Ask your database anything.

Connect a MySQL database, choose an AI model, and ask questions in plain English. No SQL needed.

1Connect your database
2Choose your AI
3Ask questions

About 10 minutes. You’ll need Quill installed. Download it here.

Connect your database

Quill works with nearly 90 kinds of databases. This guide uses MySQL. The steps are the same for the others.

Choose MySQL

Click New Connection at the top of the window. Choose MySQL, then click Next.

The New Connection window with MySQL selected among database types

Enter your details

Give the connection a name you’ll recognize, like “Shop”. Then fill in the details for your database. Whoever looks after your database, such as your IT team or hosting provider, can give you these.

Host: The address of the database server. On your own computer it’s 127.0.0.1.
Port: Usually 3306 for MySQL.
User and password: Your database login.
Database: Which database to open, for example shop.

The MySQL connection form filled in with the name Shop, host 127.0.0.1, port 3306, user root and database shop

Test, then connect

Click Test. When you see Connection successful, click Save & Connect. Your database now appears in the list on the left.

The bottom of the connection window showing Connection successful next to the Test and Save & Connect buttons

Have a look around

Open your database and its Tables in the list on the left. Double-click a table to see its rows. Nothing you look at changes your data.

Quill showing the orders table of the shop database with its rows

Choose your AI

Quill works with the AI service you prefer. Pick one below, or ask your IT team which one your company uses.

Open AI settings

Click the gear in the top-right corner, then AI, then Add Config. Choose your AI service from the Provider list.

Claude

Best for accurate answers. Made by Anthropic.

Get a key at console.anthropic.com.
Set Provider to Claude and paste the key into API Key.
Set Default Model to claude-sonnet-5-5.

AI settings filled in for Claude: name Claude, an API key, and the model claude-sonnet-5-5

Ollama

Free and private. The AI runs on your own computer, so nothing leaves it.

Install Ollama and download a model, such as qwen2.5:7b.
Set Provider to Ollama. Leave API Key empty.
Set Default Model to the model you downloaded.

Smaller models on a laptop are slower and less reliable. For important numbers, use the Query Data option in part 3, or a larger model.

AI settings for Ollama with the model qwen2.5:7b

OpenRouter

One account for models from many companies.

Get a key at openrouter.ai/keys.
Set Provider to OpenAI Compatible and Endpoint to https://openrouter.ai/api/v1.
Paste your key, and copy a model name from openrouter.ai/models.

AI settings for OpenRouter using OpenAI Compatible with the endpoint https://openrouter.ai/api/v1

LiteLLM

For companies that route AI through their own gateway. Your IT team gives you the details.

Set Provider to OpenAI Compatible.
Set Endpoint to your gateway address, for example http://localhost:4000.
Paste the key your IT team gave you and the model name they use.

For your IT team: a minimal LiteLLM setup

pip install 'litellm[proxy]'

# litellm.yaml
model_list:
  - model_name: claude
    litellm_params:
      model: anthropic/claude-sonnet-5-5
      api_key: os.environ/ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

general_settings:
  master_key: sk-quill-local

litellm --config litellm.yaml   # serves on port 4000

In Quill, use the master_key as the API key and claude as the model.

AI settings for LiteLLM using OpenAI Compatible with the endpoint http://localhost:4000 and the model claude

Test, then apply

Click Test at the bottom. When you see Connection successful, click Apply. You can add more than one and switch between them later.

Connection successful next to the Test button, and the Apply button

Ask questions

Now the fun part. Ask the way you’d ask a colleague who knows the data.

Open the assistant

Select your database on the left, then click the robot icon at the top right.

At the bottom of the assistant, choose Agent, then Query Data. In this mode Quill looks up the real numbers instead of guessing.

The assistant's mode menu with Agent selected and the Query Data option

Ask in plain English

Type your question and press Enter. For example:

“Which products made the most money this year?”

Here’s what Quill did with that question:

Found the right tables. It matched “products” and “money” to the products, orders and order items tables.
Checked it was safe. The query only reads data, so it ran straight away.
Answered with real numbers from your database.

The answer is from a small AI model running on a laptop. Larger models give richer answers.

The Quill assistant answering which products made the most money: 4K Monitor 27 inch at $56,917, Ergonomic Chair at $43,928, and more, after the steps search_schema and execute_query

Questions to try

Sales

How much did we sell each month this year?
What share of orders was refunded?
Which sales channel brings in the most revenue?

Customers

Who are our 10 best customers?
How many customers do we have in each country?
Which customers haven’t ordered in 90 days?

Products

Which products are almost out of stock?
What’s the average review score for each category?
Which products get the worst reviews?

Get better answers

Say what you mean. “Revenue from paid orders only” is clearer than “revenue”.
Give a time range. “Last 90 days” or “in 2026” avoids guessing.
Ask follow-ups. “Now split that by country” builds on the last answer.
Check the numbers that matter. Click the steps above an answer to see exactly what Quill ran.

Your data stays safe

Looking is safe. Questions only read your data.
Changes need your OK. If a request would change or delete anything, Quill shows you exactly what it will do and waits for you to approve.
Lock it down. Mark a connection as Read Only in its settings, or ask your IT team for a read-only login.
Keep it private. Only the few tables a question needs are shared with your AI service. With Ollama, nothing leaves your computer.

If something doesn’t work

Test says it can’t connect: Check the host, port, user and password with whoever looks after the database. If the database is on another network, you may need a VPN or the SSH option in the connection window.
The assistant says AI isn’t configured: Add a config in Settings, then AI, and make sure you clicked Apply.
The AI says the key is invalid: Copy the key again, without spaces. Keys from your AI service are different from your database password.
The answer has SQL but no numbers: Switch the assistant to Agent, then Query Data, and ask again.

You’re ready.

Connect your own databases the same way, from PostgreSQL and SQL Server to Snowflake and MongoDB.

Download Quill