DBFlux

A fast, keyboard-first database client built with Rust and GPUI.

Overview

DBFlux is an open-source database client written in Rust, built with GPUI (Zed's UI framework). It focuses on performance, a clean UX, and keyboard-first workflows.

The long-term goal is to provide a fully open-source alternative to DBeaver, supporting both relational and non-relational databases.

Documentation

• Audit
• AI + MCP Integration Guide
• Driver RPC Protocol
• RPC Services Config
• Lua Scripting

Installation

Linux

Tarball (recommended)

# Install to /usr/local (requires sudo)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/0xErwin1/dbflux/main/scripts/install.sh | sudo bash

# Install to ~/.local (no sudo required)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/0xErwin1/dbflux/main/scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- --prefix ~/.local

AppImage (portable)

# Download from releases (replace amd64 with arm64 for ARM)
wget https://github.com/0xErwin1/dbflux/releases/latest/download/dbflux-linux-amd64.AppImage
chmod +x dbflux-linux-amd64.AppImage
./dbflux-linux-amd64.AppImage

Arch Linux

Available in the AUR:

# Using an AUR helper
paru -S dbflux
# or
yay -S dbflux

Debian / Ubuntu

Download the .deb package from Releases:

# Replace amd64 with arm64 for ARM
wget https://github.com/0xErwin1/dbflux/releases/latest/download/dbflux-linux-amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i dbflux-linux-amd64.deb

Fedora / RHEL / CentOS

Download the .rpm package from Releases:

# Replace amd64 with arm64 for ARM
sudo dnf install https://github.com/0xErwin1/dbflux/releases/latest/download/dbflux-linux-amd64.rpm

Nix

Using flakes:

# Run directly
nix run github:0xErwin1/dbflux

# Install to profile
nix profile install github:0xErwin1/dbflux

# Development shell
nix develop github:0xErwin1/dbflux

Or with the traditional approach:

nix-build
./result/bin/dbflux

macOS

DBFlux for macOS is not signed with an Apple developer certificate. When opening for the first time, you'll see a warning about an "unidentified developer".

Installation

1. Download the DMG for your architecture from Releases:
   • Intel Macs: dbflux-macos-amd64.dmg
   • Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4): dbflux-macos-arm64.dmg
2. Open the DMG and drag DBFlux to Applications
3. When you see the "unidentified developer" warning:
   • Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security
   • Click Open Anyway next to the security warning
   • Confirm you want to open the application

Bypass Gatekeeper from Terminal

# Remove quarantine attribute (allows opening without GUI confirmation)
xattr -cr /Applications/DBFlux.app

# Now you can open it normally
open /Applications/DBFlux.app

Requirements

• macOS 11.0 (Big Sur) or later

Windows

Installer

1. Download dbflux-windows-amd64-setup.exe from Releases
2. Run the installer and follow the wizard

Portable

1. Download dbflux-windows-amd64.zip from Releases
2. Extract to any folder
3. Run dbflux.exe

Note: The executable is not signed with a Windows code signing certificate. Windows SmartScreen may show a warning. Click "More info" → "Run anyway" to proceed.

Requirements

• Windows 10 or later
• x86_64 (ARM64 not yet supported)

Build from Source

# Via install script (Linux)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/0xErwin1/dbflux/main/scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- --build

# Or manually
git clone https://github.com/0xErwin1/dbflux.git
cd dbflux
cargo build --release --features sqlite,postgres,mysql,mongodb,redis
./target/release/dbflux

Uninstall (Linux)

# If installed with install.sh
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/0xErwin1/dbflux/main/scripts/uninstall.sh | sudo bash

# From ~/.local
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/0xErwin1/dbflux/main/scripts/uninstall.sh | bash -s -- --prefix ~/.local

# Remove user config and data too
./scripts/uninstall.sh --remove-config

Features

Database Support

• PostgreSQL with SSL/TLS modes (Disable, Prefer, Require)
• MySQL / MariaDB
• SQLite for local database files
• MongoDB with collection browsing, document CRUD, and shell query generation
• Redis with key browsing for all types (String, Hash, List, Set, Sorted Set, Stream)
• SSH tunnel support with key, password, and agent authentication
• Reusable SSH tunnel profiles

User Interface

• Document-based workspace with multiple result tabs (like DBeaver/VS Code)
• Collapsible, resizable sidebar with ToggleSidebar command (Ctrl+B)
• Schema tree browser with lazy loading for large databases
• Schema-level metadata: indexes, foreign keys, constraints, custom types (PostgreSQL)
• Multi-tab SQL editor with syntax highlighting
• Virtualized data table with column resizing, horizontal scrolling, and sorting
• Table browser with WHERE filters, custom LIMIT, and pagination
• "Copy as Query" context menu to copy INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE as SQL, MongoDB shell, or Redis commands
• Query preview modal with language-specific syntax highlighting
• Command palette with fuzzy search
• Custom toast notification system with auto-dismiss
• Background task panel

Keyboard Navigation

• Vim-style navigation (j/k/h/l) throughout the app
• Context-aware keybindings (Document, Sidebar, BackgroundTasks)
• Document focus with internal editor/results navigation
• Results toolbar: f to focus, h/l to navigate, Enter to edit/execute, Esc to exit
• Toggle sidebar with Ctrl+B
• Tab switching (MRU order) with Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab

Query Management

• Query history with timestamps
• Saved queries with favorites
• Search across history and saved queries

Export

• Shape-based export: CSV, JSON (pretty/compact), Text, Binary (raw/hex/base64)
• Export format determined by result type (table, JSON, text, binary)

Development

Prerequisites

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install pkg-config libssl-dev libdbus-1-dev libxkbcommon-dev

Fedora:

sudo dnf install pkg-config openssl-devel dbus-devel libxkbcommon-devel

Arch:

sudo pacman -S pkg-config openssl dbus libxkbcommon

macOS:

# Xcode Command Line Tools (required)
xcode-select --install

Windows:

# Visual Studio Build Tools with C++ workload (required)
# Download from: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/visual-cpp-build-tools/

Building

cargo build -p dbflux --release

Running

cargo run -p dbflux

Commands

cargo check --workspace                    # Type checking
cargo clippy --workspace -- -D warnings    # Lint
cargo fmt --all                            # Format
cargo test --workspace                     # Tests

Nix Development Shell

If you use Nix, you can enter a development shell with all dependencies:

# With flakes
nix develop

# Traditional
nix-shell

License

MIT & Apache-2.0