qub · SQL editor

Features

The basics, done well

No clutter, no plugins, no subscriptions. Just a focused SQL editing environment that stays out of your way.

Editor

SQL-centric workspace

The editor is the center of the experience. Write SQL without hunting through menus or fighting modal dialogs.

Connections

Multiple simultaneous tabs

Open several database connections at once and switch between them with tabs. Credentials are stored securely in your OS keychain.

History

Automatic query history

Every query you run is saved automatically. Browse or search your history and rerun any past query in one click.

Library

Snippets

Save SQL you keep rewriting into named folders, insert it at the cursor, and carry it between machines as JSON.

Workspaces

Scoped work environments

Each workspace restores its own query tabs and limits them to the connections you allow, so staging and production stay separated.

Results

Analyze in place

The same result set also opens as a chart, a per-column profile, a pivot table, a query plan, data-quality checks, or a diff against an earlier run.

Export

Take the data with you

CSV, TSV, JSON, Excel, Markdown, or SQL INSERT statements — and an export is never capped by the row limit the grid is showing.

AI

SQL from plain language

Describe what you want and get SQL written against your actual schema and dialect. Bring your own provider — Anthropic, OpenAI, or a local Ollama.

Sharing

Live share

Stream a running result set to any browser on your network through a token-protected link. The server is yours; nothing goes to a cloud.

Databases

Connects to what you already use

Built on Qt’s SQL module, qub speaks to seven databases — though which of them a given download can load is decided by Qt, not by qub.

PostgreSQL

MySQL / MariaDB

SQLite

ODBC

Oracle (OCI)

Firebird

Driver	Linux · AppImage	macOS · DMGApple silicon	Windows · installer
SQLite	bundled	bundled	bundled
PostgreSQL	bundled	bundled	bundled
ODBC	bundled	bundled	system
MySQL / MariaDB	bundled	bundled	no plugin
Firebird	bundled	no plugin	bring `fbclient.dll`
Oracle (OCI)	not bundled	no plugin	bring Instant Client

Qt’s official macOS and Windows binaries carry no MySQL driver at all, and the macOS ones none for Oracle or Firebird — no plugin means nothing you install will help, only a qub built against a Qt compiled with that driver. The macOS DMG is the exception: it ships a MySQL plugin qub compiles itself, against MariaDB Connector/C. Oracle is left out of the AppImage because its client library is not redistributable. qub offers only the drivers the copy you are running can actually load, so the connection form never lists one that would fail on you. Building from source, every client library is your system’s.

Story

Why qub exists

There are great open-source SQL editors out there, but none of them ever really clicked for me. DataGrip was the one that gave me the feeling of productivity and control over my database workspace. But once my enterprise license got canceled, instead of picking a new one I decided to build myself an editor the way I always wanted it to be.

So qub was built with an emphasis on SQL centricity, the basics done well, and a clean interface I enjoy looking at all day.

During development, to keep the interface consistent and easier to build, I created a Qt/QML component library (including fonts, icons, and theming) called Mahina, which I also open-sourced. If you're building desktop apps with Qt, it might save you from reimplementing the same primitives from scratch.

AI helped write the code. Every feature, every decision, and every line of code is reviewed by me.

Author

Adjamilton Junior

Source

github.com/ajunior/qub

License

GNU GPL v3.0

Built with

Qt 6 · C++ · QML · Mahina

Platform

Linux · macOS · Windows

Documentation

help.html