termdb

A lightweight, native multi-engine database client for MySQL and PostgreSQL.

termdb is a fast, no-electron alternative to heavy DB GUIs: a single native binary, immediate-mode UI, and all database work off the UI thread. Originally written as a Rust rewrite of an Electron SQL client, it keeps the same field-level session tools (browse, filter, edit, run SQL, export) without the webview.

Features

• Multi-engine — MySQL and PostgreSQL via sqlx with typed, prepared statements (no string-built SQL for user values).
• Connection manager — server config in a local SQLite store, passwords in the OS keyring (Secret Service / Keychain / DPAPI) with a chmod-0600 plaintext fallback when no keyring is available.
• Browse — sidebar tree of connections → databases → tables, favorite stars, click-to-connect.
• Data grid — virtualized, resizable columns, pagination (25/50/100/200 per page), typed headers from information_schema describe (Field / Type / Null / Key / Default / Extra), stable primary-key ordering.
• Filters — + Add Filter WHERE builder (column + operator + value, always parametrized).
• Row editing — add / edit / delete rows from centered dialogs, auto-increment & serial-aware, with delete confirmations.
• SQL editor — syntax-highlighted query editor with persistent history and CSV / JSON export via native save dialogs.
• Live themes — a dark slate theme by default; on Linux it follows your Omarchy theme and repaints when you switch (omarchy theme set). Fully read-only, safe fallback to the default palette, and a no-op on macOS/Windows.

Requirements

• Rust (stable, 1.8x+) — cargo
• A display + the usual GUI dev libraries on Linux (Wayland/X11 via egui)

Quick start

cargo build --release
cargo run

1. Click + NEW CONNECTION in the top bar and save a MySQL/Postgres server.
2. Click the connection to connect, expand a database, pick a table.
3. Browse pages, add filters, edit rows, or run ad-hoc SQL in the QUERY EDITOR.

Passwords are stored in the OS keyring and never written into the UI log.

Architecture

egui runs immediate-mode on the UI thread and never touches the network. A dedicated thread hosts a tokio runtime (sqlx pools); the two sides talk over mpsc channels drained every frame.

UI thread (egui)  ──requests──▶  tokio runtime  ──sqlx──▶  MySQL / PostgreSQL
      ▲                             │
      └───────────── events / results ─┘

• crates/app — the native GUI (src/app/ui/{header,sidebar,table,query}), the backend worker (src/db), theme & Omarchy sync (src/theme.rs)
• crates/core — shared repos: rusqlite config store, keyring vault, models (no UI dependencies)

Development

cargo build
cargo test             # unit + live-engine integration tests
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets
cargo fmt --check
cargo run

Live-engine tests spin up containers via dev/compose.yaml (Postgres on :5433, MySQL on :3306) and auto-skip with a note when a container is unreachable:

docker compose -f dev/compose.yaml up -d
cargo test --workspace

Project layout

crates/
  app/
    src/
      app.rs            # app state & event handling
      app/ui/           # header bar, sidebar, table, query/results cards
      db/               # backend worker + sqlx engine
      theme.rs          # palette + Omarchy ThemeWatcher
      export.rs         # CSV/JSON serializers (unit-tested)
      record.rs         # form defaults (unit-tested)
    tests/live_engines.rs
  core/                 # config store, vault, models
dev/compose.yaml        # local test databases

Roadmap

• More database engines (SQLite, SQL Server, Oracle, CockroachDB…)
• MCP server (JSON-RPC on loopback) so AI tooling can drive the client
• SSH tunnels, ERD view, and schema/DDL helpers

Contributing

Open an issue or pull request. Keep changes focused and run the check list above (fmt, clippy, test) before submitting.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.