Using the Assistant Sidebar
The assistant lives in the Query view's right sidebar, alongside the Table Reference and the vertical editor. Show the sidebar with the Sidebar toolbar button, then turn on the Assistant panel with the sidebar's panel buttons. Panels can be shown together.
Each query tab has its own assistant, with its own conversations, working against that tab's selected database.
Asking a Question #
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Type in the text field at the bottom of the sidebar (Message the Query Assistant…) and press Return or click the send button.
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While it works, the sidebar shows what it's doing, such as "Waiting for response…" or "Reading schema…", along with each table definition it asks for.
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The answer appears as explanation text and SQL.
To stop a request, click the Cancel button. If a request fails, your prompt is put back in the entry field so you can send it again.
Writing Good Prompts #
While the assistant can basically "figure out" what you mean or want a lot of the time, some suggestions for making the response more accurate are:
- Name the tables if you know them. "From orders and order_items" saves the assistant from searching the schema, which is faster and uses fewer credits.
- Say what the result should look like: the columns, the sort order, and how many rows.
- Say what you mean by ambiguous terms. "Active customers" might mean either "ordered in the last 90 days" or "never cancelled."
- Continue a conversation to refine an answer ("also include refunds", "group by month"). Start a new conversation for an unrelated question so old context isn't resent.
Using the SQL It Writes #
Each SQL block has three buttons:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Inserts the SQL into the current query editor. | |
| Copies the SQL. | |
| Inserts the SQL into the editor, selects it, and runs it after you confirm. The confirmation shows the query, and can be turned off. |
Each of your earlier prompts has Copy and Retry buttons, and menu items in its right-click menu. Retry puts the prompt back in the entry field so you can edit it before sending.
Controls #
| # | What it Does |
|---|---|
| 1 — | Create a new conversation with no prior context. |
| 2 — | Navigate between previous conversations. |
| 3 — | Change the Reasoning Complexity. |
| 4 — | Turn On/Off the option to Provide Schema Definitions. |
Conversations #
A conversation is a series of prompts and answers. Each new prompt includes the conversation so far, so you can ask follow-ups like "now group that by month". When a conversation gets long, the oldest prompts are dropped from what's sent, but the most recent few are always kept.
Missing Schema #
When the assistant asks for something Querious can't provide, the answer includes a note listing what was missing and why:
- Automatically providing schema statements is disabled. Turn on Provide Schema Definitions, or name the columns yourself in the prompt.
- No database is selected. Choose one in the execution bar.
- The schema object could not be found. The assistant guessed a name that doesn't exist, or it's outside the selected database.
If the assistant keeps asking for schema without answering, Querious stops the request after several rounds so it doesn't keep using credits.