December 16, 2025
Keys vs clicks: FIGHT!
Show HN: Sqlit – A lazygit-style TUI for SQL databases
A slick terminal tool for databases has devs swooning and admins side-eyeing
TLDR: Sqlit is a sleek terminal app for running database queries fast, supporting many systems in one place. The crowd loves the design but argues over hidden “space” commands and whether admins will ever trade big, click-heavy tools for keyboard-driven workflows, with cloud support questions lingering.
Sqlit just crashed the party as the “lazygit for databases”—a fast, pretty terminal app that lets you poke at Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server, SQLite, and more without opening heavy desktop tools. The vibe? Design lovers are clapping—“Very attractive design,” one fan cheered—while keyboard-first diehards celebrate vim-style editing and built‑in SSH tunnels. But the community quickly split into camps: Terminal Purists vs GUI Admins. One admin voice asked if people really want to ditch Microsoft’s SSMS (the big, feature-packed Windows app) since “a lot of admins… do not want to use the terminal.” That’s the culture war, folks.
Usability sparks the most drama: a commenter stumbled over “space mode”—hidden commands you only see after hitting the spacebar—and says it isn’t explained well in the help screen, leading to accidental fullscreen chaos. Another hot question: “does it support remote D1?” (Cloudflare’s hosted SQLite), which hints at the crowd’s thirst for cloud convenience. Meanwhile, someone dropped a friendly rival link to rainfrog—similar idea, but Postgres-only—fueling comparisons and side-eye. The memes practically wrote themselves: “vim cult vs mouse mafia”, themes like Tokyo Night getting love, and everyone agreeing on one thing—this tool looks slick while stirring up serious workflow feelings
Key Points
- •Sqlit is a lightweight terminal UI for SQL databases designed for fast querying and easy navigation.
- •It supports multiple databases out of the box, including SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MariaDB, Oracle, DuckDB, CockroachDB, and Turso.
- •Features include a connection manager, built-in SSH tunnels, Vim-style editing, query history, context-aware help, browsing of schema objects, and SQL autocomplete.
- •Authentication options include Windows, SQL Server, and Entra ID; ODBC drivers for SQL Server are auto-detected and installed.
- •Installation is via pip, with a CLI that supports running queries, formatted outputs, creating connections (including SSH), and managing saved connections.