Does iDBQuery copy my data or query it in place?
iDBQuery queries your data in place wherever possible — it reads your databases live at query time rather than copying them into a separate store. It never writes back to your systems, uses read-only access, and on Desktop or air-gapped deployments your data never leaves your environment at all.
Where your data lives depends on the source and the deployment, but the principle is the same: iDBQuery touches your data as little as possible.
- Databases are queried in place. iDBQuery reads them live using read-only credentials, so the answer always reflects current data and nothing is duplicated into a warehouse.
- Files you upload (spreadsheets, PDFs, folders) are indexed locally so they can be queried — text is extracted, structure is captured, and the content becomes part of your live model. With the Desktop app or an air-gapped deployment, that processing happens entirely on your own machine or inside your environment.
- APIs are pulled on the schedule you choose and cached for querying, then refreshed.
Crucially, iDBQuery never modifies your source systems. It only reads. And because it queries live rather than relying on a stale central copy, you avoid the freshness problems and pipeline maintenance that come with a warehouse. If keeping data local is a hard requirement, the Desktop app and Embedded SDK keep everything inside your boundary.
Updated 2026-06-22