Features

Everything WebF1 DataPad does

A data workbench for programmers and DBAs: write C# against a named connection, read the results in a grid, and add the optional capabilities when they fit your workflow.

The workbench

Three panes, one window, sizes that persist.

Connections panel, editor and output

The connections panel on the left lists your databases and their schema trees. The C# editor in the middle is where you write scripts. The output pane on the bottom holds the ordered results of a run. Drag any divider to resize a pane.

Read the getting started guide

Scripts and tabs

Write C# and run it with F5 or the Run button. Multiple scripts open as tabs, each with a dirty marker, and scripts are saved as .wf1dp files. Changed tabs autosave so a crash does not lose them.

Read the scripts guide

Dump() results

Call Dump() to append an ordered block to the output pane: scalars become value blocks, sequences become table blocks with a labelled total, a single object becomes a property block, and a labelled Dump places its label above the value.

Read the results grid guide

IntelliSense

The editor completes table and column names, types and members as you type, from the live connection's host-backed analysis. Suggestions are typed and filtered, so the workbench's own model drives the completion list.

Read the scripts guide

Editor diagnostics

A compile failure underlines the exact statement and the popup shows the compiler's real message and line number, so the error is fixed in place instead of in a separate build window.

Read the troubleshooting guide

Connections and schema

Read the database the way the database describes itself.

Connection-string connections

Add a connection by name and connection string for PostgreSQL, SQL Server or SQLite. Add saves without contacting the database, so an offline server or a typo cannot block it. Test probes a string without saving, Refresh re-introspects, and Edit reopens the dialog pre-filled.

Read the connections guide

EF DLL connections

Point at a compiled Entity Framework assembly instead of a live database. Inspect loads it and discovers its DbContexts, you pick one, and the schema comes from the assembly's model. Under Free an EF DLL connection is added session-only; saving it is a Pro capability.

Read the connections guide

Schema tree

Each connection expands into its databases, schemas, tables, views and columns, with provider type, primary-key, nullable, identity and JSON markers. A table's Relationships group lists each relationship with its direction glyph, related table and the column they run through.

Read the connections guide

Production and read-only flags

Mark a connection production to badge it and give its script tab an accent left margin. Mark it read-only to lock the write paths behind a lock badge while reads keep working. Both flags update live with no restart.

Read the connections guide

Results and editing

Change data in the grid, drill into related records, author JSON.

Edit the grid

Turn on Edit mode to change cells, insert rows with + Insert row, and delete rows with a selection column. Save applies every pending change and reads the stored rows back, so the grid shows database-generated values; each table's insert and delete set is applied in one transaction.

Read the results grid guide

Create a JSON document

Author a document for a column that holds JSON: open a NULL cell through the { } create affordance and edit it in the property-column grid, then save the whole document in one update. No hand-written JSON string is required.

Read the json columns guide

Navigation and drill-in

A related-record cell renders as a navigation chip; click it to open an inline detail strip under the row. The chain can be followed several levels deep, with the depth shown and cycles blocked with the real reason, so a path can never loop forever.

Read the navigation guide

JSON columns

A text column can hold JSON documents. DataPad marks it with a JSON badge and a nested graph, and renders each cell as a { } JSON chip you can open as a tab. Grid-first authoring lets you edit an array as a property-column grid and save the whole document in one update.

Read the json columns guide

NuGet packages

Attach NuGet packages to a script from the toolbar's Packages control. Search the registry, add a package and its version, and the installer resolves the script's whole package list to its closure, cache-first. Usings and packages travel with the script when it is saved.

Read the packages guide

Settings and security

Themes, encryption, backup, shortcuts and the MCP server live under View, Settings.

Themes and accents

Three themes - Dark (default), Black and Light - plus Auto, which follows the operating system and never resolves to Black. Eight accent colours drive selection tints, markers and grid affordances independent of the theme.

Read the themes guide

Encryption and backup

Encrypt the connection strings at rest with a phrase, lock and unlock the session, and change or clear the phrase. Back up the whole app data folder to a folder you choose and open the result in your file manager. Encryption is a Pro capability; backup is free.

Read the encryption backup guide

Shortcuts

Remap the run, comment and uncomment chords in Settings, Shortcuts. A remap takes effect immediately and survives a restart; a chord is supported, and a collision with another action is stated rather than hidden.

Read the shortcuts guide

MCP server

Run a local Model Context Protocol server so an AI agent can read your connections and scripts. It is localhost-only, bearer-token protected and per-tool toggled, and its help tools serve this same article set to the agent. The server is a Pro capability.

Read the mcp server guide

MCP server in action

The agent does the work, not just the reading: ask it to write a script and it creates one in DataPad against the connection it looked up, ready to run. The same server lets an agent read connections, schemas and open scripts, with every tool individually toggleable.

Read the mcp server guide

Licensing

DataPad runs free. A Pro licence unlocks EF DLL saves, IntelliSense, the editor error popup, the JSON structure editor, connection encryption and the MCP server. A licence key is validated when it is entered and may be revalidated periodically.

Read the licensing guide

Error surfacing

Failures are never generic: the UI shows the error code, the real message, the channel it came from, and a detail line naming the exact state. Connection strings are masked in every error and log, and a failed backup or run reports its real structured reason.

Read the troubleshooting guide