Connection Sharing

Passwords stay in your Keychain, so every route here hands over a connection definition and leaves the other person to supply their own credential. An encrypted export is the one exception.

Route	Use it when	Passwords	Needs
`.tablepro` file	One-off, any number of connections	Only with Include Credentials	Nothing
`tablepro://` link	One connection, pasted into a chat	Never	Nothing
Linked Folder	A shared set has to stay current	Never	Pro
Team Catalog	Your team already shares a repo or a drive	Never	Team
Team Library	Your team shares nothing on disk	Never	Team
iCloud Sync	Your own second Mac, not a colleague	Optional	Pro

Export

Right-click a connection > Share > Export to File…, selecting several first to export them together, or File > Export > Export Connections… for all of them. The file carries host and port, SSH and SSL configuration, color, icon, tags, the group path, Safe Mode level, startup commands, AI policy, the Local only flag, and known shareable driver fields. Sign-in selectors can travel; approval to use this Mac’s credentials does not. Passwords and other secrets need an encrypted export. Import applies its own field rules when saving a connection.

The export sheet adds these options:

Option	Default	Adds to the file
Include Saved Queries	On	The saved queries that belong to the exported connections, with their folders and keywords
Also include global saved queries	Off	The saved queries every connection shows. Dimmed while Include Saved Queries is off
Include Credentials	Off	Passwords and other secrets, under a passphrase. See Encrypted export

The saved query options appear only when there are saved queries to export, and they need no license. Saved queries are written as readable text unless Include Credentials encrypts the file. Version history, linked SQL folders and Team Library queries are never exported.

Copy Connection String writes a database URL that carries the password in plain text, plus the SSH password when the connection tunnels. TablePro marks the clipboard item concealed, which keeps it out of the history of clipboard managers that follow that convention and out of nothing else. Copy TablePro Link carries no secrets.

Encrypted export

Needs a Pro license.

Turn on Include Credentials in the export sheet and enter a passphrase of 8 characters or more. Credentials go out under AES-256-GCM, keyed from the passphrase with PBKDF2 at 600,000 iterations. Importing asks for the passphrase.

Import

Open a .tablepro file through File > Import > Import Connections…, by right-clicking the empty area of the connection list, by double-clicking the file, or by dragging it onto TablePro. File > Import > Import from URL… takes a database URL instead, described in Connection URLs. A review lists the connections, then the saved queries, before anything is saved. The checkbox in each section header selects or deselects the whole section. A green checkmark marks a connection ready; a yellow triangle marks a missing SSH key or certificate, or an SSL mode TablePro does not recognize, which imports as Required. A “duplicate” tag marks one already in your library, with the name it matches. Duplicates match by host, port, socket path, database, and username, and start deselected. Select one, then choose what happens to it:

Choice	Result
Keep Existing, Add Queries	Your connection stays as it is and gains the file’s saved queries for it. Offered only when the row carries saved queries
As Copy	A second connection named “name (Imported)“
Replace	The file’s settings overwrite yours. Only one row can replace a given connection

A duplicate that carries saved queries starts on Keep Existing, Add Queries; any other duplicate starts on As Copy. To skip a connection, deselect it. Each saved query shows its connection, or All connections for a global one, and its folder path. A query whose connection is deselected cannot be selected. A query you already have is tagged “already saved” and stays deselected: same name, same SQL, and the same connection, or global in both places. A note on the row says what else changes:

Note	What happens
A saved query with this name exists.	It imports beside the one you have
Keyword “…” is in use, so it imports without one.	The query that has the keyword keeps it
Keyword “…” is not valid, so it imports without one.	Keywords cannot hold spaces
Too large to save (…)	Over the 900 KB limit for a saved query, so it cannot be selected
Its connection is not imported.	Select the connection to bring its queries

Group and folder paths match by name from the top down: an existing group or folder is reused, and a missing one is created. A created group takes the file’s color and icon; an existing one keeps its own. Only the groups, tags, and credential profiles that added or replaced connections use are created.

A file or import link keeps known settings, server addresses and local file paths. It drops unknown driver fields, secrets, and settings that run local code. Check the affected settings after import:

Cloud credential selectors, cached sign-ins and profiles, Windows or Kerberos authentication selectors, and Use ~/.pgpass. Plain password, service-account and emulator choices remain where the driver supports them.
Run Ledger Plugins, Prompt for password, Pre-Connect Script and Post-Disconnect Script.
Internal tunnel fields and secret driver fields. Encrypted files carry supported secrets in their credentials section. A service-account key must contain the JSON key, not a path to a key on this Mac.

A new credential profile arrives set to ask for its password. Replacing a connection keeps its local credential settings; a changed destination still needs approval. See Credential Profiles. Startup SQL and tunnel commands run on every connect, so a file brings them only if you agree: importing lists each one and asks, and Import Without Commands is the default. A link’s sheet shows its startup SQL in full before you add it.

Sign-ins from this Mac

Before an imported or synced connection uses this Mac’s cloud credentials or Kerberos tickets, review Sign In with Credentials from This Mac?. The dialog names the destination and sign-in method. Click Sign In to approve that use. Links, Linked Folders and Team Library connections follow the same rule. Approval stays on this Mac and covers the connection, destination and sign-in settings shown. A new destination or added credential use asks again. A background reconnect cannot grant approval: open the connection yourself to review it. Share > Copy TablePro Link produces a tablepro://import?… URL with the name, host, port, type, username, database, and any SSH or SSL settings. The recipient opens it, reviews the prefilled form, adds a password, and saves.

tablepro://import?name=Staging&host=db.example.com&port=5432&type=PostgreSQL&username=admin

tablepro://connect/<uuid> opens a saved connection rather than importing one. No menu item builds it; see URL Scheme.

Import from other apps

Choose File > Import > Import from Other App…, pick the source, then review the list and resolve duplicates before clicking Import. Groups and folders carry over, and the source app does not have to be running. Leave Include saved queries selected to bring the source’s saved queries into the same review; the source list says how many it found.

App	Databases	Passwords	Saved queries	Notes
TablePlus	Every TablePlus engine except Vertica and Greenplum	From Keychain, and the password mode with them	Favorites and shared favorite folders, global, in a folder named TablePlus	SQLite and DuckDB connections bring their file path. Check the account ID of a Cloudflare D1 connection and the URL of a libSQL one in the connection form after importing
Sequel Ace	MySQL	From Keychain	Query favorites, global, in a folder named Sequel Ace
DBeaver	MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, SQL Server, Oracle, and more	Decrypted from config file	Scripts, with the connection each one runs on	Read from the data folder, so every edition works
DataGrip	MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, SQL Server, Oracle, and more	From Keychain or `c.kdbx`	Query consoles, with their data source	Reads recent projects with SSH and SSL settings. A master password blocks it
Beekeeper Studio	MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, SQL Server, Oracle, and more	Decrypted from its `app.db` store	Saved queries, global, in a folder named Beekeeper Studio	Brings SSH bastion hosts across
Navicat	MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite, SQL Server, Oracle, MongoDB	Decrypted from `.ncx` file	None: the `.ncx` file has no saved queries	Export from Navicat first, with Export Password on, then pick the `.ncx`

Saved queries keep their folders inside the app’s folder. A query keeps one keyword: a Sequel Ace tab trigger, or the first keyword without spaces from a TablePlus favorite. A DBeaver script with no connection lands in a global folder named DBeaver. A script or console whose connection is not part of the import lands in a global DBeaver or DataGrip folder, deselected. Scripts and consoles that still carry the name the app gave them, such as Script-3 or console_2, also start deselected. Empty files are skipped, and placeholders such as ${1:name} arrive as written and work as fields when the keyword expands.

Import from AWS

Choose File > Import > Import from AWS… to list the RDS instances and Aurora clusters an AWS profile can see, and import them with their endpoint, port, and engine already filled in. See AWS IAM Authentication.

On iPhone

TablePro for iPhone reads and writes the same file. Tap the more menu (•••) above the connection list and choose Import Connections, or open a .tablepro file from Files or AirDrop. Export Connections shares through the system share sheet, leaving passwords out unless you turn on Include passwords and set a passphrase. Groups and saved queries come across the way they do on the Mac. The review lists a file’s saved queries below its connections, and an export carries the exported connections’ queries while Include Saved Queries is on, adding global ones with Also include global saved queries.

Linked Folders

Needs a Pro license.

Press Cmd+,, then Settings > General > Linked Folders > Add Folder… and point it at a directory of .tablepro files: a Git repo, a Dropbox folder, a network drive. Those connections appear read-only in the sidebar. Each person supplies their credentials. Linked definitions keep sign-in selectors, subject to approval on this Mac. Each folder’s row says what the last scan found: how many connections, or why it found none.

Status	Meaning
3 connections	The scan read the folder and is watching it for changes
2 files couldn’t be read	Those files were skipped: unreadable, not a connection file, or encrypted with a passphrase
Folder not found	The path no longer exists. Reconnect the drive or remove the folder
Can’t read this folder	macOS refused access. Check the folder’s permissions
Not watching this folder for changes	Read once; changes show after the next relaunch or toggle

General pane with one linked folder, its on switch and the Add Folder button — Linked Folders settings

Team Catalog

Needs a Team license.

Share > Publish to Team Catalog… writes each selected connection as its own .tablepro file into a shared folder, asking for the folder the first time. Republishing overwrites the file, and passwords, passphrases, TOTP secrets, and saved queries are never written. Teammates add that folder as a Linked Folder. An older TablePro skips the file of a connection inside a nested group, as File format explains.

Environment variables

Needs a Pro license.

Write $VAR or ${VAR} in a .tablepro file to read TablePro’s process environment at connect time. Send Environment Variables? shows the variable names and destination before reading their values. Click Send Values to approve. Approval stays on this Mac; a new destination or variable asks again. Background reconnects stop until you approve through a connection you open yourself. An app launched from the Dock inherits no shell exports. Set the variable with launchctl setenv NAME value or launch TablePro from a terminal.

{ "host": "${DB_HOST}", "username": "$DB_USER" }

Password sources

A connection in ~/Library/Application Support/TablePro/connections.json can say where its password comes from instead of keeping one in the Keychain, which suits a script that provisions connections. The source resolves at connect time, replaces the Keychain lookup rather than supplementing it, and never syncs to iCloud. A source that fails to resolve fails the connection. Open the connection to see its source under Password, and click Test Source to run it without connecting.

{ "passwordSource": { "kind": "file", "path": "~/.config/tablepro/secrets/feature-x.pw" } }
{ "passwordSource": { "kind": "env", "variable": "STAGING_DB_PASSWORD" } }
{ "passwordSource": { "kind": "command", "shell": "op read op://vault/feature-x/password" } }
{ "passwordSource": { "kind": "command", "shell": "aws rds generate-db-auth-token --hostname {host} --port {port} --username {user}", "reuseSeconds": 600 } }
{ "passwordSource": { "kind": "onePassword", "reference": "op://vault/feature-x/password" } }
{ "passwordSource": { "kind": "vault", "path": "secret/data/staging/db", "field": "password" } }
{ "passwordSource": { "kind": "awsSecretsManager", "secretId": "prod/db", "jsonKey": "password" } }
{ "passwordSource": { "kind": "vaultDatabaseRole", "mount": "database", "role": "readonly" } }
{ "passwordSource": { "kind": "vaultDatabaseRole", "address": "https://vault.example.com:8200", "mount": "database", "role": "readonly",
                      "auth": { "method": "approle", "roleId": "8f1c…", "secretIdPath": "~/.vault/secret-id" } } }

`kind`	Reads from	Set up first
`file`	The file at `path`, minus a trailing newline	`chmod 600` the file
`env`	The named environment variable	Same Dock caveat as environment variables
`command`	stdout of the command, run through `/bin/bash`, with `{host}`, `{port}`, `{user}` and `{database}` filled in and quoted. A non-zero exit fails the connect. `reuseSeconds`, 1 to 86400, keeps the output that long
`onePassword`	`op read` on the reference	`op signin`
`vault`	`vault kv get` for one field at a path	`VAULT_ADDR` and `VAULT_TOKEN` in TablePro’s environment
`awsSecretsManager`	`aws secretsmanager get-secret-value`. `jsonKey` pulls one field out of a JSON secret; omit it for the whole value
`vaultDatabaseRole`	A new lease from `<mount>/creds/<role>`, which supplies the username as well. `auth.method` is `token` (the default), `approle` with `roleId` and `secretIdPath`, or `oidc` with an optional `role`; each takes an optional `mount`	`address`, or `VAULT_ADDR` in TablePro’s environment. See Vault database roles

Every command gets 30 seconds. The three CLI kinds quote each argument, so a reference cannot break out into the shell, and they need the tool on PATH, in /usr/local/bin, or in /opt/homebrew/bin. Editing connections.json by hand costs one extra step. TablePro stamps the file when it writes it, and a file that changed underneath it fails the connect with “Your connections file was changed outside TablePro, so this connection’s password source was not run. Open the connection and save it again to confirm the change.” Save it once from the app and sources run again.

File format

JSON, in format version 1 or 2. Saved queries and nested groups need version 2, the shape shown here; a file with neither is written as version 1. A file needs formatVersion, exportedAt, appVersion, and connections. Each connection needs ref, name, host, port, database, username, and type, and an empty string is fine where a value does not apply. Paths use ~/ so they travel.

{
  "formatVersion": 2,
  "exportedAt": "2026-10-10T09:00:00Z",
  "appVersion": "0.80.0",
  "connections": [
    {
      "ref": "c1",
      "name": "Orders",
      "host": "db.example.com",
      "port": 5432,
      "database": "orders",
      "username": "app",
      "type": "PostgreSQL",
      "groupRef": "g2",
      "tagNames": ["production"]
    }
  ],
  "groups": [
    { "ref": "g1", "name": "Client A", "color": "Blue" },
    { "ref": "g2", "name": "Production", "parentRef": "g1" }
  ],
  "tags": [{ "name": "production", "color": "Red" }],
  "queryFolders": [{ "ref": "f1", "name": "Reports", "connectionRef": "c1" }],
  "savedQueries": [
    { "ref": "q1", "name": "Daily active users", "sql": "SELECT …", "keyword": "dau", "folderRef": "f1", "connectionRef": "c1" },
    { "ref": "q2", "name": "Locks", "sql": "SELECT …" }
  ]
}

A ref links records inside one file and means nothing outside it. Refs must be unique within each kind. A ref that points at nothing, or a parent chain that loops, fails the import with an error naming the ref. So does an SSH tunnel whose host or user, or a jump host’s, holds a character ssh refuses, such as a quote, a ; or a leading -; that error names the connection.

Key	Holds
`groups`	Groups with a `ref`, a `name`, and an optional `color` and `iconName`, nested through `parentRef`. A connection points at the innermost one with `groupRef`
`tags`	Tag colors. A connection lists its tags in `tagNames`, and a name missing here imports with no color
`credentialProfiles`	Profiles with `ref`, `name`, `username`, and `passwordMode` (`stored`, `prompt`, or `pgpass`), named by a connection’s `credentialProfileRef`. A profile’s password never travels, and a profile new to this Mac imports as `prompt` whatever its mode
`queryFolders`	Saved query folders with a `ref` and a `name`, nested through `parentRef`. A `connectionRef` scopes a folder to that connection; without one it is global
`savedQueries`	A `ref`, `name`, and `sql`, and an optional `keyword`, `folderRef`, and `connectionRef`. Without a `connectionRef` a query is global
`credentials`	Only inside an encrypted file: secrets keyed by connection `ref`

Version 1 has no refs. A connection names its group in groupName, its tags in tagName or tagNames, and its profile in credentialProfileName, and credentials are keyed by the connection’s position from 0. The group imports at the top level of the library. A TablePro version from before saved query export opens only version 1: it reports that a version 2 file needs a newer version, and its Linked Folders skip the file.

Start here

Connections

Databases

Write SQL

Browse and edit data

Schema and server

Import and export

AI

Integrations

Around the app

Sync and licensing

Customization

Security and privacy

Connection Sharing

Export

Encrypted export

Import

Sign-ins from this Mac

Import from other apps

Import from AWS

On iPhone

Linked Folders

Team Catalog

Environment variables

Password sources

File format

​Export

​Encrypted export

​Import

​Sign-ins from this Mac

​Share via link

​Import from other apps

​Import from AWS

​On iPhone

​Linked Folders

​Team Catalog

​Environment variables

​Password sources

​File format

Export

Encrypted export

Import

Sign-ins from this Mac

Share via link

Import from other apps

Import from AWS

On iPhone

Linked Folders

Team Catalog

Environment variables

Password sources

File format