Driver manager

Overview

DBeaver supports many types of databases, including SQL, NoSQL, and others, by using pre-configured drivers to establish connections. If a specific database is not supported by default, you can manually add its JDBC driver through the Driver Manager.

Tip

DBeaver also supports ODBC drivers for users who prefer this standard. For more information on integrating ODBC drivers, see ODBC driver.

Obtaining a JDBC driver

A JDBC driver is a Java library that lets you connect and work with a specific database. It includes everything needed to use all the features of the database. These drivers are usually provided by the companies that create the databases.

JDBC drivers are made up of one or more .jar files. These files contain the code and other important files needed to use the driver. To add a new driver to DBeaver, you first need to get these .jar files. You can find them included with your database server or download them from the database provider’s website. If you are not sure where to find them, ask your database administrator.

Driver Manager

To begin adding a new JDBC driver, first open the Driver Manager. You can find it by navigating to Databases -> Driver Manager from the main menu.

Button	Description
New	Creates a new driver configuration.
Copy	Copies the selected driver configuration.
Edit...	Opens the selected driver configuration for editing.
Delete	Removes the selected driver configuration from DBeaver.
Un-delete	Restores recently deleted driver configurations.

Add a new driver

Click the New button to start adding a new driver. In the driver edit dialog, you will need to fill all the necessary details to configure the driver.

Main parameters

Parameter	Description
Driver Name	The name you assign to the driver. This can be any descriptive name that helps you identify the driver among others.
Driver Type	Specifies the type of the driver used for connecting to the database. Users typically select the appropriate driver type based on the database being connected to. For unsupported databases, the Generic type is often used. For more information see section below.
Class Name	The fully qualified name of the Java class for the JDBC driver. This is the main class that Java uses to interact with the database. It can often be found in the driver's documentation or by inspecting the .jar file.
URL Template	A template for the database connection URL. If left empty, you must specify the JDBC URL manually for each connection. It's recommended to provide a template to simplify connection setup. For more information see section below.
Default Port	The port number typically used by the database. This is optional and can be left blank if the port is non-standard or varies between installations.
Embedded	Check this option if the database runs embedded within an application. This setting adjusts network and connection management configurations accordingly.
No Authentication	Indicates that the driver does not use authentication. If selected, user and password input fields will be hidden in connection dialogs.
Category	Used to group drivers within DBeaver. This field is deprecated but may still appear in some versions of the software.
ID	A system-generated unique identifier for the driver. This is usually auto-filled.
Description	A brief description of the driver.

Generic driver

The Generic driver allows you to connect to databases that do not have a predefined JDBC driver. It works with any database that supports JDBC, giving you control to manually load the required JDBC library.

This driver is useful for connecting to custom or uncommon databases. It ensures flexibility in setting connection parameters, but you must ensure that the JDBC driver you provide is fully compatible with the database to avoid issues with connections or queries.

URL template

JDBC drivers use URLs to connect to databases, similar to web URLs. These URLs typically follow the format jdbc:vendor:host:port/database. For example, a PostgreSQL database might use jdbc:postgresql:localhost:5432/postgres. Directly editing these long and complex strings can be prone to errors and inconvenient.

DBeaver simplifies this process by constructing the URL from connection parameters like host, port, and database name, which you provide on the connection configuration page. For the example mentioned, the URL template would be: jdbc:postgresql://{host}:{port}/{database}

Info

For more information on the available variables, see Pre-configured variables.

Libraries

The Libraries tab displays a list of .jar files, binary libraries (such as .dll or .so files), and other files necessary for the driver. Typically, you only need to add .jar files here.

Button	Description
Add File	Adds a single .jar file. Useful for including individual JDBC driver files or additional libraries needed.
Add Folder	Adds an entire directory that contains Java classes or resources, facilitating bulk additions.
Add Artifact	Allows for the inclusion of a Maven artifact directly, streamlining dependency management for users who utilize Maven. For more information see the section below.
Edit...	Allows you to modify the selected file or folder properties.
Delete	Enables you to remove a selected file or folder from the list.
Download/Update	Allows for the downloading or updating of the selected library file or artifact.
Information	Provides detailed information about the selected file or artifact, such as version, source, and dependencies.
Find Class	Searches the added .jar files for JDBC driver classes and displays all found classes, enabling you to select the correct one for your configuration.
Classpath	Displays the full classpath constructed from the added files and folders, useful for debugging or verification purposes.

Once you have added the necessary .jar files, you can locate the JDBC driver classes contained within these files. Click the Find Class button, and DBeaver will list all available driver classes found in the added .jars. Usually, there is only one driver class per driver, but if multiple classes are listed, you should consult the driver's documentation to identify the correct one.

Maven artifacts

DBeaver can download driver .jars from the Maven repository, a global collection of Java libraries. If your database driver is listed in this public repository, you can use this feature. Maven artifacts are useful because they let you see all driver versions and change the driver version during runtime without reconfiguring driver properties.

Info

For additional information, see How to add additional artifacts to the driver.

Driver properties

The Driver Properties tab displays default connection properties related to the JDBC driver once a driver file is loaded. This tab allows for the configuration and customization of various driver-specific settings necessary for establishing and managing database connections.

Advanced parameters

For most JDBC drivers, the default advanced properties suffice. However, you may find it beneficial to adjust these settings for performance optimization or to correct structural issues.

Main parameters

Parameter	Description
Driver supports indexes	Indicates if the driver can utilize table indexes.
Driver supports stored code	Supports stored database objects like procedures, functions, and packages.
Driver supports references	Allows the driver to handle table references such as foreign keys.
Driver supports SELECT count(*) clause	Supports the use of the SELECT count(*) SQL clause.
Driver supports views	Enables the driver to manage table views.
Split procedures and functions	Displays procedures and functions in separate folders in the UI.
Script delimiter	Character or string used to separate SQL statements in scripts.
Script delimiter redefiner	SQL clause that changes the script delimiter during execution.
Use script delimiter after query	Retains the delimiter after each SQL query within scripts.
Use script delimiter after SQL block	Maintains the delimiter after SQL blocks like BEGIN/END.
String escape character	Character used to escape special characters in SQL strings.
Meta model type	Defines the metadata model type, either standard or indexed.
All Objects Pattern	SQL pattern to match all metadata objects.
Omit catalog(s)	Skips catalog (database) information in metadata operations.
Omit single catalog	Hides catalog in the UI if only one exists on the server.
Omit schema(s)	Omits reading schema information from metadata.
Omit single schema	Hides schema in the UI if only one exists.
Use schema filters	Applies JDBC schema filters for databases not supporting catalogs, or filters schemas client-side.
Omit type cache	Avoids using the driver's internal cache for data types.
Shutdown parameter	Parameter for shutting down the database through URL.
Create database parameter	URL parameter used to create a new database.
Driver supports multiple results	Supports multiple result sets per query.
Driver supports result set limit	Allows setting limits on the number of rows in a result set.
Driver supports structure cache	Uses cache for database structure such as columns and keys.
Driver supports TRUNCATE operation	Enables use of the TRUNCATE command, faster than using DELETE.

Queries

Parameter	Description
Get active database	Retrieves the name of the currently active database.
Set active database	Sets the active database during the session.
Shutdown database	Command to shut down the active database connection.
PING query	SQL query to check the connection state.
Dual table name	Specifies the name of a dummy table used for evaluating expressions.
Active object type	Defines the type of database object that can be selected (e.g., schema, catalog).
Driver supports results scrolling	Enables scrolling through results in the result set.
Quote reserved words	Automatically quotes SQL reserved words when they conflict with identifier names.
Escape LIKE masks in search queries	Escapes special characters in LIKE clauses during metadata searches.

DDL

Parameter	Description
Drop column short syntax	Uses a shorter syntax for dropping columns.
Drop column - use brackets	Encloses column names in brackets when dropping.
Use legacy SQL dialect for DDL	Uses a traditional SQL dialect for DDL operations.
Add COLUMN keyword in alter table query	Adds the COLUMN keyword in ALTER TABLE queries for clarity.

Formatting

Parameter	Description
Timestamp format	The format pattern for timestamp columns.
Date format	The format pattern for date columns.
Time format	The format pattern for time columns.

Info

For more information on a date/time format pattern, see DateTimeFormatter documentation.

Saving the driver and adding a connection

Once you have completed configuring your driver, click the Ok button to save the settings. You are now ready to Create a connection.

Edit driver

Editing an existing driver can be done through several access points:

• Driver Manager: Navigate through Databases -> Driver Manager in the main menu to edit any listed driver.
• Database Navigator: Right-click on a database connection to open the context menu, then select Edit Connection to open the Connection Properties dialog. This method allows you to modify the driver settings linked specifically to that connection.

Change connection driver

You can change the driver version for an existing connection:

1. Select a connection in the Database Navigator.
2. Go to Database in the Menu bar.

3. Click Change connection(s) driver, then select a different driver.

   

Note

DBeaver uses two types of drivers: built-in and downloadable (Maven-based). You can only change the version for downloadable drivers. To update a built-in driver, update it manually.

Update driver manually

To update a driver version manually:

1. In Database Navigator, right-click your connection.
2. Click Edit Connection.
3. In the window that opens, click Driver Settings.
4. Go to the Libraries tab.

5. Double-click the driver file - this opens its folder.

   Info

   If there’s no driver listed (for example, you deleted it), click Add File or Add Folder, then select the driver file manually.

6. Replace the file with the new version. You need to download the .jar file manually. Sources vary depending on the driver:

   • Official vendor site - some drivers are only available on the database vendor’s site.
   • GitHub releases - many open-source drivers publish binaries in the Releases section.
   • Maven Central - some drivers are available at search.maven.org.
   • Other public repositories - some projects host drivers on project-specific sites or custom registries.

   Tip

   You don’t need to delete the whole folder - just replace or remove old .jar files to avoid conflicts.

7. Click OK, then Test Connection to verify it works.

Update driver automatically

You can configure your drivers to update automatically on startup.

1. Go to Window -> Preferences -> Connections -> Drivers.

   

2. Configure driver-related settings:

   Setting	Description
   Check for new driver versions	Automatically checks for driver updates when DBeaver starts.
   Proxy Host	Hostname of the proxy server used for driver downloads.
   Proxy Port	Port number for the proxy.
   User	Username for proxy authentication (if needed).
   Password	Password for proxy authentication.
   Local folder	Local folder where downloaded drivers are stored. You can specify a custom directory.
   File repositories	URLs of remote repositories used for downloading drivers.

3. Click Apply and Close.