DBBat - Database Observability Proxy
Give your devs — and your AI agents — access to prod.
A transparent database proxy that gives developers and AI agents controlled access to production databases. Speaks PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL/MariaDB, MongoDB, and Microsoft SQL Server wire protocols, so unmodified clients, drivers, and agent tools connect as usual. Every query logged. Every connection tracked.
Documentation
Full documentation is available at dbbat.com:
Deploying with Kubernetes: the Helm chart, and
how the public demo is deployed and upgraded.
Why DBBat?
The Problem:
- Production databases should not be directly accessible to developers for security and compliance reasons
- Developers often need access to production data to diagnose issues, debug problems, and understand user behavior
- AI agents increasingly need the same access — to investigate incidents, answer data questions, run migrations — with even less inherent trust than a human operator
- Traditional solutions are binary: either full access (risky) or no access (blocks troubleshooting)
The Solution:
DBBat acts as a monitoring proxy that allows controlled access to production databases — for humans and AI agents alike — with:
- Complete monitoring: Every query and result is logged with full traceability
- Strict limitations: Time-windowed access, fine-grained controls, query quotas, and data transfer limits
- Full audit trail: Track who accessed what, when, and what data they retrieved
- Encrypted credentials: Database passwords never exposed to users
- Granular access control: Grant temporary access to specific databases with precise permissions
Supported Databases
| Engine | Protocol | Default proxy port | Notes |
|---|
| PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL wire (pgx/v5) | :5433 (DBB_LISTEN_PG) | First-class support; auth terminated at proxy |
| Oracle | TNS / TTC | :1522 (DBB_LISTEN_ORA) | O5LOGON proxy auth; go-ora end-to-end (other clients reach AUTH only — see docs/oracle.md) |
| MySQL | MySQL wire (go-mysql-org/go-mysql) | :3307 (DBB_LISTEN_MYSQL) | caching_sha2_password (default), mysql_clear_password; TLS terminated at proxy |
| MariaDB | MySQL wire (same listener) | :3307 (DBB_LISTEN_MYSQL) | Same as MySQL — mysql_native_password not supported, STMT_BULK_EXECUTE refused |
| MongoDB | MongoDB wire (OP_MSG, hand-rolled) | :27018 (DBB_LISTEN_MONGO) | SCRAM-SHA-256 or PLAIN-over-TLS at the proxy; upstream via SCRAM-SHA-256 — see docs/mongodb.md |
| SQL Server | TDS (hand-rolled) | :1434 (DBB_LISTEN_MSSQL) | PRELOGIN + encapsulated TLS + LOGIN7, SQL auth only (no NTLM/Kerberos/Entra) — see docs/mssql.md. 1434/tcp is free: the SQL Server Browser that owns 1434 is UDP-only |
Each engine has its own listener; enable only the ones you need by setting the matching DBB_LISTEN_* environment variable. PostgreSQL is enabled by default; Oracle/MySQL/MongoDB/SQL Server listen on their default ports unless explicitly disabled in config.
Any of these upstreams can be reached directly or through an SSH bastion — see SSH tunnels.
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
