--- title: "User Guides" description: "Task-oriented guides for using and operating HeliosDB Full: connecting, querying, configuration, replication, security, data models and AI features." --- Task-oriented guides for using and operating HeliosDB Full. For a guided tour, start with [Getting Started](/docs/full/guides/user/getting_started/) and [Connecting](/docs/full/guides/user/connecting/). ## Getting started - [Getting Started with HeliosDB](/docs/full/guides/user/getting_started/) — Install, start a node and run your first queries. - [Connecting to HeliosDB](/docs/full/guides/user/connecting/) — Connecting with protocols, drivers and command-line tools. - [Querying Data in HeliosDB](/docs/full/guides/user/querying/) — Writing queries, from basic SELECT statements to advanced features. - [HeliosDB Data Types Reference](/docs/full/guides/user/data_types/) — Supported data types and how they map to SQL. - [HeliosDB Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)](/docs/full/guides/user/faq/) — Answers to common questions about HeliosDB Full. - [HeliosDB User Documentation Index](/docs/full/guides/user/user_documentation_index/) — Overview of the user documentation. - [HeliosDB Zero-Code Developer Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/zero_code_developer_guide/) — Building on HeliosDB with minimal application code. ## Configuration and performance - [HeliosDB Configuration Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/configuration_guide/) — Server configuration options and how to set them. - [HeliosDB Caching Configuration Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/caching_configuration_guide/) — Configuring the cache layers. - [HeliosDB Performance Tuning Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/performance_tuning_guide/) — Tuning for OLTP, analytical and mixed workloads. - [HeliosDB Performance Tuning Playbook](/docs/full/guides/user/performance_tuning_playbook/) — Step-by-step playbook for diagnosing performance problems. - [Enhanced EXPLAIN PLAN User Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/explain_plan_guide/) — Reading query plans with EXPLAIN. - [HeliosDB Query Optimization Troubleshooting Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/query_optimization_troubleshooting_guide/) — Diagnosing slow queries and plan problems. - [HeliosDB Workload Management User Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/workload_management_user_guide/) — Resource groups, priorities and workload isolation. - [HeliosDB Full-Text Search Tuning Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/full_text_search_tuning_guide/) — Configuring and tuning full-text search. - [HeliosDB Quantum Optimization Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/quantum_optimization_guide/) — Quantum-inspired optimization for complex query plans. ## Transactions, replication and availability - [HeliosDB Transactions User Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/transactions_user_guide/) — Transaction semantics, isolation levels and usage. - [HeliosDB Deadlock Prevention Operations Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/deadlock_prevention_operations_guide/) — Detecting, preventing and resolving deadlocks. - [PostgreSQL 17 Advisory Locks - User Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/postgresql_17_advisory_locks_guide/) — Application-level locking with advisory locks. - [HeliosDB Replication Operations Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/replication_operations_guide/) — Setting up and operating replication. - [Multi-Master Replication Operations Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/multi_master_replication_operations/) — Operating multi-master (active-active) replication. - [HeliosDB High Availability Operational Procedures](/docs/full/guides/user/high_availability_operational_procedures/) — Failover, switchover and HA maintenance procedures. - [HeliosDB Sharding Strategy Decision Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/sharding_strategy_decision_guide/) — Choosing shard keys and sharding strategies. - [HeliosDB Backup & Recovery Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/backup_recovery_guide/) — Backup strategies, restore and point-in-time recovery. - [HeliosDB Time-Travel Debugging User Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/time_travel_debugging_user_guide/) — Querying historical states of your data. ## Security and compliance - [HeliosDB Security Best Practices](/docs/full/features/security/security-best-practices/) — Hardening a HeliosDB Full deployment. - [Backup Encryption Regulatory Compliance Matrix](/docs/full/guides/user/backup_encryption_regulatory_compliance_matrix/) — How backup encryption maps to regulatory requirements. - [Backup Encryption: Consumer Protection & Privacy Impact Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/backup_encryption_consumer_protection_guide/) — Privacy considerations for encrypted backups. - [HeliosDB Data Quality Management Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/data_quality_management_guide/) — Defining and enforcing data quality rules. ## Data models and integration - [HeliosDB Multi-Model Data Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/multi_model_data_guide/) — Working with relational, document, graph and other data models together. - [HeliosDB Document Store Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/document_store_guide/) — Storing and querying JSON documents. - [HeliosDB Geospatial Operations Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/geospatial_operations_guide/) — Spatial data types, indexes and queries. - [HeliosDB Lakehouse Integration User Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/lakehouse_integration_user_guide/) — Working with lakehouse table formats. - [HeliosDB Multi-Cloud Federation User Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/multi_cloud_federation_guide/) — Querying data held in cloud object storage. - [Oracle 23ai Compatibility Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/oracle_23ai_compatibility_guide/) — Oracle compatibility status and migration paths. ## AI and machine learning - [Autonomous Database Operations Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/autonomous_database_operations_guide/) — Automated tuning and maintenance features. - [HeliosDB AI Schema Architect User Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/ai_schema_architect_user_guide/) — Generating schema proposals from natural-language descriptions. - [HeliosDB Advanced ML Integration Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/advanced_ml_integration_guide/) — Integrating machine-learning models with the database. - [HeliosDB Tier 2/3 AI/ML Features User Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/tier2_tier3_ai_ml_user_guide/) — Learned query optimisation and other AI/ML features. - [HeliosDB Federated Learning User Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/federated_learning_user_guide/) — Training models across datasets without centralising the data. - [SQL-Native RAG User Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/sql_native_rag_user_guide/) — Retrieval-augmented generation from SQL. - [HeliosDB Multimodal Vector Search User Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/multimodal_vector_search_user_guide/) — Vector search across text, image, audio and video embeddings. - [Vector INSERT Examples - Quick Reference](/docs/full/guides/user/vector_insert_examples/) — Examples of inserting vector data. - [Conversational BI Production Deployment Runbook](/docs/full/guides/user/conversational_bi_production_deployment/) — Deploying conversational BI to production. - [Conversational BI Performance Optimization Guide](/docs/full/guides/user/conversational_bi_performance_optimization_guide/) — Tuning conversational BI workloads. ## Migration guides - [Migrating from Oracle to HeliosDB](/docs/full/guides/oracle_migration/) — Moving Oracle schemas, PL/SQL and data. - [Migrating from MongoDB to HeliosDB](/docs/full/guides/mongodb_migration/) — Moving MongoDB collections and queries. - [Migrating from Cassandra to HeliosDB](/docs/full/guides/cassandra_migration/) — Moving Cassandra keyspaces and CQL workloads.