Frequently Asked Questions
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What is ReadSentinel?
ReadSentinel is a self-hosted application that gives your team safe, read-only access to production and UAT databases. Every query is parsed and validated before execution — INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE are blocked even if the database user has write permissions.
Which databases are supported?
Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MongoDB. SQL queries are validated using ANTLR-based parsers. MongoDB supports filter-based document queries with read-only enforcement.
How is it deployed?
ReadSentinel is fully self-hosted. You deploy the API (IIS or Docker) and the desktop client (Windows) within your own network. Your data never leaves your infrastructure — we have no access to your databases.
Is there a free tier?
Yes. The free plan supports up to 3 connections and 3 users with full read-only enforcement. It's ideal for small teams or evaluation. No time limit on the free tier.
How does licensing work?
Licenses are per-instance and control the number of admin users, reader users, and connections. A license key is entered during setup and validated against our cloud. You can start with a trial and upgrade when ready.
What does the audit log capture?
Every query execution is logged — who ran it, which connection, the full SQL, execution time, success/failure, and row count. Logs are stored in a separate database and accessible via the admin panel.
Can different teams have different access?
Yes. Role-based access control lets admins define which connections each role can access. Assign users to roles, and they only see the connections permitted for their role.
Is the connection string secure?
All connection strings are encrypted at rest using AES-256-GCM. They are never returned via the API. Team members can execute queries without ever seeing database credentials.