Use connections other people shared
Open shared connections and accept Quick Share connections safely: what Oxys DB Studio removes from them, and why.
A connection you receive from someone else (from a shared folder, a Quick Share, or an imported connection file or link) was written on their computer. Some settings would make your computer act on the sender’s behalf: read one of your files and send it to a server, run a program, use your own Kerberos ticket or cloud identity, or accept any certificate. Oxys DB Studio removes those settings before the connection is saved or opened, and tells you what it removed.
Open a shared connection
- In My resources, expand the shared folder, then Shared connections.
- Right-click the connection and choose Connect.
- If the share carries no password, enter yours. It is used for this session only and never stored.
A shared connection opened this way is not copied to your local connections: it lives in memory for this session, follows the share (including its Read-Only Lock), and is forgotten when you disconnect. Opening it again selects the open one.
To keep your own copy instead, ask the sender for a Quick Share.
What is removed
Each removal comes with a sentence naming the setting and the tab where you can set it again, once you have decided that you trust this server.
| Setting in the received connection | What happens | Set it again on |
|---|---|---|
| OIDC token file | Removed: a received connection never reads files of this computer | Authentication tab |
| “Consider target endpoint trusted” | Turned off: your identity provider’s tokens would go to that server | Authentication tab |
| Confirmation to sign in with this computer’s AWS identity | Removed: you are asked again before it is used | Asked at connection time |
Authentication properties (authMechanismProperties, Kerberos service name, host or realm, cloud environment) | Removed: they make this computer sign in with its own identity to a server the sender chose | Authentication tab |
| Authentication or SSL options typed in the extra connection-string options | Removed: these belong on their own tabs, where you can see them | Authentication and SSL tabs |
| Custom IntelliShell executable | Removed: the shell of Preferences is used | IntelliShell tab |
Custom mongodump / mongorestore executable | Removed | MongoDB Tools tab |
SSH known_hosts file | Removed: your own is used | SSH tab |
| SSH private key, root CA file, client certificate on another machine (a network path) | Removed | SSH and SSL tabs |
| A proxy chosen by the sender (custom proxy, or proxy options in the connection string) | Removed: the connection goes direct | Proxy tab |
| “Accept any server SSL certificates”, “Allow invalid host names” and other lenient certificate options | Turned off | SSL tab |
Kept: a CA file, a client certificate or an SSH key that is a path on this computer. What they hold never leaves your machine, and connections to servers with a private CA need them.
The received connection is also validated: a bad name, invalid settings or an invalid colour make the share refused with a message, and nothing is saved.
Who can change a shared connection
Only members with Manage access can change where a shared connection points, how it authenticates or its Read-Only Lock, rename it, or delete it, and every member is notified. See access levels.
Tips
- Before using a newly shared connection, check its host and authentication in Edit (on the shared connection’s context menu).
- If your organisation uses a private CA, each member keeps the CA file at a local path and selects it on the SSL tab once.
- The remote task runner applies stricter checks to the connections it receives.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| A shared connection fails with an authentication error | A removed setting was needed (for example an authentication property). Check the listed removals and set it again if you trust the server |
| TLS fails on a received connection | The CA or client certificate path pointed to another machine and was removed: choose your local file on the SSL tab |
| The shared connection cannot be read or is not valid | The shared item is damaged or was made by a newer version; ask a manager to share it again |