Appearance
Databases
If your orders, customers or inventory live in a database, connect it and ask Pencel about them in plain English. Pencel writes the query, runs it and explains the answer. You don't need to know SQL.
What Pencel can do with it
- "How many orders did we ship last week, and what was the average order value?"
- "Which customers haven't ordered in 90 days?"
- "Which products are below their reorder level?"
- "Turn this into a weekly sales summary." Then click Save as workflow on the reply to get it every Monday. See Turn a request into a routine.
Which connection to use
| Connection | Use it for | What you enter | Can it change data? |
|---|---|---|---|
| PostgreSQL | A PostgreSQL database, on your network or hosted online | Connection String, for example postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database | No. It's read-only. |
| SQLite | A database file on your computer, such as an app export | Database Path, the full location of the file | Yes, with your approval |
| Redis | A Redis data store | Redis URL, for example redis://localhost:6379 | Yes, with your approval |
How to connect
- Open Settings ▸ Connections and stay on the Recommended tab.
- Find the database type and click Install.
- Review what the connection needs and click Grant All & Continue.
- Enter the connection string, file path or URL.
- Click Install & Connect.
The card appears on the Installed tab. To check it, open its ⋯ menu and click Test Connection.
What needs your approval
- Questions run without asking. Looking up data, listing tables and running read queries need no approval.
- Changes ask first. With SQLite and Redis, anything that adds, changes or deletes data shows you what it will do and waits for you. PostgreSQL can't change data at all.
Good to know
- Use a read-only login where you can. Ask whoever runs your database for a user that can only read the tables Pencel needs.
- Pencel connects from your computer. The database has to be reachable from your machine, for example over your office network or VPN.
- Your connection details are stored encrypted on your computer. See Data handling.
- Query results are used to answer you. Rows Pencel reads are sent to your AI model as part of the request, so ask for summaries rather than whole tables of sensitive data.
Disconnect or change what it can do
Go to Settings ▸ Connections ▸ Installed and open the card's ⋯ menu:
- Manage Tools: switch individual actions off everywhere, or choose which run without asking in chats and workflows under Auto-Approval (None, All tools or Custom). Click Save changes. Rooms keep their own approvals.
- Edit: change the connection string, path or URL.
- Disconnect stops it for now. Remove deletes it and its saved details.