Where Does DbGate Store Connections?
DbGate keeps connections and queries in a .dbgate data folder in your home directory on every OS.
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DbGate (the open-source database client, dbgate.org) stores its state in a .dbgate folder directly in your home directory, on Windows, macOS, and Linux alike. Connections live in connections.jsonl with secrets in a .key file beside it. The app's Tools menu opens the folder for you, which beats guessing.
The dot-folder-in-home layout is deliberate cross-platform simplicity, though it clutters Unix homes (a long-standing issue thread asked for XDG paths). It was renamed from dbgate-data in version 5, so ancient guides reference the old name. Docker users mount it as a volume instead.
Where DbGate stores this, by platform
~/.dbgate
connections.jsonl plus .key. Reach it via Tools > Open data folder. Renamed from dbgate-data in v5; old guides use the former name.
~/.dbgate
Same folder name at home root. Use Go to Folder in Finder since dot folders are hidden.
%USERPROFILE%\.dbgate
Same dot-folder convention at your profile root, VS Code style. Paste the path into Explorer directly.
Frequently asked questions
How do I move my DbGate connections to a new PC?
Copy connections.jsonl and the .key file from the data folder to the new install's data folder. The maintainer recommends exactly this. Open the folder via Tools > Open data folder on both ends.
Is this the same as DBGate with appsettings.json?
No. That is a different product (an OData server with appsettings.json). This page covers DbGate, the open-source database client at dbgate.org, whose data lives in ~/.dbgate.
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