sqlmux: the database TUI I wanted as a tmux + nvim user (Postgres, MySQL, SQLite, Redis)

[u/Majestic_Mongoose488]

I live in tmux and nvim, and I never found a database client that felt like home there, so I built the one I wanted: sqlmux.

• It works like tmux: sessions > windows > panes > tabs, with Space as the leader (Space % splits, Space c opens a window, Space s lists sessions), and the layout comes back when you restart.
• vim is a first-class citizen: the query editor is a native vim mode (operators, text objects, visual and block selection, registers, :s), checked against nvim's behavior with diff tests. Tables and the tree move with hjkl, gg, G, /.
• Keyboard first, but the mouse works everywhere too: click, drag pane borders, scroll, right-click menus.
• Completion for tables, columns, keywords and enum values, and custom key maps per pane type (J = "5j" style), with every key rebindable.
• Edit cells in place and save everything in one transaction; a command palette; Redis keys as tables and a Redis console.

I've been using it every day for a few weeks, and as a tmux + nvim user it fits me well. I don't know if it will click for anyone else, so sorry if this is noise here.

Full disclosure: sqlmux was built in collaboration with AI agents (Claude Code). I designed it, reviewed the work and tested it in daily use; the agents wrote most of the code. It's a big project I'd wanted to do for a long time, and without AI I would probably never have dared to start 😁

Install: brew install kackerx/tap/sqlmux, npm i -g sqlmux, or go install github.com/kackerx/sqlmux/cmd/sqlmux@latest. Try it on a file with sqlmux ./app.db.

https://github.com/kackerx/sqlmux

[u/raguaythai]

Looks great! I can’t wait to try it out!

[u/Majestic_Mongoose488 → u/raguaythai]

Thanks for the love! If you run into any issues while using it, just open an issue and I'll get on it right away!