BetterDB

A modern, cross-platform PostgreSQL database client built with Electron, React, and TypeScript.

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About

BetterDB is a lightweight desktop application for managing PostgreSQL databases. It provides an intuitive interface for browsing schemas, writing queries, and editing data — without the bloat of traditional database GUIs.

Features

• Connection Manager — Save and organize multiple PostgreSQL connections with SSL support. Compatible with Supabase and AWS RDS.
• Schema Explorer — Browse databases, schemas, tables, and views in a collapsible tree sidebar.
• SQL Editor — Write and execute queries with a CodeMirror-powered editor featuring SQL syntax highlighting and a dark theme.
• Query Results — View results in a fast, virtualized table with column type awareness and execution time metrics.
• Inline Data Editing — Edit cell values, insert rows, and delete records directly from the table view.
• Paginated Table Viewer — Navigate large tables with server-side pagination and sortable columns.
• Foreign Key Introspection — View column-level foreign key references across your schema.

Architecture

electron/
  ├── db/
  │   ├── DatabaseAdapter.ts      # Abstract adapter (extensible to other engines)
  │   ├── PostgresAdapter.ts      # PostgreSQL implementation via node-postgres
  │   └── ConnectionManager.ts    # Singleton connection factory
  ├── ipc/
  │   └── handlers.ts             # IPC bridge between main & renderer
  └── storage/
      └── connections.ts           # Encrypted connection persistence
src/
  ├── components/
  │   ├── connections/             # Connection form & panel
  │   ├── query/                   # SQL editor & results
  │   ├── schema/                  # Schema tree browser
  │   └── table/                   # Virtualized table viewer
  ├── stores/                      # Zustand state management
  └── lib/
      └── ipc.ts                   # Typed IPC wrapper for renderer
shared/
  └── types.ts                     # Shared types across processes

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Framework	Electron 30
Frontend	React 18, TypeScript
Bundler	Vite 5 with vite-plugin-electron
Styling	Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui
State	Zustand
Editor	CodeMirror 6
Tables	@tanstack/react-virtual
Database	node-postgres (pg)

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 18
• npm >= 9

Development

npm install
npm run dev

This launches the Electron app in development mode with hot module replacement.

Production Build

npm run build

Generates a distributable package in the release/ directory for your platform.

Lint

npm run lint

Roadmap

• MySQL / SQLite adapter support
• Query history and saved queries
• Export results to CSV / JSON
• Table structure editor (DDL)
• Multiple query tabs

License

MIT © asallh. See LICENSE for the full text.