About WhoDB
WhoDB is a single workspace for browsing databases, changing rows, running queries and seeing how a schema is put together. It works in a browser, is straightforward to self-host, and is also available as a desktop app and a terminal CLI. The authors position it for inspecting a local database or helping a teammate explore unfamiliar data without a heavyweight client.
Optional AI features let you ask questions in plain English by hooking up a local or hosted model through Ollama, LM Studio, OpenAI, Anthropic or any compatible API. Repository topics also mention an SQL editor, a visual query builder, ER diagrams, text-to-SQL, data lineage and catalog features, and an MCP server. MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server and Oracle are among the topics, and the backend is written in Go.
WhoDB is licensed under Apache-2.0 and offers a live demo and documentation. It suits developers, analysts and internal tool builders who want a simple database front end that they control, rather than a heavyweight client.
Key features
- Browser, desktop and CLI database workspace
- Data editing and SQL query execution
- Visual query builder and ER diagrams
- Optional plain-English AI queries
- Works with Ollama and OpenAI-compatible APIs
- MCP server for AI agents
Good fit for
- →Exploring unfamiliar databases
- →Lightweight alternative to heavy SQL clients
- →Natural-language data questions
- Tags
- database-client
- sql-editor
- self-hosted
- text-to-sql
- mcp
- er-diagram
- golang
- data-explorer
WhoDB: questions and answers
- What is WhoDB used for?
- WhoDB is a lightweight, self-hosted workspace for exploring databases, editing data and running queries, with optional AI features in browser, desktop or CLI. It is a good fit for exploring unfamiliar databases and natural-language data questions.
- Is WhoDB open source?
- Yes. WhoDB is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at clidey/whodb and is written mainly in Go.
- Is WhoDB free?
- Yes. WhoDB is open source, so the software itself is free to use. Paid plans are also available, starting at $20 per seat per month.
- What is WhoDB an alternative to?
- WhoDB is an open-source alternative to TablePlus, DataGrip, DbVisualizer and Postico. Other open-source alternatives to TablePlus include DbGate, Chat2DB and Dbx.
- Is WhoDB actively maintained?
- Yes. The most recent commit to WhoDB was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 0.134.0, published on 30 September 2026. The project has 5k stars on GitHub.
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