BroadSQLApplication settings
BroadSQL reads its configuration from a single settings file at startup: conf/BroadSQL.ini on Windows, conf/broadsqlux.ini on Linux (see Installation). This page documents every setting in that file.
File format
- One setting per line:
Key=Value. Values are used exactly as typed: no quoting. - Lines starting with
;are comments. - Folder paths use a doubled backslash on Windows (
C:\\temp\\, notC:\temp\) and must end with the path separator. - The
[General]and[Log]headers are organizational only, to group related settings for the reader; they don't scope or namespace the keys underneath them. A key works the same regardless of which header (or no header) it sits under. - Every setting below is required (BroadSQL fails to start with a
Could not resolve placeholdererror if a required key is missing or misspelled, or with the same kind of error if a value has the wrong type, e.g. non-numeric text for a numeric setting), exceptDefaultFileFormat,CsvSeparator,ServersFileType, andTemporaryFolder, which can be left out entirely: see their rows below for what happens when they are.
[General]
| Key | Default (shipped) | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
ServersFileName | ./conf/ConnectionsDefinitionFile.cdf (Win) | Path to the Connections Definition File (CDF), the encrypted H2 database that stores your saved connections. Extra H2 connection parameters can be appended after a ; (the shipped Windows file adds ;TRACE_LEVEL_SYSTEM_OUT=0 to silence H2's own console trace output). |
DefaultFolder | c:\\temp\\ (Win) / a path under your BroadSQL install (Linux) | Destination folder for EXPORT (when the file name has no directory part) and DUMP (always). See Export & Dump. |
DefaultExtFileName | results.xlsx | Present in the shipped file for historical reasons but not currently used by any command: the actual export file name always comes from the query/table name, never from this setting. |
CustomExtensionsFolder | extensions | Folder scanned at startup for JAR files containing custom commands. See Extending BroadSQL. |
FieldsSeparator | \t (tab) | Column separator used when exporting to a plain-text (.txt, or any extension other than .xlsx/.ods/.csv/.mdb) file with EXPORT/DUMP, and on the initial screen display. Changeable mid-session with SET SEPARATOR (does not persist back to the INI file). Does not affect .csv exports (always a comma) via EXPORT/DUMP, and does not affect PULL ... AS CSV/TXT at all: see Export & Dump and PULL. |
ScreenSeparator | | (pipe) | Column separator used when displaying query results on screen (independent of FieldsSeparator). For a literal space, use \u0020. |
CsvSeparator | ; (semicolon) | Field separator used only by PULL ... AS CSV (a single character, e.g. ; or ,), independent of FieldsSeparator/SET SEPARATOR. Optional: if the key is absent, or empty, PULL ... AS CSV uses ;. PULL ... AS TXT always uses a tab, regardless of this setting. See PULL. |
MaxRowsOnScreen | 100 | Maximum number of rows printed to the screen for a query (0 = no limit). Does not limit EXPORT or DUMP, which always write every row. |
Autocommit | false | Default autocommit mode for new connections. Changeable mid-session with SET AUTOCOMMIT. |
MaxRowXLSX | 500000 | Row-count threshold used only by DUMP to decide its output format: at or below this count (or when the count can't be determined), DUMP uses the format from DefaultFileFormat below; above it, DUMP always writes a tab-separated .txt file instead, regardless of DefaultFileFormat. Does not apply to EXPORT (see Export & Dump for EXPORT's own, higher, safety cap). |
DefaultFileFormat | (not required, see below) | Default export format for EXPORT (when the file name has no extension) and for DUMP (at or below MaxRowXLSX). One of XLSX, ODS, CSV, TXT (not case-sensitive). Optional: if the key is absent, or its value isn't one of those four, BroadSQL prints an INFO message once at startup and falls back to ODS; it does not fail to start. Full details in Export & Dump. |
SqlLib | sqllib | Folder holding saved queries, managed with LIB SHOW/LIB LIST/LIB RUN/LIB DEL. |
WinEditPlus | (empty) | Read at startup but not currently used: the EDIT command always opens Notepad (notepad.exe) regardless of this value. |
ServersFileType (conf/broadsqlux.ini only) | H2 | (optional, has no effect whether present or absent) Present in the shipped Linux file but not currently used: the CDF is always treated as H2 regardless of this value. |
TemporaryFolder (conf/broadsqlux.ini only) | a path under your BroadSQL install | (optional, has no effect whether present or absent) Present in the shipped Linux file but not currently used by any command. |
[Log]
See Command activity log for full details, including file naming, rollover, and SET TRACE.
| Key | Default (shipped) | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
IsLogActivated | FALSE | Master switch for the per-connection activity log. |
LogFolderName | C:\\BroadSQL\\logs (Win) | Folder the activity log is written to. Must already exist. |
LogFileNamePattern | CONSOLE | File name prefix for the activity log. |
Changing settings
Edit the file with a text editor and restart BroadSQL; settings are only read at startup. A few settings also have a runtime command that changes the current session only, without touching the file: SET SEPARATOR (FieldsSeparator), SET AUTOCOMMIT (Autocommit), SET TRACE (IsLogActivated, hidden command). Everything else, including DefaultFileFormat, DefaultFolder, and MaxRowXLSX, can only be changed by editing the file.