steampipe config option port to allow ranges of ports

[TheWing]

We are using steampipe on a shared virtual machine with multiple concurrent users, and noticed it tries to run all instances using the same port defined in the options.

Instead of modifying the port config per user manually, it would be nice if one could specify a range of ports to use.

According to https://steampipe.io/docs/reference/config-files/options, the port parameter can be used to set a port used for the database connection. This seems to only be a single port, but could perhaps support a port range?

We've contemplated writing a small bash wrapper to check the ports that are in use and select next available one, or to instruct users to specify their own port manually

[TheWing]

our actual solution might be to run the database as a service, but in that case we'd like to run steampipe query and have it connect to a database open elsewhere

[pskrbasu]

Thanks for raising the issue @TheWing. This is a feature request that would require some thought and design discussions. Meanwhile, if you have a way in mind, you can have a stab and create a pull request. We would be more than willing to assist you if you decide to contribute.

[e-gineer]

BTW you can already connect steampipe CLI to a separate running steampipe instance - e.g. Steampipe hosted on Turbot Pipes - please see workspaces https://steampipe.io/docs/managing/workspaces

If you use --install-dir and --port then you can set a separate port for each running steampipe instance. This allows you to run multiple at once. Workspaces also make these easier to work with.

I don't really understand the case for a range of ports? I'll also note that the CLI experience tries to optimize for a single user on their machine overall. For multiple users I'd recommend you check out Turbot Pipes https://turbot.com/pipes