Connections

Drivers

How TableGrip gets the driver for each database, keeps it verified, and works offline.

TableGrip ships without any database driver. Drivers have their own licenses and release cycles, so instead of bundling them, the app downloads the one you need the first time you connect, and checks it before using it.

#What happens on first connect

When you pick a database in the connection dialog, it tells you which driver that database needs and whether it is already installed.
If it is missing, TableGrip offers to download it from Maven Central (or the mirror you set in Settings → Drivers).
Every downloaded .jar is checked against a SHA-256 hash pinned in the app. A file that doesn't match is rejected.
The driver is stored in ~/.tablegrip/drivers/ and reused for every later connection.

Each driver runs in its own class loader, so two versions of a driver, or two drivers that would clash, never interfere with each other.

#Kinds of drivers

Kind	Used for	Where it comes from
Catalog drivers	PostgreSQL, MariaDB Connector/J (also for MySQL), SQLite, SQL Server, ClickHouse, DuckDB, H2, HSQLDB, Derby	Downloaded from Maven Central and verified
Non-JDBC clients	Redis (Lettuce), MongoDB (the MongoDB Java driver)	Downloaded the same way; TableGrip's own adapter for each ships inside the app
Built in	etcd	Nothing to download
Your own jars	MySQL Connector/J, Oracle, Firebird, any other JDBC driver	You choose the `.jar` files in the connection dialog

#MySQL and MariaDB

MySQL connections use MariaDB Connector/J by default: it is licensed so TableGrip can download it for you, and it talks to MySQL servers well. If you prefer Oracle's MySQL Connector/J (GPL licensed, so it can't be distributed with TableGrip), download it yourself and pick its jar.

Either way, TableGrip writes the connection URL in the chosen driver's own scheme, translates sslMode values between the two drivers, and sets a 10-second connect timeout where the driver would otherwise wait forever.

#Your own jars

For databases TableGrip has no catalog entry for, or drivers it can't distribute:

Choose Other (JDBC driver) as the database type, or paste a jdbc: URL in New Connection → Paste.
Choose the driver's .jar file (and any jars it depends on).
Extra driver settings go in Options → Driver properties.

#Working offline

On a machine without internet access, use Import from folder… to install catalog drivers from jars that are already on disk, for example copied from another computer's ~/.tablegrip/drivers/. They are checked against the same pinned hashes as a download.

Tip

Behind a corporate proxy or with an internal artifact repository? Set a Maven mirror in Settings → Drivers and every catalog driver downloads from there instead.

#Why drivers aren't bundled

Licenses. Some drivers can't be redistributed (MySQL Connector/J is GPL). Others must be a separate download under their license (LGPL). Keeping all of them out of the installer keeps the app's license simple.
Size. You only download the drivers for the databases you actually use.
Trust. Pinned hashes mean a driver can't be swapped on the way to your machine.

Developers can read how the catalog and its lockfile are maintained in Driver catalog & licenses.

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