sqlit

The lazygit of SQL databases

Connect and query your database from your terminal in seconds.

pipx install sqlit-tui

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Connect

Supports all major databases: SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MariaDB, FirebirdSQL, Oracle, DuckDB, CockroachDB, ClickHouse, Snowflake, Databricks, Supabase, CloudFlare D1, Turso, Athena, BigQuery, Spanner, RedShift, IBM Db2, SAP HANA, Teradata, Exasol, Trino, Presto, Apache Flight SQL, Apache Impala, SurrealDB and osquery.

Query

Syntax highlighting. History. Vim-style keybindings.

Results

Load millions of rows. Inspect data, filter by content, fuzzy search.

Docker Discovery

Automatically finds running database containers. Press ‘Enter’ to connect, sqlit figures out the details for you.

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Features

Connection manager: Save and switch connections without CLI args

Just run sqlit: No CLI config needed, pick a connection and go

Multi-database support: PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, SQL Server, and 10+ more

Docker integration: Auto-detect running database containers

Cloud CLI integration: Easily browse and connect to your external databases through Azure, AWS and GCP CLI’s

SSH tunnels: Connect to remote databases securely with password or key auth

Secure credentials: Passwords stored in your OS keyring

Vim-style editing: Modal editing for terminal purists

Query history: Searchable, per-connection history

Filter results: Fuzzy search through millions of rows

Context-aware help: Keybindings shown on screen

Browse databases: Tables, views, procedures, indexes, triggers, sequences

Autocomplete: Sophisticated SQL completion engine for tables, columns, and procedures

CLI mode: Execute SQL from the command line

Themes: Rose Pine, Tokyo Night, Nord, Gruvbox

Dependency wizard: Auto-install missing drivers

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Motivation

Throughout my career, the undesputed truth was that heavy GUI’s like SSMS was the only respectable way to access a database. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t a DBA, or that I didn’t need complex performance graphs. I was expected to install a gigabyte-heavy behemoth that took ages to launch all for the mere purpose of running a few queries to update and view a couple of rows.

When I switched to Linux, I was suddenly unable to return to the devil I know, and I asked myself: how do I access my data now?

The popular answer was VS Code’s SQL extension. But why should we developers launch a heavy Electron app designed for coding just to execute SQL?

I had recently grown fond of Terminal UI’s for their speed and keybinding focus. I looked for SQL TUIs, but the options were sparse. The ones I found lacked the user-friendliness and immediate “pick-up-and-go” nature of tools I loved, like lazygit, and I shortly returning to vscode sql extension.

Something wasn’t right. I asked myself, why is it that running SQL queries can’t be enjoyable? So I created sqlit.

sqlit is for the developer who just wants to query their database with a user friendly UI without their RAM being eaten alive. It is a lightweight, beautiful, and keyboard-driven TUI designed to make accessing your data enjoyable, fast and easy like it should be-- all from inside your favorite terminal.

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Installation

# pipx (recommended)
pipx install sqlit-tui

# uv
uv tool install sqlit-tui

# pip
pip install sqlit-tui

# Arch Linux (AUR)
yay -S sqlit

# Nix (flake)
nix run github:Maxteabag/sqlit

Usage

sqlit

The keybindings are shown at the bottom of the screen.

Try it without a database

Want to explore the UI without connecting to a real database? Run with mock data:

sqlit --mock=sqlite-demo

CLI

sqlit -c "MyConnection"
sqlit --connection "MyConnection"

# Run a query
sqlit query -c "MyConnection" -q "SELECT * FROM Users"

# Output as CSV or JSON
sqlit query -c "MyConnection" -q "SELECT * FROM Users" --format csv
sqlit query -c "MyConnection" -f "script.sql" --format json

# Create connections for different databases
sqlit connections add mssql --name "MySqlServer" --server "localhost" --auth-type sql
sqlit connections add postgresql --name "MyPostgres" --server "localhost" --username "user" --password "pass"
sqlit connections add mysql --name "MyMySQL" --server "localhost" --username "user" --password "pass"
sqlit connections add cockroachdb --name "MyCockroach" --server "localhost" --port "26257" --database "defaultdb" --username "root"
sqlit connections add sqlite --name "MyLocalDB" --file-path "/path/to/database.db"
sqlit connections add turso --name "MyTurso" --server "libsql://your-db.turso.io" --password "your-auth-token"
sqlit connections add firebird --name "MyFirebird" --server "localhost" --username "user" --password "pass" --database "employee"
sqlit connections add athena --name "MyAthena" --athena-region-name "us-east-1" --athena-s3-staging-dir "s3://my-bucket/results/" --athena-auth-method "profile" --athena-profile-name "default"
sqlit connections add athena --name "MyAthenaKeys" --athena-region-name "us-east-1" --athena-s3-staging-dir "s3://my-bucket/results/" --athena-auth-method "keys" --username "ACCESS_KEY" --password "SECRET_KEY"

# Connect via SSH tunnel
sqlit connections add postgresql --name "RemoteDB" --server "db-host" --username "dbuser" --password "dbpass" \
  --ssh-enabled --ssh-host "ssh.example.com" --ssh-username "sshuser" --ssh-auth-type password --ssh-password "sshpass"

# Fetch password from a secrets manager (1Password, pass, Vault, etc.)
sqlit connections add postgresql --name "ProdDB" --server "prod.example.com" --username "dbuser" \
  --password-command "op read 'op://Work/prod-db/password'"

# Temporary (not saved) connection
sqlit connect sqlite --file-path "/path/to/database.db"

# Connect via URL - scheme determines database type (postgresql://, mysql://, sqlite://, etc.)
sqlit postgresql://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb
sqlit mysql://root@localhost/testdb
sqlit sqlite:///path/to/database.db

# Save a connection via URL
sqlit connections add --url dbtype://user:pass@host/db --name "MyDB"

# Provider-specific CLI help
sqlit connect -h
sqlit connect supabase -h
sqlit connections add -h
sqlit connections add supabase -h

# Manage connections
sqlit connections list
sqlit connections delete "MyConnection"

Keybindings

Key	Action
i	Enter INSERT mode
Esc	Back to NORMAL mode
e / q / r	Focus Explorer / Query / Results
s	SELECT TOP 100 from table
h	Query history
d	Clear query
n	New query (clear all)
y	Copy query (when query editor is focused)
v / y / Y / a	View cell / Copy cell / Copy row / Copy all
Ctrl+Q	Quit
?	Help

Vim Motions (Query Editor, NORMAL mode)

Use with operators like y, d, c (e.g. dw, y$).

Motion	Action
h / j / k / l	Move cursor left / down / up / right
w / W	Next word / WORD
b / B	Previous word / WORD
0 / $	Line start / end
gg / G	File start / end
f{c} / F{c}	Find char forward / backward
t{c} / T{c}	Till char forward / backward
%	Matching bracket

Commands Menu (<space>)

Key	Action
<space>c	Connect to database
<space>x	Disconnect
<space>z	Cancel running query
<space>e	Toggle Explorer
<space>f	Toggle Maximize
<space>t	Change theme
<space>h	Help
<space>q	Quit

Autocomplete triggers automatically in INSERT mode. Use Tab to accept.

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Configuration

Connections and settings are stored in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/sqlit/ (default: ~/.config/sqlit/). Override the location by setting SQLIT_CONFIG_DIR.

Custom keybindings

Edit the keymap.json file in your sqlit config dir. See config/keymap.template.json for the full default keymap. Keymap.json need to only contain the overriding keymaps.

Commands from the main leader menu can also be bound directly in an app scope:

{
  "keymap": {
    "action_keys": {
      "query_normal": { "edit_query_in_editor": "ctrl+g" }
    }
  }
}

This keeps the leader shortcut and adds ctrl+g in the query editor’s normal mode. Other examples include format_query, telescope, and change_theme. Direct bindings retain command guards and state restrictions. Conflicting keys are rejected; unbind or remap the existing action to free its key. Use a list for aliases, or null to remove a direct binding without changing the leader menu. Vim submenu motions and dialog scopes are not supported for this promotion.

FAQ

How are sensitive credentials stored?

Connection details are stored in connections.json inside the config directory, but passwords are stored in your OS keyring when available (macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Locker, Linux Secret Service).

How does sqlit compare to Harlequin, Lazysql, etc.?

sqlit is inspired by lazygit - you can just jump in and there’s no need for external documentation. The keybindings are shown at the bottom of the screen and the UI is designed to be intuitive without memorizing shortcuts.

Key differences:

• No need for external documentation - Sqlit embrace the “lazy” approach in that a user should be able to jump in and use it right away intuitively. There should be no setup instructions. If python packages are required for certain adapters, sqlit will help you install them as you need them.
• No CLI config required - Just run sqlit and pick a connection from the UI
• Lightweight - While Lazysql or Harlequin offer more features, I experienced that for the vast majority of cases, all I needed was a simple and fast way to connect and run queries. Sqlit is focused on doing a limited amount of things really well.

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Inspiration

sqlit is built with Textual and inspired by:

• lazygit - Simple TUI for git
• lazysql - Terminal-based SQL client with connection manager

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup, testing, and CI steps.

Driver Reference

Most of the time you can just run sqlit and connect. If a Python driver is missing, sqlit will show (and often run) the right install command for your environment.

Database	Driver package	pipx	pip / venv
SQLite	(built-in)	(built-in)	(built-in)
PostgreSQL / CockroachDB / Supabase	psycopg2-binary	pipx inject sqlit-tui psycopg2-binary	python -m pip install psycopg2-binary
SQL Server	mssql-python	pipx inject sqlit-tui mssql-python	python -m pip install mssql-python
MySQL	PyMySQL	pipx inject sqlit-tui PyMySQL	python -m pip install PyMySQL
MariaDB	PyMySQL	pipx inject sqlit-tui PyMySQL	python -m pip install PyMySQL
Oracle	oracledb	pipx inject sqlit-tui oracledb	python -m pip install oracledb
DuckDB	duckdb	pipx inject sqlit-tui duckdb	python -m pip install duckdb
ClickHouse	clickhouse-connect	pipx inject sqlit-tui clickhouse-connect	python -m pip install clickhouse-connect
Turso	libsql	pipx inject sqlit-tui libsql	python -m pip install libsql
Cloudflare D1	requests	pipx inject sqlit-tui requests	python -m pip install requests
Snowflake	snowflake-connector-python	pipx inject sqlit-tui snowflake-connector-python	python -m pip install snowflake-connector-python
Databricks	databricks-sql-connector	pipx inject sqlit-tui databricks-sql-connector databricks-sdk	python -m pip install databricks-sql-connector databricks-sdk
Firebird	firebirdsql	pipx inject sqlit-tui firebirdsql	python -m pip install firebirdsql
Athena	pyathena	pipx inject sqlit-tui pyathena	python -m pip install pyathena
BigQuery	google-cloud-bigquery	pipx inject sqlit-tui google-cloud-bigquery	python -m pip install google-cloud-bigquery
Spanner	google-cloud-spanner	pipx inject sqlit-tui google-cloud-spanner	python -m pip install google-cloud-spanner
Exasol	pyexasol	pipx inject sqlit-tui pyexasol	python -m pip install pyexasol
Apache Arrow Flight SQL	adbc-driver-flightsql	pipx inject sqlit-tui adbc-driver-flightsql	python -m pip install adbc-driver-flightsql
Apache Impala	impyla	pipx inject sqlit-tui impyla	python -m pip install impyla
Trino	trino	pipx inject sqlit-tui trino	python -m pip install trino
SurrealDB	surrealdb	pipx inject sqlit-tui surrealdb	python -m pip install surrealdb
osquery	osquery	pipx inject sqlit-tui osquery	python -m pip install osquery

SSH Tunnel Support

SSH tunnel functionality requires additional dependencies. Install with the ssh extra:

# pipx
pipx install 'sqlit-tui[ssh]'

# uv
uv tool install 'sqlit-tui[ssh]'

# pip
pip install 'sqlit-tui[ssh]'

If you try to create an SSH connection without these dependencies, sqlit will detect this and show you the exact command to install them for your environment.

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Star History

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License

MIT