fix(sidebar): refuse a saved query too large to sync instead of cutting it short

[datlechin]

Summary

Saving a query longer than 500,000 characters as a favorite stored a truncated copy with nothing on screen. A 10,000-line seed script (about 690 KB) was saved and synced cut off mid-statement. The dialog now keeps the whole query. A saved query too large to sync is refused with an inline message and a dimmed Save button.

Found while investigating #2505.

Root cause

FavoriteEditDialog.save() checked (query as NSString).length > 500_000 and then stored String(query.prefix(500_000)): a Character-count prefix of a UTF-16 length check. There was no message and Save stayed enabled. The cap came in with the first favorites commit (#332), before favorites synced, and nothing local needs it. SQLite and the FTS5 index store the full text, and a new storage test round-trips an 830 KB query intact.

The real limit is iCloud. query is a plain String field on the SQLFavorite CKRecord (SyncRecordMapper.toCKRecord(sqlFavorite:)). Apple's CKRecord documentation, under Supported Data Types, says: "the data that a record stores must not exceed 1 MB. Assets don't count toward this limit, but all other data types do." The old check also measured the wrong unit. 500,000 UTF-16 units of CJK text is 1.5 MB of UTF-8, which CloudKit rejects. A rejected record keeps its dirty flag and is retried on every sync.

Fix

• SQLFavoriteSizeValidation (valid / tooLarge) counts the UTF-8 bytes of name + query + keyword, the text the synced record carries, against maximumSyncableByteCount = 900_000. That leaves 100 KB under the 1 MB record limit for ids, dates and field names.
• SQLFavoriteEditValidation.canSave takes the size result. The dialog dims Save and shows a red message under the query, in the same style as the keyword field's message: "Saved queries are limited to 900 KB so they fit in iCloud. Save a query this large as a .sql file instead."
• The dialog's save logic moved into SQLFavoriteEditDraft: trimming, newFavorite() and applied(to:at:). The size check reads exactly the values that get saved, and the no-truncation behaviour is testable. save() also guards isValid.
• Docs: one sentence in docs/features/favorites.mdx states the limit and points bigger scripts to linked SQL folders.

Cost: utf8.count on a string bridged from NSTextView is O(n). Measured at about 2 ms for a 960 KB query and about 20 microseconds for a 10 KB one. It runs twice per dialog render.

Tests

• SQLFavoriteSizeValidationTests: exactly at the limit is valid. One byte over is too large and the message names the limit. A 700,000-character seed script (past the old cap) is valid. 300,001 CJK characters are too large even though they are under 500,000 UTF-16 units. Name and keyword count toward the limit.
• SQLFavoriteEditValidationTests: too large blocks save.
• SQLFavoriteEditDraftTests: a new or edited favorite keeps a 687,787-character script whole, including its last statement. Editing keeps the id, sort order and creation date. Name and keyword are trimmed and a blank keyword is dropped. Folder and scope carry through. The size check reads the trimmed values.
• SQLFavoriteStorageTests: a query past 500,000 characters is stored and read back whole.

No UI test: showing the message needs close to 1 MB of text typed or pasted into a TextEditor, and that does not drive deterministically under XCUITest.

[mintlify]

Preview deployment for your docs. Learn more about Mintlify Previews.

Project	Status	Preview	Updated
TablePro	🟢 Ready	View Preview	Sep 23, 2026, 3:20 PM

💡 Tip: Enable Automations to automatically generate PRs for you.