Connect a Database

Kakaw supports Postgres, MySQL, Snowflake, and SQLite. Your credentials are encrypted in transit and used only to run queries — Kakaw never stores row data.

Postgres

  1. In the onboarding flow, select PostgreSQL
  2. Enter your connection details:
    • Host (e.g. db.example.com or localhost)
    • Port (default: 5432)
    • Database name
    • Username and password
  3. Click Test Connection — Kakaw will verify it can reach your database
  4. Click Connect

MySQL

  1. Select MySQL in the onboarding flow
  2. Enter host, port (default: 3306), database name, username, and password
  3. Click Test Connection, then Connect

Snowflake

  1. Select Snowflake
  2. Enter your Snowflake account identifier (e.g. xy12345.us-east-1), warehouse, database, schema, username, and password
  3. Click Test Connection, then Connect

SQLite

  1. Select SQLite
  2. Upload your .sqlite or .db file
  3. Click Connect

Schema Mapping

After connecting, Kakaw reads your schema — table names, column names, data types, and foreign key relationships. This takes a few seconds. Once complete, you can start asking questions immediately.

Kakaw never reads row data during schema mapping.

Troubleshooting

Connection refused — Check that your database accepts connections from the IP running Kakaw. You may need to add a firewall rule or allowlist.

Authentication failed — Double-check your username and password. For Postgres, also verify the pg_hba.conf allows password authentication.

SSL required — Most cloud-hosted databases require SSL. Kakaw enables SSL by default.