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FAQ

FAQ

Do I need to write SQL myself or can my AI agent do that?

While you are welcome to use PlyDB with hand-crafted SQL, AI agents can be very good at writing SQL too — exploring, understanding, and analyzing datasets — even if your data is less organized than you’d like.

Should I use MCP or CLI?

It depends on your workflow and your agent’s capabilities. See the MCP vs CLI comparison for a detailed breakdown.

In short: the CLI approach is more dynamic — agents can reconfigure PlyDB between calls, changing config files or evolving semantic context overlays on the fly. MCP requires a server restart to pick up configuration changes.

Your choice may also be informed by your agent’s limitations around shell access. For example, OpenClaw allows very permissive system access, while Claude Cowork operates in an isolated sandbox that limits tools and networking, and Claude Code is somewhere in the middle.

When first setting up or evolving your configuration, we recommend pairing a CLI-capable agent with PlyDB. This lets the agent actively assist with data source setup and capture semantics into a context overlay. Once your configuration has stabilized, transition to whichever method works best for your preferred agent.

How organized should my data be?

Even if your data isn’t well organized, you may be pleasantly surprised at how capable AI agents are at making sense of it. We suggest you give it a shot!

After a session of data analysis, ask your AI agent to distill its learnings about your data’s semantics and write a semantic context overlay to record its findings for future sessions.

Can I have an AI agent write my PlyDB config file for me?

Yes! Install the PlyDB Agent Skill or point your agent at the config file documentation and tell it about the data sources you want to configure.

Can I have an AI agent write my semantic context overlays for me?

Yes! Install the PlyDB Agent Skill to teach your agent about PlyDB semantic context overlays.

Try asking your agent to write an overlay file after a data analysis session — it’s a particularly good opportunity to capture learnings for future sessions.

Does the PlyDB CLI work with Claude Code?

Yes. Claude Code can run any tool available on your system (with your permission), so there are no sandboxing restrictions. Both relative and absolute paths work.

Does the PlyDB CLI work with Claude Cowork?

Yes, but with some limitations:

  • The plydb binary must be in a directory you’ve granted Claude access to (e.g. your project workspace).
  • Network access is restricted from within the sandbox, so PlyDB cannot connect to networked data sources (PostgreSQL, MySQL, S3, Google Sheets) or download extensions for its data connectors.

For local file sources (CSV, JSON, etc.), the CLI works fine. For networked data sources, use MCP instead.

Supported Data Sources