the new one.

No internet access at all? Contact us with the Installation ID shown in Seybase's license dialog and we will send you an offline certificate for that installation.

Free and licensed

	Free	Licensed
Connections	1	Unlimited
Browse tables and views	Read-only	Yes
Raw SQL	SELECT-style only	Everything
Inline edit, add and delete rows	No	Yes
Table designer, drop and truncate	No	Yes
User management	No	Yes

Renewing a yearly license

A yearly key stops working 365 days after it was issued, and Seybase returns to the free edition. To continue, buy another yearly license and paste the new key. Your connections and saved queries are kept. A lifetime key never expires.

Backups

Seybase keeps its own state in the /data volume: your saved connections, saved queries, and the app key that encrypts stored passwords.

Back up the /data volume. If the app key is lost, your saved connection passwords cannot be decrypted and you will need to enter them again.

Troubleshooting

The connection times out or is refused

Check the host. Inside a container, localhost is the container itself. Use host.docker.internal for the Docker host, or the machine's LAN address. Also confirm the database accepts connections from the Seybase machine (for MySQL, the user's host part; for PostgreSQL, pg_hba.conf and listen_addresses).

My license key is rejected

Copy the whole key, with no spaces or line breaks before or after it. Keys issued by this store will only work in the Seybase build you received from us. If it still fails, contact support and include your order number.

Features are locked after a few months

Check the expiry date of your key in your account. A yearly key lasts 365 days.

Not yet supported

These are planned but not available today:

Changing an existing table, and editing indexes and foreign keys.
SQL highlighting and autocomplete, and running several statements at once.
SSL and SSH-tunnel connections.