Chapter 12

Troubleshooting and FAQ

Answers to common questions, what Rowan's error messages mean, where it keeps your files, and how to report a problem.

Connection errors#

Rowan reports why a connection failed in plain words. See If a connection fails for the common messages and what to check. A few more situations:

Connection lost: The network dropped, the server restarted, or an idle connection was cut. The status pill says so; choose Reconnect, or press Ctrl+Shift+R. Turn on Keep connection alive in Settings > General to stop idle connections being dropped.
The server is taking too long to respond: A query has had no answer for the query timeout. Choose Wait if it's just slow, or Reconnect if the connection may be gone. After reconnecting, check whether the query ran before running it again.
Statements stop after 30 seconds: That's the statement timeout. Change it in Settings > Security, or run SET statement_timeout in the editor for one session.
The password command failed: With Command Line as the password source, the command must print the password on its first line within 20 seconds. Rowan shows its exit code; the SSH & Bash script log has its error output.

SSH errors#

For an SSH connection, Test reports the SSH step and the PostgreSQL step separately. Show Details lists each step of the SSH sign-in.

Message	What it means
Couldn't find the host name.	The SSH host name doesn't resolve. Check its spelling, your network and VPN.
Host refused the connection on port 22.	Nothing is listening there. Check the SSH port, and that the SSH server is running.
Host didn't answer on port 22 within the time.	A firewall may be dropping the connection, or the host is down.
Host didn't answer as an SSH server.	Something else is on that port. Check the port number.
Host only signs in with a key.	Set Sign In With to Key, and pick the key, or leave it empty to use your agent and usual keys.
Host doesn't take keys; it signs in with a password.	Set Sign In With to Password.
The SSH password for user was turned down.	Check the SSH user and password.
The key file couldn't be read.	The key needs its passphrase, or the passphrase is wrong.
The server turned down the key file.	The key isn't authorized for that SSH user on the server.
No key signed in.	None of the keys in your agent, `~/.ssh/config` or the usual places was accepted.
The host key for host has changed.	The server's key isn't the one Rowan saved. See If a host key changes.
The host key is marked revoked.	Your `known_hosts` marks this key as revoked, so Rowan won't connect.

The SSH & Bash script log#

For stubborn problems, choose Help > Enable SSH & Bash Script Log, try again, then choose Help > Show SSH & Bash Script Log. The log lists each SSH step and its result, and each password command's exit code and error output. It never contains a password.

Where Rowan keeps its files#

Rowan keeps its data in its own folder in your Windows profile: %APPDATA%\Rowan\Rowan for a regular install. Installed from the Microsoft Store, Rowan keeps its data in the app's own storage instead. Either way, right-click a saved query and choose Show in Explorer to open its Queries folder there.

What	Where
Connections	`connections.json` in Rowan's folder, plus the `connections.json` of any connection source you've added. Passwords aren't in it.
Passwords and the passcode	Windows Credential Manager, under Rowan.
Saved queries	The `Queries` folder: one folder per connection, plus `All Connections`, as plain `.sql` files.
History and open tabs	`history.sqlite`.
Metrics Boards	`metrics-boards.json`.
Vim settings	`rowan.vimrc`.
SSH host keys	Rowan's own `known_hosts` file. Your `~/.ssh/known_hosts` is read but never changed.
SSH & Bash script log	`ssh-and-script.log`, when turned on.

To keep saved queries, history and open tabs somewhere else, such as a synced folder, change Queries and History in Settings > Connections. Rowan moves what's there for you.

Tip

To move to a new PC, export your connections from the welcome window, and copy the Queries folder. See Import and export connections.

Performance tips#

Big tables are fine. Rowan pages by primary key, so scrolling and jumping through millions of rows stays quick. Tables without a usable key page by offset, which slows down deep into a huge table; a primary key helps.
Counting is the slow part. Exact counts on huge tables take a full scan, so Rowan shows an estimate until you ask. Leave Count rows exactly at its default in Settings > Table.
Keep the row limit. The editor's row limit stops a careless SELECT * from fetching millions of rows. Raise it, or use Load More, when you need more.
Many schemas? Turn on Lazy Load Items in Schema in the sidebar's ⋯ menu, so Rowan reads each schema's items only when you show it.
Long-running work, like exports and backups, runs in the background on its own connection; there's no need to wait for it.
Charts draw up to 100,000 rows. Group or filter in the query for more.

Frequently asked questions#

Why didn't my edit change the database?#

Edits are staged until you commit them. Press Ctrl+S or click Commit. See How changes are staged.

Why can't I edit this table?#

It has no primary key, the connection is read-only, or it's a view. Rowan says which above the grid. For query results, double-click a cell to see why it can't be edited.

Does Rowan work with MySQL or SQLite?#

Not yet. Rowan is built for PostgreSQL, and works with anything that speaks the PostgreSQL protocol.

I closed a tab by mistake.#

Press Ctrl+Shift+T to reopen it, with its text. Editor tabs are saved as you type.

Can I undo a commit?#

Not automatically, since it's in the database. History keeps every commit's statements and the old values of the rows it changed, so you can put them back by hand.

How do I switch between light and dark?#

Rowan follows Windows. To choose yourself, open Settings > Fonts & Colors and set Theme.

Report a bug#

If something isn't right, we'd like to hear about it.

Choose Help > Report Bug & Feedback… (Ctrl+Shift+/). Rowan opens the support page with your build details already filled in.
Describe what you did, what you expected, and what happened instead. A screenshot helps.

To copy the build details yourself, open Settings > About and choose Copy Build Info. It copies Rowan's version and build date, the Qt version, your Windows version and the PostgreSQL client library version.

Rowan for Postgres 0.1.0 (built 2026-11-10)
Qt 6.11.1
Windows 11 Version 25H2 (x86_64)
libpq 17.5