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146 changes: 146 additions & 0 deletions develop/dev-guide-gui-beekeeper-studio.md
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---
title: Connect to TiDB with Beekeeper Studio
summary: Learn how to connect to TiDB using Beekeeper Studio.
aliases: ['/tidb/stable/dev-guide-gui-beekeeper-studio/','/tidb/dev/dev-guide-gui-beekeeper-studio/','/tidbcloud/dev-guide-gui-beekeeper-studio/']
---

# Connect to TiDB with Beekeeper Studio

TiDB is a MySQL-compatible database, and [Beekeeper Studio](https://www.beekeeperstudio.io/) is a free, open-source SQL editor and database manager with a modern, easy-to-use interface for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Beekeeper Studio has a built-in, native **TiDB** connection type.

In this tutorial, you can learn how to connect to TiDB using Beekeeper Studio Community Edition.

> **Note:**
>
> This tutorial is compatible with {{{ .starter }}}, {{{ .essential }}}, {{{ .premium }}}, TiDB Cloud Dedicated, and TiDB Self-Managed.

## Prerequisites

To complete this tutorial, you need:

- [Beekeeper Studio Community Edition **4.3.0** or later](https://www.beekeeperstudio.io/get). Beekeeper Studio Community Edition is free and open source, so no paid account is required.
- A TiDB cluster.

**If you don't have a TiDB cluster, you can create one as follows:**

- (Recommended) [Create a {{{ .starter }}} instance](/develop/dev-guide-build-cluster-in-cloud.md).
- [Deploy a local test TiDB Self-Managed cluster](/quick-start-with-tidb.md#deploy-a-local-test-cluster) or [Deploy a production TiDB Self-Managed cluster](/production-deployment-using-tiup.md).

## Connect to TiDB

Connect to TiDB depending on the TiDB deployment option you've selected.

<SimpleTab>
<div label="{{{ .starter }}} or Essential">

@coderabbitai coderabbitai Bot Sep 4, 2026

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🎯 Functional Correctness | 🟠 Major | 🏗️ Heavy lift

🔎 Supported by static analysis

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🌐 Web query:

site:docs.pingcap.com/tidbcloud "exclusive endpoint" Essential July 1 2026 shared endpoint

💡 Result:

In TiDB Cloud, the distinction between the endpoint shared model and the endpoint exclusive model for Essential instances is based on the creation date of the instance, with July 1, 2026, serving as the cutoff date [1][2][3]. Endpoint Shared Model: - Applies to all TiDB Cloud Starter instances and TiDB Cloud Essential instances created before July 1, 2026 [1][4][3]. - In this model, a single private or public endpoint can be shared by multiple TiDB Cloud Starter or Essential instances located within the same region and VPC [1][4][3]. - When connecting to instances using this model, users are required to include a mandatory account prefix in their connection string [1][2][3]. Endpoint Exclusive Model: - Applies to TiDB Cloud Essential instances created on or after July 1, 2026 [1][2][3]. - In this model, each Essential instance is assigned its own standalone private or public endpoint [1][4][3]. - A primary benefit of this model is that it eliminates the need to include an account prefix when connecting to the instance [1][2][3]. - Users must repeat the network setup steps for each individual Essential instance they wish to connect to in this mode [1][2][4]. Please note that the endpoint exclusive model is currently only available in certain AWS regions [1][2][4]. If it is not supported for a specific instance, the shared model is used instead [1][2][4].

Citations:


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Separate the TiDB Cloud Essential endpoint models.

This tab combines Starter and Essential instances under one public-endpoint procedure. Essential instances can use shared or exclusive endpoints, which have different connection steps and username requirements. State which endpoint model this procedure supports, or provide separate instructions for each model. ( )

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Thanks for the catch — I don't see a shared vs. exclusive endpoint distinction documented anywhere in the current TiDB Cloud docs for Starter/Essential, so I don't want to add procedural steps I haven't verified against the real console. Happy to revisit if you can point me to where that's documented.

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🧩 Analysis chain

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site:docs.pingcap.com/tidbcloud "Endpoint Exclusive Model" "July 1, 2026" Essential

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@hankhoffmeier, the distinction is documented in the current TiDB Cloud public-endpoint guide:

The guide states that Starter instances and Essential instances created before July 1, 2026 use the shared model. Essential instances created on or after that date use the exclusive model where available. The shared model requires the account prefix in the user name. The exclusive model does not.

You are interacting with an AI system.


1. Navigate to the [**My TiDB**](https://tidbcloud.com/tidbs) page, and then click the name of your target {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instance to go to its overview page.

2. Click **Connect** in the upper-right corner. A connection dialog is displayed.

3. Ensure the configurations in the connection dialog match your operating environment.

- **Connection Type** is set to `Public`.
- **Branch** is set to `main`.
- **Connect With** is set to `Beekeeper Studio` (or the closest match, such as `General`, if Beekeeper Studio is not in the list).
- **Operating System** matches your environment.

4. Click **Generate Password** to create a random password.

> **Tip:**
>
> If you have created a password before, you can either use the original password or click **Reset Password** to generate a new one.

5. Launch Beekeeper Studio. On the connections screen, click **New Connection**, select **TiDB** from the **Connection Type** list, and fill in the connection form: copy the **Host**, **Port**, and **User** exactly as shown in the TiDB Cloud connection dialog (the **User** value includes an instance-specific prefix, such as `2iYY8v31zGuWG83.root`, not just `root`), and enter the **Password** from step 4.

![Beekeeper Studio: configure a TiDB connection](/media/develop/beekeeper-studio-connection-settings.png)

6. Turn on the **Enable SSL** toggle, since {{{ .starter }}} and Essential require an encrypted connection.

By default, Beekeeper Studio trusts the server's certificate without requiring you to download or select a CA certificate, which is convenient for a quick connection. For stronger protection against man-in-the-middle attacks, you can instead click **CA Cert** in the TiDB Cloud connection dialog to download the certificate, select the downloaded file in Beekeeper Studio's **CA Cert (optional)** field, and check the **Reject Unauthorized** box so Beekeeper Studio actually validates the server against it.

7. Click **Test** to validate the connection to your target {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instance.

8. If the connection test succeeds, click **Connect** to save the connection and start using it.

</div>
<div label="{{{ .premium }}}">

1. Navigate to the [**My TiDB**](https://tidbcloud.com/tidbs) page, and then click the name of your target {{{ .premium }}} instance to go to its overview page.

2. In the left navigation pane, click **Settings** > **Networking**.

3. On the **Networking** page, click **Enable** for **Public Endpoint**, and then click **Add IP Address**.

Ensure that your client IP address is added to the access list.

4. In the left navigation pane, click **Overview** to return to the instance overview page.

5. Click **Connect** in the upper-right corner. A connection dialog is displayed.

6. In the connection dialog, select **Public** from the **Connection Type** drop-down list.

- If a message indicates that the public endpoint is still being enabled, wait until the process completes.
- If you have not set a password yet, click **Set Root Password** in the dialog.
- In addition to the **Public** connection type, {{{ .premium }}} supports **Private Endpoint** connections. For more information, see [Connect to {{{ .premium }}} via AWS PrivateLink](/tidb-cloud/premium/connect-to-premium-via-aws-private-endpoint.md).

7. Launch Beekeeper Studio. On the connections screen, click **New Connection**, select **TiDB** from the **Connection Type** list, and fill in the connection form: copy and paste the **Host**, **Port**, and **Username** from the connection dialog, and enter the password of the {{{ .premium }}} instance.

Turn on **Enable SSL**. To verify the server's identity, click **CA Cert** in the connection dialog to download the certificate, select the downloaded file in Beekeeper Studio's **CA Cert (optional)** field, and check the **Reject Unauthorized** box so Beekeeper Studio actually validates the server against it.

8. Click **Test** to validate the connection to the {{{ .premium }}} instance.

9. If the connection test succeeds, click **Connect** to save the connection and start using it.

</div>
<div label="TiDB Cloud Dedicated">

1. Navigate to the [**My TiDB**](https://tidbcloud.com/tidbs) page, and then click the name of your target TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster to go to its overview page.

2. Click **Connect** in the upper-right corner. A connection dialog is displayed.

3. In the connection dialog, select **Public** from the **Connection Type** drop-down list.

If you have not configured the IP access list, click **Configure IP Access List** or follow the steps in [Configure an IP Access List](https://docs.pingcap.com/tidbcloud/configure-ip-access-list) to configure it before your first connection.

In addition to the **Public** connection type, TiDB Cloud Dedicated supports **Private Endpoint** and **VPC Peering** connection types. For more information, see [Connect to Your TiDB Cloud Dedicated Cluster](https://docs.pingcap.com/tidbcloud/connect-to-tidb-cluster).

4. Launch Beekeeper Studio. On the connections screen, click **New Connection**, select **TiDB** from the **Connection Type** list, and fill in the connection form: copy and paste the **Host**, **Port**, and **Username** from the TiDB Cloud connection dialog, and enter the password of the TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster.

![Beekeeper Studio: configure a TiDB connection](/media/develop/beekeeper-studio-connection-settings.png)

5. Turn on the **Enable SSL** toggle. Beekeeper Studio trusts the server's certificate by default, so providing a CA certificate is optional — if you want to verify against the CA certificate for your cluster, click **CA cert** in the TiDB Cloud connection dialog to download it, select the downloaded file in the **CA Cert (optional)** field, and check the **Reject Unauthorized** box so Beekeeper Studio actually validates the server against it.

6. Click **Test** to validate the connection to the TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster.

7. If the connection test succeeds, click **Connect** to save the connection and start using it.

</div>
<div label="TiDB Self-Managed" value="tidb">

1. Launch Beekeeper Studio. On the connections screen, click **New Connection**, select **TiDB** from the **Connection Type** list, and configure the following connection parameters:

- **Host**: the IP address or domain name of your TiDB Self-Managed cluster.
- **Port**: the port number of your TiDB Self-Managed cluster.
- **User**: the username to use to connect to your TiDB Self-Managed cluster.
- **Password**: the password of the username.

![Beekeeper Studio: configure connection settings for TiDB Self-Managed](/media/develop/beekeeper-studio-connection-settings-self-hosted.png)

2. Click **Test** to validate the connection to the TiDB Self-Managed cluster.

3. If the connection test succeeds, click **Connect** to save the connection and start using it.

</div>
</SimpleTab>

## Next steps

- Learn more usage of Beekeeper Studio from [the Beekeeper Studio documentation](https://docs.beekeeperstudio.io/).
- Learn the best practices for TiDB application development with the chapters in the [Developer guide](https://docs.pingcap.com/developer/), such as [Insert data](/develop/dev-guide-insert-data.md), [Update data](/develop/dev-guide-update-data.md), [Delete data](/develop/dev-guide-delete-data.md), [Single table reading](/develop/dev-guide-get-data-from-single-table.md), [Transactions](/develop/dev-guide-transaction-overview.md), and [SQL performance optimization](/develop/dev-guide-optimize-sql-overview.md).
- Learn through the professional [TiDB developer courses](https://www.pingcap.com/education/) and earn [TiDB certifications](https://www.pingcap.com/education/certification/) after passing the exam.

## Need help?

- Ask the community on [Discord](https://discord.gg/DQZ2dy3cuc?utm_source=doc) or [Slack](https://slack.tidb.io/invite?team=tidb-community&channel=everyone&ref=pingcap-docs).
- [Submit a support ticket for TiDB Cloud](https://tidb.support.pingcap.com/servicedesk/customer/portals)
- [Submit a support ticket for TiDB Self-Managed](/support.md)
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion develop/dev-guide-third-party-support.md
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| GUI | Latest tested version | Support level | Tutorial |
|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|---------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| [Beekeeper Studio](https://www.beekeeperstudio.io/) | 4.3.0 | Full | N/A |
| [Beekeeper Studio](https://www.beekeeperstudio.io/) | 4.3.0 | Full | [Connect to TiDB with Beekeeper Studio](/develop/dev-guide-gui-beekeeper-studio.md) |
| [JetBrains DataGrip](https://www.jetbrains.com/datagrip/) | 2023.2.1 | Full | [Connect to TiDB with JetBrains DataGrip](/develop/dev-guide-gui-datagrip.md) |
| [DBeaver](https://dbeaver.io/) | 23.0.3 | Full | [Connect to TiDB with DBeaver](/develop/dev-guide-gui-dbeaver.md) |
| [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) | 1.72.0 | Full | [Connect to TiDB with Visual Studio Code](/develop/dev-guide-gui-vscode-sqltools.md) |
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