How to Add and Use a Database in ChanTan Studio

Give your app a memory in about a minute. Connect a database with one click, see the data your app saved, edit rows by hand, and ask questions in plain English.

Without a database, your app forgets everything the moment someone closes the page. With one, it can have real accounts, save what people type, and show the same information on any device.

You do not have to understand databases. The AI creates the lists and columns, writes all the saving and loading code, and turns on data protection for you.

1. Open "Manage ▾" → "Database"

At the top of your project, press "Manage ▾", then "Database".

If this project has never had a database, you get a chooser instead of data, headed "Welcome to Database" — "Add a database to store user accounts, save data permanently, and build apps with login, forms, and persistent state."

2. Choose "⚡ Chantan database"

Press "Connect now →" under "⚡ Chantan database". That's the one-click option and the right answer for almost everyone.

Choose "🔷 Your Supabase" only if you already have a Supabase account and specifically want the data to live in it.

3. Wait about a minute

The closest region to you is picked automatically. You'll see "Setting up your database…" — "Creating your managed database — this usually takes about a minute. The full manager opens automatically when it's ready."

✅ Done. The manager opens by itself. You should now see your app's data screen instead of the chooser — and your app can save things permanently.

You can also just ask in the chat

Type something like "add login" or "save data" and the AI shows the same picker.

When the AI works out that a feature needs saved data, it stops before writing any code and shows a card in the conversation:

"Your app needs a database" — "Defaulting to Chantan DB unless you choose another option."

The ChanTan option is marked "Default" with a 7-second countdown — "Auto-connects in {seconds}s" — so doing nothing is a valid answer. The alternatives are "Connect your own Supabase" and "No database — build with local state only". When it works you'll see "Connected — continuing your build…"

Looking at your data

Once connected, "Manage ▾" → "Database" opens the "Database" page — "View and manage the data stored in your app."

You see the lists your app saves, each with a row count. Click one to open its records.

If you see "Cannot update row. This table does not have a primary key.", that list has no unique ID column, so single records can't be changed from this screen. Ask for the change in the chat instead.

Asking questions in plain English

The "Query your data" box lets you ask things like "Show me all users who signed up in the last 7 days". It has three modes — "Chat", "SQL" and "Chart" — and can draw a chart once you pick the two axes.

This box can only look, never change. Ask it to modify something and it answers "You can't directly alter your database schema, use chat instead". That's the correct advice: type structural changes in the chat.

⚠️ The "SQL Editor" under "Advanced" is a different thing and it is powerful. It warns you — "Heads up: Commands here run on your live database and can change or remove data. Double-check before you run." — and then runs immediately, with no second confirmation and no undo. Most owners never need it.

Connecting your own Supabase

Choosing "🔷 Your Supabase" opens a guided form headed "3-minute setup — follow these steps":

1. Create a Supabase project if you don't have one.
2. Copy your URL and your anon (public) key. "⚠ Do NOT use service_role — it has full admin access and should never be shared."
3. Run the setup command it gives you, using the "Copy Setup SQL" button — "This creates the data table + storage buckets your app needs. One-time, safe to re-run."
4. Optional: an advanced box that lets the AI build server-side integrations on your own Supabase. Without it, all your data and file features still work.

Then press "Test & Connect".

One limit to know: while your project uses your own Supabase, ChanTan can't add, edit or delete the people who sign in to your app — it tells you "Open the Auth tab in your Supabase dashboard." Your usage is also tracked there: "Usage is managed in your own Supabase."

Your data is secured for you

You don't switch it on. "Your data is automatically secured" — "Chantan turns on data protection for every table when you publish — you don't need to do anything."

The "Suggestions" screen offers optional extras (making public files private, blocking passwords known to be leaked, adding two-step sign-in). None of them has a fix button — each says to ask ChanTan in the chat, which is the right route.

What it costs

Included free with every project: 0.5 GB of database storage, 1 GB of files and 50,000 active users a month — plus the Free plan's allowance of 10,000 rows, 1,000 users and 500 MB.

Beyond the free allowance the product discloses rates — 31.25 credits per GB of database storage per month, 5.25 credits per GB of file storage per month, 0.8125 credits per active user per month. Charging for this metered usage is currently switched off, so those amounts are shown but not taken today. Don't assume it stays free forever.

If a paid level can't be covered by your wallet for a day, the project quietly drops back to Free — your data is never deleted. You're warned first: "Low credits. Top up to keep your database fast — your data is always safe."

Speed levels ("Database performance")

Every paid level needs a quick administrator approval, even though only "Dedicated" says so on its card. After requesting you'll see "Request sent. An admin will review your upgrade shortly — you'll be switched over automatically once it's approved." Switching takes about a minute and your data stays safe throughout.

Honest limits

• Undo restores your files and code, never your data. Deleted records are gone. That's exactly why the AI stops and asks you to confirm in the chat before running anything that permanently deletes data — take that prompt seriously.
• There is no self-service restore button for database data. If you need data restored, contact support — what is and isn't backed up spells out exactly what exists.
• Bulk-exporting all your app data isn't a one-button feature. "Export CSV" downloads what's on screen; for more, ask the AI in the chat to build an export inside your own app.
• "Sign-in settings" is written in developer language and is easy to break. Leave it alone unless the AI specifically told you to change something there — ask in the chat instead. Only a fixed list of settings can be changed from ChanTan; anything else is refused with "One or more auth settings are not allowed."

If something looks wrong