# Using the Management UI

This guide introduces the **Management UI** of EventSourcingDB. The UI provides a convenient way to **monitor the system state** and **query events** without writing code.

## Overview

The Management UI consists of two main views:

- *(Changed in 1.3)* A **Dashboard** that displays the **current system health**, including **event counts**, **license usage**, available **disk space**, **memory usage**, and **other operational metrics**.
- An **EventQL Query Editor** that allows you to write and execute **[EventQL queries](/learn/tutorials/first-steps-with-eventsourcingdb/running-eventql-queries)** with a familiar developer experience, including **syntax highlighting**, **auto-completion**, **error checking**, and **real-time feedback**.

*(Removed in 1.3)* Additionally, the Query Editor can integrate **EventAI**, an **AI-based assistant** that helps you design EventQL queries through natural language conversations.

## Accessing the Management UI

*(Changed in 1.3)* The Management UI is available only when EventSourcingDB is started with the **`--with-ui`** CLI flag. **Authentication is required** to access the UI: simply provide the **API token** configured for the database.

> **Security Notice**
>
> The Management UI is intended **only for development and debugging purposes**. It should **never be exposed to the public internet**.

## Using EventAI *(Removed in 1.3)*

To use **EventAI** inside the EventQL editor, you must configure an external language model. Only **GPT-4o** from OpenAI is supported, with the model identifier **`openai-gpt-4o`**.

EventAI is **disabled by default**. It requires both the **`--ai-model`** and the **`--ai-option`** CLI flags when starting EventSourcingDB, the latter with your OpenAI API token in the form `token=<OPENAI_API_TOKEN>`. For example:

```shell
docker run -it -p 3000:3000 \
  thenativeweb/eventsourcingdb:1.2.0 run \
  --api-token=secret \
  --data-directory-temporary \
  --http-enabled \
  --https-enabled=false \
  --with-ui \
  --ai-model openai-gpt-4o \
  --ai-option token=<OPENAI_API_TOKEN>
```

Once it is configured, EventAI appears as a panel in the EventQL editor. Describe in natural language what you want to query, and EventAI generates an EventQL query from your prompt and the **registered event schemas** and puts it into the editor, where you can review and run it. It keeps the conversation of your session, so that you can **refine a query step by step**, and it checks the queries it generates and tries to fix invalid ones.

> **External Service and Costs**
>
> EventAI uses the OpenAI API, which is a **paid service**: each query you generate incurs costs. Additionally, your **event schemas**, your **prompts**, and the queries of the conversation are **sent to OpenAI's servers**. The events themselves are not.

## Dashboard View

*(Changed in 1.3)* The dashboard provides a **visual overview of the database status**. It aggregates information available from the **health endpoint** and presents it in an easy-to-read format.

![Dashboard View](/docs/eventsourcingdb/images/management-ui/dashboard-view.png)

For additional details, see **[Logging and Monitoring](/docs/eventsourcingdb/v1.2/logging-and-monitoring)**.

## EventQL View

The **EventQL editor** enables you to **write and execute queries** directly against the event store.

![EventQL View](/docs/eventsourcingdb/images/management-ui/eventql-view.png)

For more information, see **[Running EventQL Queries](/learn/tutorials/first-steps-with-eventsourcingdb/running-eventql-queries)**.