How to optimize a slow SELECT in SQL Server: a practical checklist
A practical checklist to speed up a slow SELECT in SQL Server: measure with STATISTICS IO and the plan, write sargable predicates, and index the right columns.
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Practical guides on AI in everyday SQL work — how to use an assistant in SSMS and DBeaver safely, keyless, and with no tool migration.
Claude and ChatGPT in DBeaver without an API key — how it works and where it stops
How to use Claude (Claude Code) or ChatGPT/Codex in DBeaver without an API key: sign in through your own CLI, schema-aware SQL, writes held at a gate.
Read moreA wall panel for Home Assistant and Loxone: tablet, ready-made panel or your own screen layout?
A wall panel for Home Assistant and Loxone: tablet in kiosk mode, ready-made vendor panel or a panel with a browser layout editor? Honest pros and cons.
Read moreSQL window functions cheat-sheet: ROW_NUMBER, RANK and LAG/LEAD across five engines
ROW_NUMBER, RANK, DENSE_RANK and LAG/LEAD with OVER, PARTITION BY and frames, verified per engine: PostgreSQL, MySQL/MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server, SQLite.
Read moreSQL Sage vs GitHub Copilot in SSMS: an honest comparison
SQL Sage vs GitHub Copilot in SSMS, compared by how each works: sign-in, what leaves your machine, read vs write, and licensing. No benchmarks, just models.
Read moreAPI keys are a liability: the security case for keyless AI tooling
Every API key is a secret to store, rotate, and leak. The security case for keyless AI tooling, and why an AI tool without an API key is safer.
Read moreSchema vs data rows: does the AI see your data when it writes SQL?
When AI writes SQL, two different things can leave your machine: the schema and the rows. Why schema is enough, and why sending rows should be opt-in.
Read moreAn AI assistant inside SSMS that works on Azure SQL — on your own AI account
An AI copilot in SSMS that also works on Azure SQL, running on your own Claude or ChatGPT account — no API key, safe by default, and your data never leaves.
Read moreFind blocking sessions in SQL Server: a free, no-AI live view inside SSMS
A query hangs and the real question is who is blocking whom. SQL Sage for SSMS answers it live, free and with no AI — and KILL stays a script you run.
Read moreALTER and DROP in SQL Server: find table dependencies before you run it
Find table dependencies before you DROP or ALTER a column in SQL Server, using sys.dm_sql_referencing_entities, sys.foreign_keys and dependency views.
Read moreWrite SQL joins faster in SSMS: a free, no-AI helper that reads your foreign keys
Type JOIN and SQL Sage for SSMS lists the related tables with a ready ON clause and alias — built from your foreign keys, free, with no AI and no API key.
Read moreIs there an AI assistant for SSMS? What to look for (honest tradeoffs)
Is there an AI assistant for SSMS? Yes, a few. The honest tradeoffs to check first: keyless vs API key, read-only by default, and what leaves your machine.
Read moreReading a SQL execution plan: how to find why a query is slow (and fix it) across engines
Read a SQL execution plan to find why a query is slow: scan vs seek, estimated vs actual rows, spills and missing indexes — across five engines.
Read moreProve, don't guess: why an AI SQL assistant should read your real schema instead of hallucinating it
Why LLMs invent table and column names, how grounding in a real schema and query plans yields correct SQL, and how to spot an assistant that checks.
Read moreOne AI copilot across five database engines: dialect differences that trip you up (and how to handle them)
Pagination, identifier quoting and query plans differ across PostgreSQL, MySQL/MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server and SQLite. A practical guide with SQL.
Read moreRead-only by default: why an AI SQL assistant should never silently touch your data
Why read-only by default and explicit DML/DDL confirmation is the right safety model for AI at the database, and what should (and shouldn't) reach the model.
Read moreHow to use Claude or ChatGPT inside SSMS — without an API key
How to get an AI copilot inside SQL Server Management Studio without an API key — keyless, read-only by default, and only schema and SQL leave your machine.
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