# Workspace database queries that hold up on real data

> Apps and workflows now look up long lists, search long phrases, and import wide tables without tripping database limits that small tests never hit.

Oct 14, 2026. Topics: Apps, Workflows. https://www.generalinput.com/changelog/2026-10-14-workspace-database-query-limits

Hosted [workspace databases](/changelog/2026-03-26-workspace-databases) refuse a query past a few fixed limits, and each of them hides during testing. An app that looked up one row per price-list line worked on a short test list and failed on the real one. Specialists now write queries that stay inside the limits however much data arrives, and when a query does go over, the error says how to fix it.

### How it works

- **Long lists go in as one value.** A lookup by hundreds of ids passes the whole list as a single JSON value instead of one placeholder per id, so it works past the limit of 100 values per statement.
- **Search that takes long phrases.** A search box matches with a substring check rather than a LIKE pattern, which is capped at 50 bytes and fails once someone searches for a long phrase.
- **Wide imports fit.** A table holds at most 100 columns, so a wide spreadsheet keeps its extra fields together in one JSON column.
- **Errors that name the fix.** A query refused for any of these limits, or for a statement over 100 KB, comes back with the limit it hit and the way around it, so the agent corrects its own query.

### Also shipped

- **Several statements, one transaction.** A query of several statements now runs all of them or none and answers with the last statement's rows, where before only the first statement's rows came back.
- **SQL Server text stays as written.** A dollar amount inside quoted text, such as 'Save $10', is no longer mistaken for a query parameter on connected SQL Server databases.