DBison

A desktop database client for PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and SQLite that stays out of the way.

Download · Features · Build from source · Contributing · Support

• One window, no clutter. One explorer, a query editor that knows your schema, and a grid you edit in place.
• Keyboard first. A command palette (Ctrl+K), a fuzzy filter over every object, and shortcuts for everything you do often.
• Safe by default. A DELETE or UPDATE without a WHERE asks first, read-only connections are enforced by the app itself, and every schema change shows its SQL before it runs.
• Private. No account, no telemetry, no ads. Passwords are kept in your operating system's keychain.
• Open source. Released under the AGPL-3.0, so you can read every line that touches your credentials.

Get the installer for Windows, macOS (Apple silicon) or Linux (.deb and .rpm) from dbison.app. Installed copies update themselves.

• Query editor (Monaco) with completions drawn from the live schema and JOIN suggestions that follow foreign keys.
• Run the statement at the cursor, or a whole script with one result tab per statement.
• EXPLAIN, with a visual plan tree that shows rows, cost and time per step.
• Bind parameters, manual transactions, formatting, history and .sql files.
• Saved queries: name a statement, tag it, and keep it for one connection or all of them.

• A grid that stages your edits and writes them in one transaction.
• Quick filters, selection statistics, pinned columns, and a value viewer with a JSON tree and image preview.
• Copy as INSERT, Markdown, JSON or CSV, and paste straight from a spreadsheet.
• Table tabs with a WHERE box, server-side sorting and paging, and an exact row count on demand.
• Record view (F4) shows the focused row as a form beside the grid.
• Import a CSV or other delimited file into a table with column mapping. Export every row of a table or result to CSV, TSV, JSON or SQL INSERTs, streamed past the grid's row limit.

• Relationship diagram of the whole database, exportable as SVG or PNG. Positions you drag are remembered.
• Structure and DDL views for every table.
• Structure editing: add, rename, change and drop columns; create and drop indexes; rename, drop and create tables from a form.
• Backup and restore through the engine's own tools (pg_dump/psql, mysqldump/mysql, sqlite3), with the connection's settings and tunnel.

• SSL with certificate verification, SSH tunnels, and connection URLs you can paste.
• A colour and a read-only mark per connection. The read-only mark is enforced by the app's core process, not just the dialog.
• Folders, duplication, and import and export of profiles: the app's own JSON, .pgpass, or a list of URLs.

• Tabs and splits that survive restarts, zoom, and light and dark themes.
• Unsaved work asks before a tab or the window closes.
• A log file (Help ▸ Open Log Folder) that catches errors, for when something goes wrong.

Bug reports, ideas and pull requests are welcome; start with CONTRIBUTING.md. To run DBison from source, see docs/DEVELOPMENT.md. Please report security problems privately, as described in SECURITY.md.

DBison is built by one person. If it saves you time, you can support it through GitHub Sponsors or Ko-fi, or with Bitcoin from Help ▸ Support DBison in the app. A star on GitHub helps too.

Copyright © 2026 Jan Vorisek.

DBison is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3, as published by the Free Software Foundation. It is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty; without even the implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

For licensing under other terms, such as a commercial licence, contact jan@vorisek.me.