About Sequel Ace
Sequel Ace is a Mac database management application for working with MySQL and MariaDB databases. It is described as the sequel to the long-standing macOS tool Sequel Pro and is written in Objective-C, with documentation on its own website.
It runs on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs and is available from the Mac App Store, through the mas command-line tool, and via an unofficial community Homebrew cask. Older releases are provided for older versions of macOS and MySQL, but the maintainers state that no support is given for them. The README also describes a built-in Model Context Protocol server that lets AI agents query databases using the connections already saved in Sequel Ace. It is disabled until you enable it, accepts only local connections and is read-only.
Development is supported by sponsorships through Open Collective and GitHub Sponsors. The repository lists its licence as other, so check the project for its exact terms.
Key features
- Native macOS MySQL and MariaDB client
- Intel and Apple Silicon support
- Mac App Store and Homebrew installation
- Optional read-only MCP server for AI agents
- Previous releases for older macOS versions
Good fit for
- →Browsing and editing MySQL databases on a Mac
- →Replacing Sequel Pro
- Tags
- mysql
- mariadb
- macos
- database-client
- sql
- objective-c
- developer-tools
- sequel-pro
Sequel Ace: questions and answers
- What is Sequel Ace used for?
- Sequel Ace is a native macOS app for managing MySQL and MariaDB databases, serving as the successor to Sequel Pro. It is a good fit for browsing and editing MySQL databases on a Mac, and replacing Sequel Pro.
- Is Sequel Ace open source?
- Yes. Sequel Ace is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at Sequel-Ace/Sequel-Ace and is written mainly in Objective-C.
- Is Sequel Ace free?
- Yes. Sequel Ace is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.
- What is Sequel Ace an alternative to?
- Sequel Ace is an open-source alternative to TablePlus, Navicat, DataGrip and Querious. Other open-source alternatives to TablePlus include Beekeeper Studio, Adminer and DbGate.
- Is Sequel Ace actively maintained?
- Yes. The most recent commit to Sequel Ace was on 28 September 2026. The project has 7.5k stars on GitHub.
Open-source alternatives to Sequel Ace
See all
Beekeeper Studio
Database Tools
Modern and easy to use SQL client for MySQL, Postgres, SQLite, SQL Server, and more. Linux
OSSvs DataGrip★ 24kAdminer
Database Tools
Database management in a single PHP file
OSSvs DataGrip★ 7.9k
DbGate
Database Tools
Database manager for MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MongoDB, SQLite and others. Runs under
GPL-3.0vs DataGrip★ 7.3k
DBeaver
Database Tools
Free universal database tool and SQL client
Apache-2.0vs DataGrip★ 52k
phpMyAdmin
Database Tools
A web interface for MySQL and MariaDB
GPL-2.0vs Navicat★ 7.9k
TablePro
Database Tools
Free and open source database client built natively for developers
AGPL-3.0vs TablePlus★ 6.2k
SaaS alternatives to Sequel Ace
See all
TablePlus
Database Tools
Native database client for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, Redis and more
SaaS
Navicat
Database Tools
Database administration and development client for many SQL and NoSQL systems
SaaS
DataGrip
Database Tools
JetBrains IDE for SQL with code completion and multi-database support
SaaS
Querious
Database Tools
MySQL and MariaDB database management app for macOS
SaaSSQLyog
Database Tools
MySQL and MariaDB GUI client for Windows with schema and data sync tools
SaaS
SQLPro Studio
Database Tools
Database client for macOS, iOS and Windows supporting Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server and Oracle
SaaS

