The database client that should have been open source.
A modern, dark-native PostgreSQL client. Built with Rust + Tauri. Single binary. Free forever.
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Every developer needs a database client. The options today:
| Tool | Open Source | Modern UI | Native | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TablePlus | No | Yes | Yes | ~40MB |
| DBeaver | Yes | No | Yes | ~300MB |
| pgAdmin | Yes | No | No | ~200MB |
| Beekeeper | Yes | Yes | No | ~150MB |
| Rift | Yes | Yes | Yes | ~5MB |
Rift is the open source alternative that doesn't compromise.
- Tiny binary — ~5MB vs Electron apps at 150MB+
- Truly native — Rust backend, no bundled Chromium
- Dark by default — not an afterthought, it's the foundation
- PostgreSQL-first — deep PG support, extensible to MySQL/SQLite later
- PostgreSQL connections — SSL, custom port, save credentials locally
- Schema explorer — browse schemas, tables, columns, primary keys
- Query editor — multi-tab, keyboard shortcuts (
Ctrl+Enterto run) - Result grid — data type formatting, NULL handling, alternating rows
- Query history — auto-saved per connection, searchable
- Export — CSV, JSON, SQL INSERT statements
- Dark-native UI — designed in the dark, not adapted to it
- SQL autocomplete — schema-aware suggestions from CodeMirror 6
- Query bookmarks — save and organize favorite queries
- Query cancellation — abort long-running queries
- Result charts — bar and line charts from query results
- CSV import — drag and drop CSV to create tables
- Inline cell editing — double-click to edit with parameterized updates
- EXPLAIN plan visualizer — interactive tree diagram for PostgreSQL
- ER Diagram — auto-generated SVG diagram from schema
- Settings panel — font size, theme, keybinding cheat sheet
- MySQL support — full MySQL driver with schema exploration
- Connection groups — organize connections into folders
- SSH tunnel — connect through bastion hosts
- Query profiler — performance analysis with timing breakdown
- Multi-resultset support — multiple SELECT results in one query
- Database migration diff view — compare schemas
# Homebrew (coming soon)
brew install --cask rift
# Or download DMG from releases# AppImage
wget https://github.com/rinopatrick/rift/releases/latest/download/rift-x86_64.AppImage
chmod +x rift-x86_64.AppImage
./rift-x86_64.AppImage# winget (coming soon)
winget install Rift
# Or download .msi from releasesSee all releases: github.com/rinopatrick/rift/releases
# Clone
git clone https://github.com/rinopatrick/rift.git
cd rift
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Run in dev mode
npm run tauri dev
# Build for production
npm run tauri build| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Desktop | Tauri v2 (Rust) |
| Frontend | Svelte 5 + Tailwind CSS |
| Database | tokio-postgres + deadpool |
| Storage | rusqlite (embedded) |
- CI workflow:
.github/workflows/ci.yml- Frontend:
npx svelte-check,npm run build - Backend:
cargo check,cargo clippy,cargo build(src-tauri)
- Frontend:
- Release workflow:
.github/workflows/release.yml- Triggered by tags
v*.*.* - Builds and uploads desktop artifacts for macOS, Linux, Windows
- Triggered by tags
Local quality gate before pushing:
npx svelte-check
npm run build
cd src-tauri
cargo check
cargo clippy --all-targets
cargo build- Monaco Editor integration (syntax highlighting)
- Auto-complete from schema introspection
- Query bookmarks / favorites
- Keyboard shortcut customization
- Query cancellation
- Result charts
- CSV import
- EXPLAIN plan visualizer
- ER Diagram
- Settings panel
- Inline cell editing
- Connection groups / folders
- Query performance profiler
- Multi-resultset support
- SQLite driver
- MySQL driver
- SSH tunnel support
- Database migration diff view
- Query profiler with bottleneck detection
- Multi-resultset support
- Database migration diff view
- Connection timeout / SSL error human-readable messages
- Collaboration / shared connections
- Plugin system (WASM)
- Cloud sync for connections
We welcome contributions! Please read our Contributing Guide first.
# Fork, then:
git clone https://github.com/YOURNAME/rift.git
cd rift
git checkout -b feat/your-featuregood first issue— beginner friendlyhelp wanted— community contributions neededbug— confirmed issues
Rift is free and open source. If it saves you time or money, consider supporting development:
Your support keeps the project alive and helps us ship faster.
MIT — Patrick Rino
Made with Rust and caffeine.
Current state: engineering sample / pre-production.
Recommended next steps:
- Add CI checks (tests + lint) on every push/PR
- Add release/versioning policy
- Add deployment/runtime hardening docs
- Add monitoring and operational runbook