When using AI to help write SQL, you first have to copy the table structures to it one by one. When there are many fields, you end up pasting back and forth several rounds and it’s still easy to miss some.

Gridex is an open-source database client that uses the system’s native interface on Mac, Windows, and Linux for writing. The Mac version can connect to 7 types of databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, Redis, MongoDB, SQL Server, and ClickHouse.

The built-in AI can directly read the table structures. It supports Claude, GPT, Gemini, and local Ollama. SQL is written only for the currently selected connection, and it runs read-only queries.

GitHub: http://github.com/gridex/gridex

It also comes with an MCP service. After connecting to Claude Desktop or Cursor, the tools are tiered by permissions—modifying data requires our approval, and every call is logged in the audit log.

Account passwords are stored in the system keychain, without cloud sync, and it doesn’t collect usage data. For backends managing several types of databases, installing this one can save you from opening several extra windows.

gridex/gridex

Source: https://github.com/gridex/gridex

Gridex

AI-native database IDE for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
One app for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, Redis, MongoDB, SQL Server, and ClickHouse — with a built-in MCP server and AI chat.

Download

_{macOS — universal DMG (Apple Silicon + Intel), signed & notarized, auto-update via Sparkle · Windows — Velopack installer, Windows 10/11 · Linux — x86_64 AppImage, Qt 6, self-update from JSON feed}

_{Looking for a specific version, delta updates, or checksums? See all releases or the download page.}

Supported Databases

Seven drivers in one native binary. All share the same DatabaseAdapter protocol (~50 methods) so every feature — grid, query editor, ER diagram, backup, MCP — works identically across engines.

Why Gridex

• Native. AppKit on macOS, WinUI 3 on Windows, Qt 6 on Linux. No Electron, no web views for the grid.
• Multi-database. Seven drivers on macOS, six on Linux/Windows (ClickHouse macOS-only for now), each with the right primitives (SCAN for Redis, aggregations for MongoDB, stored procedures for SQL Server, sequences for Postgres, MergeTree mutations for ClickHouse).
• AI that sees your schema. Claude, GPT, Gemini, and Ollama can read your tables, run read-only queries, and write SQL scoped to the connection you pick.
• MCP server built in. Plug Gridex into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any MCP client over stdio — 13 tools with a 3-tier permission model and audit trail.
• Credentials stay local. macOS Keychain / Windows Credential Manager. No cloud sync, no telemetry, no proxy.

Driver Highlights

MCP Server

Expose any saved connection to MCP clients (Claude Desktop, Cursor, custom agents). Available on macOS (stdio), Windows (stdio + HTTP), and Linux (stdio). Every tool call runs through a permission gate and is recorded in the audit log.

15 tools across 5 permission tiers:

Security layers in macos/Services/MCP/Security/:

• MCPPermissionEngine — per-connection mode (locked, read_only, read_write)
• MCPSQLSanitizer — rejects DDL/DML that escape the declared tier
• MCPIdentifierValidator — guards against SQL injection in identifiers
• MCPRowCountEstimator — previews how many rows a mutation will touch
• MCPRateLimiter — caps calls per tool per minute
• MCPApprovalGate — prompts the user for destructive actions

MCP window — 5 tabs: Overview, Setup, Connections, Activity, Advanced.

Every tool invocation lands in the activity log with tier, SQL, duration, row count, and approval state — so you can answer “what did the agent do last night?” without guessing.

ER Diagram

• macOS: custom NSView + CoreGraphics renderer. Windows: in-process Dagre layout + WebView. No external d2/Graphviz binary on either platform.
• Auto-layout, pan, zoom, fit-to-view, FK relationship routing.
• Reads live schema from the active adapter — no separate import step.
• Click a column to jump to its table; double-click to open data.

AI Chat

Built-in chat that understands your schema and writes SQL scoped to the selected connection.

• Anthropic Claude — streaming, tool use, extended thinking
• OpenAI — GPT-4.x / 5.x, function calling
• Google Gemini — Flash and Pro
• Ollama — local LLMs, no API key needed

Requests go direct from your machine to the provider. Gridex never proxies prompts. API keys live in the macOS Keychain / Windows Credential Manager.

Editor & Grid

Data grid

• Inline cell editing with type-aware parsing
• Sort, filter, paginate, column resize, multi-column sort
• Add/delete rows with pending-change tracking — commit as one transaction
• Copy rows, export to CSV / JSON / SQL

Query editor

• Multi-tab with Chrome-style tab bar grouped by database
• Syntax highlighting (keywords, strings, numbers, comments, functions)
• Execute selection or all
• Redis CLI mode for Redis connections
• Query history persisted via SwiftData — searchable, favoritable

Schema tools

• Structure viewer: columns, indexes, foreign keys, constraints
• Function and stored-procedure inspector (source + parameters)
• Create Table / Create Database sheets with type-aware defaults

SSH Tunnel

Password, private-key, or key-with-passphrase auth. Local port forwarding via swift-nio-ssh. Managed by the SSHTunnelService actor — one tunnel per active connection, torn down on disconnect.

mTLS (Teleport-style)

Connections support sslKeyPath + sslCertPath + sslCACertPath for mutual TLS. Works end-to-end for PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, and ClickHouse — drop in the certs a tool like Teleport issues and connect as usual. ClickHouse accepts PKCS#12 client bundles with pinned CA (PEM or DER).

Backup & Restore

Selective table backup, compression, and progress reporting for the CLI-backed formats.

Import

Connections import from TablePlus, Navicat (NCX with Blowfish decrypt), DataGrip, and DBeaver — including SSH configs and keychain-stored passwords.

Requirements

macOS

• macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later
• Swift 5.10+ / Xcode 15+

Windows

• Windows 10 or later (64-bit)
• Visual Studio 2022+, .NET 8 SDK, vcpkg

Linux

• Ubuntu 22.04+/24.04, Debian 12, Fedora 40 (or any distro with Qt 6 ≥ 6.4)
• GCC ≥ 11 or Clang ≥ 14, CMake ≥ 3.24, Ninja, Qt 6 dev packages

Build & Run

macOS

git clone https://github.com/gridex/gridex.git
cd gridex

# Debug (ad-hoc signed, fast local testing)
swift build
.build/debug/Gridex

# Or build .app bundle
./scripts/build-app.sh
open dist/Gridex.app

Linux

git clone https://github.com/gridex/gridex.git
cd gridex
cmake -S linux -B linux/build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build linux/build --parallel
./linux/build/gridex

Full Linux build, packaging, and AppImage instructions in linux/README.md.

Windows

See windows/README.md for the full WinUI 3 / vcpkg / Velopack toolchain.

Release

# Apple Silicon
./scripts/release.sh                  # → dist/Gridex-<version>-arm64.dmg

# Intel
ARCH=x86_64 ./scripts/release.sh      # → dist/Gridex-<version>-x86_64.dmg

# Both architectures
./scripts/release-all.sh

Pipeline: swift build → .app bundle → code sign → notarize → staple → DMG → sign DMG → notarize DMG.

Auto-update channels:

• macOS — Sparkle, signed/stapled DMGs advertised via appcast.
• Windows — Velopack (vpk) packaged installer + delta updates.
• Linux — AppImage with self-update against a JSON feed hosted on Cloudflare R2.

Architecture

Clean Architecture, 5 layers. Dependencies point inward.

gridex/
├── macos/                    macOS app (Swift, AppKit + SwiftUI)
│   ├── App/                  Lifecycle, DI container, AppState
│   ├── Core/                 Protocols, models, enums — zero deps
│   │   ├── Protocols/        DatabaseAdapter, LLMService, SchemaInspectable, MCPTool
│   │   └── Models/           RowValue, ConnectionConfig, QueryResult, MCPAuditEntry
│   ├── Domain/               Use cases, repository protocols
│   ├── Data/                 Adapters + SwiftData persistence + Keychain
│   │   └── Adapters/         SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, MSSQL, ClickHouse
│   ├── Services/             Cross-cutting
│   │   ├── QueryEngine/      ConnectionManager, QueryEngine, QueryBuilder
│   │   ├── AI/               Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, Ollama providers
│   │   ├── MCP/              MCPServer, StdioTransport, Tools (Tier1/2/3), Security
│   │   ├── SSH/              SSHTunnelService (NIOSSH)
│   │   └── Export/           ExportService, BackupService
│   └── Presentation/         AppKit views, SwiftUI settings, ViewModels
├── windows/                  Windows app (C++, WinUI 3)
├── linux/                    Linux app (C++20, Qt 6) — adapters, MCP, AppImage
├── scripts/                  Build and release automation
└── Package.swift             SPM manifest

Key protocols

• DatabaseAdapter — connection lifecycle, queries, schema, CRUD, transactions, pagination. All 7 adapters conform.
• LLMService — streaming AI responses via AsyncThrowingStream. All 4 providers conform.
• SchemaInspectable — full schema snapshot for the AI context engine and ER diagram.
• MCPTool — MCP tool contract with tier, input schema, and permission-checked execute.

Concurrency

• actor for thread-safe services: QueryEngine, ConnectionManager, SSHTunnelService, BackupService, MCPServer.
• async/await throughout — no completion handlers.
• Sendable on all data models.

Dependency injection

DependencyContainer (singleton) composes services at launch. SwiftData ModelContainer is shared across windows. Services are injected via the SwiftUI environment.

Dependencies

System library: libsqlite3 (linked at build time). ClickHouse uses URLSession + Security.framework — no SPM dependency.

Star History

Community

Join the Discord to ask questions, share feedback, or follow release notes: https://discord.gg/UuV2Ktc6.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please open an issue first to discuss what you’d like to change.

See CONTRIBUTING.md and CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.

License

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.

Copyright © 2026 Thinh Nguyen.

You may use, modify, and distribute this software — including in commercial or closed-source products — provided you preserve the copyright notice and NOTICE file. See the LICENSE for full terms.