The assistive editor
You type commands into the input field at the bottom of the screen, and it helps you as you go. None of this gets in your way — it is all advisory.
Completion
Section titled “Completion”Press Tab to complete what you are typing. Completion knows about the commands, the keywords for the current position, your table, column, index, and relationship names, and — in advanced mode — common SQL function names. It is the fastest way to discover what is available without leaving the keyboard.
Syntax highlighting
Section titled “Syntax highlighting”As you type, the input is coloured live: keywords, identifiers, column types, and SQL function names each get their own colour, so a command’s shape is visible before you run it.
The validity indicator
Section titled “The validity indicator”A small marker appears at the right-hand edge of the input line and tells you, before you submit, whether the command would run:
[ERR]— the command will fail as written (for example, an unknown table or column, or a value that doesn’t match a column’s type).[WRN]— the command will run, but something looks suspect (for example, comparing a number column with a text pattern).
It is purely advisory — it never blocks you from submitting.
A hint line below the input offers contextual guidance — the next token that
would fit, the type expected at the current position, and help with the most
recent error. When the input is empty it reminds you that Tab
lists options and help lists commands.
For a deeper, teaching-grade hint — what a command does, a worked example, and
the relational concept behind it — press F1 while typing (or run
hint after an error). See Getting help.
Editing the line
Section titled “Editing the line”Move and edit within the line with the usual keys: ←/→ by character, Home/End to the ends, and Delete/Backspace to remove characters. Readline-style shortcuts work too: Ctrl+A / Ctrl+E jump to the start / end of the line, Ctrl+W deletes the word before the cursor, Ctrl+K clears from the cursor to the end of the line, Ctrl+U clears from the start to the cursor, and Esc clears the whole line at once (or, right after you accept a completion, undoes that first).
Your project-scoped command history is available with ↑/↓.
If you recall an advanced-mode (SQL) command while you are in simple mode, it
comes back with a leading : — the one-line escape to advanced
mode — so it still runs exactly as you typed it.
A long command does not get cut off: the line scrolls sideways to keep the cursor in view, and on a tall terminal the input field uses two rows so you can see more of it at once.