WhoDB

Lightweight, Fast, and Beautiful Database Management

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🚀 Quick Start • 📖 Documentation • 🎮 Live Demo • 💬 Community

WhoDB Interface

🎯 What is WhoDB?

WhoDB is the modern database management tool that developers actually want to use.

Built with GoLang and React, WhoDB is a lightweight (<50MB) yet powerful database client that combines blazing-fast performance with an intuitive, beautiful interface. Whether you're debugging a production issue, exploring a new database schema, or managing data for your next feature, WhoDB makes database management feel effortless.

Why WhoDB?

🚀 Lightning Fast

Instant startup (<1s)
Real-time query results
Efficient table virtualization
90% less resource usage than traditional tools

🎨 Beautiful & Intuitive

Clean, modern interface
Spreadsheet-like data grid
Interactive schema visualization
No training required

🤖 AI-Powered

Natural language to SQL
Talk to your data conversationally
Supports Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, and any OpenAI-compatible provider
No complex query writing needed

🔧 Developer-Friendly

Multi-database support
Query history & management
Mock data generation
Flexible export options

✨ Key Features

📊 Visual Data Management

Spreadsheet-Like Data Grid

View, edit, and manage data intuitively
Sort, filter, and search with ease
Inline editing with real-time updates
Bulk operations for efficiency

🔍 Interactive Schema Explorer

Visual Schema Topology

Interactive graph visualization
Explore table relationships
Understand foreign keys instantly
Pan, zoom, and navigate easily

💻 Powerful Query Interface

Scratchpad Query Editor

Jupyter-like notebook interface
Syntax highlighting & auto-completion
Query history & reuse
Multi-cell organization

🗄️ Multi-Database Support

Community Edition (CE): PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite3, MongoDB, Redis, MariaDB, ElasticSearch

Enterprise Edition (EE): All CE databases plus Oracle, SQL Server, DynamoDB, Athena, Snowflake, Cassandra, and more

🎯 Advanced Capabilities

Mock Data Generation - Generate realistic test data for development
Flexible Export Options - Export to CSV, Excel, JSON, or SQL
Advanced Filtering - Build complex WHERE conditions visually
AI-Powered Queries - Convert natural language to SQL with Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, or any OpenAI-compatible provider

🎮 Try WhoDB Now

Experience WhoDB in action without any setup

🌐 Live Demo

Try WhoDB instantly with our sample database

Launch Demo →

Pre-filled with sample PostgreSQL database

🎥 Video Demo

Watch WhoDB in action

Watch Video →

Complete walkthrough of features

🚀 Quick Start

Option 1: Docker (Recommended)

The fastest way to get started with WhoDB:

docker run -it -p 8080:8080 clidey/whodb

Then open http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

Option 2: Docker Compose

For more control and configuration:

version: "3.8"
services:
  whodb:
    image: clidey/whodb
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      # AI Integration (Optional)
      # Ollama Configuration
      - WHODB_OLLAMA_HOST=localhost
      - WHODB_OLLAMA_PORT=11434

      # Anthropic Configuration
      - WHODB_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key_here
      # - WHODB_ANTHROPIC_ENDPOINT=https://api.anthropic.com/v1

      # OpenAI Configuration
      - WHODB_OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key_here
      # - WHODB_OPENAI_ENDPOINT=https://api.openai.com/v1

      # Generic AI Providers (OpenAI-compatible endpoints)
      # Use WHODB_AI_GENERIC_<ID>_* to add any OpenAI-compatible provider.
      # <ID> can be any unique identifier (e.g., LMSTUDIO, OPENROUTER).
      #
      # LM Studio example:
      # - WHODB_AI_GENERIC_LMSTUDIO_NAME=LM Studio
      # - WHODB_AI_GENERIC_LMSTUDIO_BASE_URL=http://host.docker.internal:1234/v1
      # - WHODB_AI_GENERIC_LMSTUDIO_MODELS=mistral-7b,llama-3-8b
      #
      # OpenRouter example:
      # - WHODB_AI_GENERIC_OPENROUTER_NAME=OpenRouter
      # - WHODB_AI_GENERIC_OPENROUTER_BASE_URL=https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
      # - WHODB_AI_GENERIC_OPENROUTER_API_KEY=your_key_here
      # - WHODB_AI_GENERIC_OPENROUTER_MODELS=google/gemini-2.0-flash-001,anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet
    # volumes: # (Optional for SQLite)
    #   - ./sample.db:/db/sample.db

What's Next?

Connect to your database - Enter your database credentials on the login page
Explore your schema - Browse tables and visualize relationships
Run queries - Use the Scratchpad to execute SQL queries
Manage data - Edit, add, and delete records with ease

📖 For detailed installation options and configuration, see our Documentation

💻 WhoDB CLI

WhoDB also offers a powerful command-line interface with an interactive TUI (Terminal User Interface) and MCP server support for AI assistants.

Features

Interactive TUI - Full-featured terminal interface for database management
MCP Server - Model Context Protocol support for Claude, Cursor, and other AI tools
Cross-Platform - Available for macOS, Linux, and Windows

Quick Install

# macOS/Linux
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/clidey/whodb/main/cli/install/install.sh | bash

# Homebrew (coming soon)
brew install whodb-cli

# npm
npm install -g @clidey/whodb-cli

Usage

# Launch interactive TUI
whodb-cli

# Run as MCP server for AI assistants
whodb-cli mcp serve

📖 For full CLI documentation, see the CLI README

🛠️ Development Setup

Prerequisites

GoLang - Latest version recommended
PNPM - For frontend package management
Node.js - Version 16 or higher

Editions

Community Edition (CE)

PostgreSQL
MySQL / MariaDB
SQLite3
MongoDB
Redis
ElasticSearch

Enterprise Edition (EE)

All CE databases
Oracle
SQL Server
DynamoDB
Athena
Snowflake
Cassandra
And more...

📚 See BUILD_AND_RUN.md for detailed build instructions and ARCHITECTURE.md for architecture details.

Frontend Development

Navigate to the frontend/ directory and start the development server:

cd frontend
pnpm i
pnpm start

Backend Development

1. Build Frontend (First-Time Setup)

If the core/build/ directory doesn't exist, build the frontend first:

cd frontend
pnpm install
pnpm run build
rm -rf ../core/build/
cp -r ./build ../core/
cd ..

Note: This is only required once, as Go embeds the build/ folder on startup.

2. Setup AI Integration (Optional)

To enable natural language queries:

Ollama - Download from ollama.com
```
# Install Llama 3.1 8b model
ollama pull llama3.1
```
WhoDB will auto-detect installed models and show a Chat option in the sidebar.
OpenAI/Anthropic - Set environment variables (see Docker Compose example above)
Any OpenAI-compatible provider - Use WHODB_AI_GENERIC_<ID>_* environment variables to connect to LM Studio, OpenRouter, or any provider with an OpenAI-compatible API (see Docker Compose example above)

3. Start Backend Service

cd core
go run ./cmd/whodb

The backend will start on http://localhost:8080

💼 Use Cases

👨‍💻 For Developers

Local Development

Quick database inspection during development
Debug production issues with read-only access
Test API endpoints with real data
Explore schema changes

API Development

Validate data transformations
Test query performance
Generate mock data for testing
Export data for integration tests

📊 For Data Analysts

Run ad-hoc SQL queries quickly
Export data to Excel for analysis
Build complex filters visually
Visualize table relationships

🧪 For QA Engineers

Generate realistic test data
Verify database state during testing
Debug test failures quickly
Validate data migrations

🛠️ For Database Administrators

Monitor table structures and indexes
Manage user data efficiently
Quick schema exploration
Emergency data fixes

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What makes WhoDB different from other database tools?

WhoDB combines the lightweight nature of tools like Adminer with modern UX, powerful visualizations, and AI capabilities. Unlike resource-heavy tools like DBeaver, WhoDB uses 90% less memory while providing a faster, more intuitive experience.

Is WhoDB suitable for production use?

Yes, WhoDB is production-ready and used by thousands of developers. For production environments, we recommend:

Using read-only database accounts when possible
Enabling SSL/TLS connections
Consider Enterprise Edition for audit logging and advanced security features

How does WhoDB handle large datasets?

WhoDB implements several performance optimizations:

Table virtualization for efficient rendering
Lazy loading for large result sets
Pagination controls
Query result streaming

Which databases are supported?

Community Edition: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite3, MongoDB, Redis, ElasticSearch

Enterprise Edition: All CE databases plus Oracle, SQL Server, DynamoDB, Athena, Snowflake, Cassandra, and more

How do I deploy WhoDB?

WhoDB can be deployed in multiple ways:

Docker - Single command deployment
Docker Compose - For production setups
Kubernetes - For enterprise environments
Binary - Direct installation on servers

See our Quick Start section for details.

Does WhoDB store my credentials?

No. WhoDB does not store database credentials by default. Connections are temporary and credentials are cleared when you close the browser. You can optionally configure connection profiles stored locally in your browser.

Can I use WhoDB with AI features?

Yes! WhoDB integrates with:

Ollama - For local, private AI models
OpenAI - GPT-4 and other OpenAI models
Anthropic - Claude models
Any OpenAI-compatible provider - LM Studio, OpenRouter, vLLM, and more via WHODB_AI_GENERIC_<ID>_* environment variables

These integrations allow you to query your database using natural language instead of SQL.

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! Whether it's bug reports, feature requests, or code contributions, we appreciate your help in making WhoDB better.