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    Show HN: Base, an SQLite database editor for macOS

    (menial.co.uk)
    676 points __bb | 15 comments | 25 Aug 25 14:17 UTC | HN request time: 1.033s | source | bottom

    I recently released v3 of Base, my SQLite editor for macOS.

    The goal of this app is to provide a comfortable native GUI for SQLite, without it turning into a massive IDE-style app.

    The coolest features are

    - That it can handle full altering of tables, which is quite finicky to do manually with SQLite.

    - It has a more detailed display of column constraints than most editors. Each constraint is shown as an icon if active, with full details available on clicking the icon.

    This update also adds support for attaching databases, which is a bit fiddly with macOS sandboxing.

    I'd love to hear any feedback or answer any questions.

    1. packetlost ◴[25 Aug 25 15:05 UTC] No.45014671[source]▶
    What does this offer over sqlitebrowser? https://sqlitebrowser.org/
    replies(9): >>45014684 #>>45014718 #>>45014739 #>>45014746 #>>45014749 #>>45014786 #>>45015293 #>>45015516 #>>45022786 #
    2. Gelob ◴[25 Aug 25 15:06 UTC] No.45014684[source]▶
    wondering the same thing
    3. colesantiago ◴[25 Aug 25 15:10 UTC] No.45014718[source]▶
    sqlitebrowser is 100% open source, cross platform and free.

    I don't think Base is at all and only supports macOS

    4. p_ing ◴[25 Aug 25 15:11 UTC] No.45014739[source]▶
    Prettier UI?
    5. jen20 ◴[25 Aug 25 15:12 UTC] No.45014746[source]▶
    A nicer user interface. Personally I use datagrip but I want to encourage real native Mac software so will likely buy this anyway.
    6. vsl ◴[25 Aug 25 15:12 UTC] No.45014749[source]▶
    Polish and decent UI...
    replies(1): >>45015183 #
    7. WhitneyLand ◴[25 Aug 25 15:16 UTC] No.45014786[source]▶
    Base is nicely done, I’ve found it worthwhile over other options.
    8. packetlost ◴[25 Aug 25 15:51 UTC] No.45015183[source]▶
    I find the sqlitebrowser UI to be perfectly fine. It's not pretty, but it's a tool so who cares.
    replies(2): >>45015224 #>>45015716 #
    9. dewey ◴[25 Aug 25 15:56 UTC] No.45015224{3}[source]▶
    People care about the tools they are using a lot and spend a great deal of time on finding the perfect knife, the perfect editor, the perfect scissors.
    10. __bb ◴[25 Aug 25 16:01 UTC] No.45015293[source]▶
    To my (biased) mind the advantages are:

    - It fits with the system better and behaves more like other macOS apps

    - I believe Base has better create/alter table support

    However Base doesn’t (currently) have support for SQLCipher.

    replies(1): >>45015382 #
    11. cosmic_cheese ◴[25 Aug 25 16:08 UTC] No.45015382[source]▶
    Just to expand on the “behavior” bit, there’s a truckload of little things that native AppKit apps get you that nothing else will, not even other “native” toolkits like Qt. Things like Option-clicking a disclosure triangle in a nested list expanding/collapsing all children recursively, which one comes to use frequently and misses when absent. Foreign toolkits have spotty coverage of that kind of thing if they implement any at all.

    As much as visually fitting in is important, behavior is perhaps bigger. Anybody who’s working on the Mac port of a cross platform toolkit would do well to replicate those little bits.

    replies(1): >>45015673 #
    12. mrtksn ◴[25 Aug 25 16:18 UTC] No.45015516[source]▶
    Unfortunately sqlite browser was too unstable for me. I purchased another app just because I can’t stand crashing apps.
    13. harikb ◴[25 Aug 25 16:32 UTC] No.45015673{3}[source]▶
    Wow! I just discovered option-click in Finder -- unrelated to sqlite :o . Thank you! thank you!
    14. latexr ◴[25 Aug 25 16:35 UTC] No.45015716{3}[source]▶
    > It's not pretty, but it's a tool so who cares.

    People who care about their tools. If I have to stare at it all day, being pleasant on the eyes is a feature. If every time I grab my tool I think “urk, this is so ugly”, it affects my flow.

    15. KlayLay ◴[26 Aug 25 05:59 UTC] No.45022786[source]▶
    In my experience, DB Browser for SQLite keeps the connection open in a way where an application that accesses the database may throw a lock error. Maybe it can be configured, but I haven't had that issue with Base.