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The Command Palette is Zequel’s powerful quick-access tool for navigating your database schema, finding tables and columns, and opening saved queries. It provides fuzzy search across all your database objects.

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Opening the Command Palette

You can open the Command Palette using any of these shortcuts:
  • Cmd/Ctrl+K (most common)
  • Cmd/Ctrl+P (alternative)
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P (alternative)
Or from the menu: Tools → Search
The Command Palette is context-aware and only shows objects from your currently active database connection.
The Command Palette searches across multiple object types:

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Tables

  • All tables in the current database
  • Shows row count for each table
  • Displays as blue entries with table icon

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Views

  • Database views and materialized views
  • Shows row count when available
  • Displays as purple entries with eye icon

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Columns

  • All columns from all tables
  • Shows as tableName.columnName (dataType)
  • Displays as orange entries with columns icon

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Saved Queries

  • Your saved SQL queries
  • Shows query name and preview of SQL
  • Displays as green entries with code icon

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Recent Items

  • Recently accessed tables, views, and queries
  • Shown when search is empty
  • Displays as gray entries with history icon

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Using the Command Palette

  1. Press Cmd/Ctrl+K to open the palette
  2. Start typing to search (e.g., “users”, “order”, “product”)
  3. Results appear instantly as you type
  4. Press ↵ Enter or click to open the selected item
Search: user

Results:
  📊 users           table - 1,234 rows
  📊 user_sessions   table - 5,678 rows  
  📋 username        users.username (varchar)
  📋 user_id         orders.user_id (integer)

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Fuzzy Matching

The search supports fuzzy matching, so you don’t need to type the exact name:
  • usr matches users
  • orddet matches order_details
  • prod matches products, product_categories, etc.

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Search Scope

The palette searches in:
  • Table names: Primary match
  • Column names: Both column name and fully qualified name
  • Column types: Search by data type (e.g., “varchar”, “integer”)
  • Query names: Saved query titles
  • Query SQL: Content of saved queries
The search is case-insensitive and matches partial strings anywhere in the name.

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Keyboard Navigation

KeyAction
↑Move selection up
↓Move selection down
↵ EnterOpen selected item
EscClose the palette

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Mouse Navigation

  • Hover over any item to select it
  • Click to open the item
  • Scroll through results if there are many

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Opening Items

When you select an item from the Command Palette:

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Tables & Views

  • Opens the table/view in a new tab
  • Loads the first page of data (default: 100 rows)
  • Shows table structure and allows editing (if not in safe mode)

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Columns

  • Opens the parent table
  • Focuses on the selected column
  • Useful for quickly navigating to specific fields

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Saved Queries

  • Opens the query in a new SQL editor tab
  • Loads the saved SQL code
  • Ready to execute or modify

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Recent Items

  • Reopens the recently accessed object
  • Restores your previous context

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Recent Items

When you open the Command Palette with an empty search, it shows your recently accessed items:
  • Last 10 items you’ve opened
  • Includes tables, views, and queries
  • Sorted by most recent first
  • Great for quickly switching between common objects
Zequel automatically tracks items you open:
  • Opening a table or view from the sidebar
  • Selecting a result from the Command Palette
  • Opening a saved query
  • Creating a new query from a table
Recent items are stored per connection and persist across sessions.

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Performance

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Loading Schema Data

When you first open the Command Palette:
  1. Zequel loads all tables and views from the current database
  2. For each table, it fetches column information
  3. It loads all saved queries for the connection
  4. Results are cached for the session
You’ll see a “Loading…” indicator while this happens.

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Result Limits

To maintain performance:
  • Maximum 50 results shown at once
  • Tables, views, and columns are all included in this limit
  • Most specific matches appear first
If you don’t see the item you’re looking for, try being more specific with your search term.

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Use Cases

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Quick Table Access

Scenario: You need to view the "customers" table

1. Press Cmd/Ctrl+K
2. Type "cust"
3. Press Enter on "customers"

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Finding Columns

Scenario: You can't remember which table has the "email" column

1. Press Cmd/Ctrl+K
2. Type "email"
3. See all tables with an email column
4. Select the one you need

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Opening Saved Queries

Scenario: You want to run your "Monthly Sales Report" query

1. Press Cmd/Ctrl+K
2. Type "monthly"
3. Select "Monthly Sales Report"
4. Query opens in a new tab

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Switching Between Recent Items

Scenario: Switching between tables you're working on

1. Press Cmd/Ctrl+K
2. Don't type anything - see recent items
3. Select from your recent history

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Tips & Tricks

Use short, distinctive prefixes for faster searching. For example, “ord” for “orders” is faster than typing the full name.
The Command Palette is perfect for large databases where scrolling through the sidebar would take too long.
Combine with keyboard shortcuts: Open palette (Cmd/Ctrl+K), search, open table, then immediately press Cmd/Ctrl+E to create a query for that table.
The Command Palette only searches the currently active database. If you need to search across multiple databases, you’ll need to switch databases first.

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Troubleshooting

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No Results Found

Problem: Search returns no results Solutions:
  • Ensure you’re connected to a database
  • Check that you’re searching in the correct database
  • Try a shorter or different search term
  • Verify the object actually exists in the schema

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Loading Takes Too Long

Problem: Command Palette shows “Loading…” for a long time Solutions:
  • This is normal for databases with thousands of tables/columns
  • After the first load, results are cached
  • Consider using the sidebar for very large schemas

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Recent Items Not Showing

Problem: Recent items list is empty Solutions:
  • Open a few tables/views first to populate the list
  • Recent items are stored per connection
  • Switching connections clears the recent list for that context

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