MariaDB & MySQL Database Client for VS Code
Fast MariaDB & MySQL database client for Visual Studio Code with intelligent SQL autocomplete, schema browsing, query execution, inline data editing and SQL formatting.
Features
- ⚡ Fast and lightweight DB client
- 🧠 SQL IntelliSense, autocomplete and snippets (
Ctrl+Space)
- 📂 Schema, table and column suggestions (
Ctrl+Space)
- 🔧 MariaDB & MySQL function suggestions (
Ctrl+Space)
- ▶️ Execute current query (
Ctrl+Enter)
- ▶️ Execute entire SQL file (
Alt+X)
- ✏️ Inline table data editing
- 📊 Bulk edit values for the selected column(s)
- 📝 Generate INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements for selected row(s)
- 🎨 SQL formatter (
Ctrl+Shift+F)
- 📋 Recent SQL files (
F3)
- 🎨 Connection color indicators
- 🛑 Kill long-running queries
- 🔒 Production/read-only connection safeguards (see Production safety below)
The extension securely reads your database connections using standard MariaDB option files (.cnf).
Step 1: Create configuration directory
In your user home directory, create a folder named .db_configs:
- Linux/macOS:
~/.db_configs/
- Windows:
C:\Users\<YourUsername>\.db_configs\
If this folder doesn't exist yet, you don't have to create it by hand: opening a .sql file will offer to create a default localhost connection for you (DB client: Create Default Connection (localhost)). This creates the folder (if needed) and a localhost.cnf file (chmod 600) pre-filled with typical WAMP-style defaults (root, no password, 127.0.0.1:3306) — it's opened straight away so you can adjust database and anything that doesn't match your setup. Running the command again never overwrites an existing .cnf file.
Since .cnf files contain plaintext credentials, restrict access to your user only:
chmod 600 ~/.db_configs/*.cnf
Step 2: Add your database settings
Place one or more connection configuration files in the .db_configs directory. You can create multiple files for different servers. Here are examples of how to configure them:
Example 1: Local Socket Connection (local.cnf)
[client]
socket = /run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
user = root
password = root
database =
skip-ssl = true
reconnect = false
compress = false
skip-ssl disables TLS. That's fine here because a Unix socket connection never leaves the machine, but it should not be used for any connection that goes over the network — see Example 3 below.
Example 2: Reusing/Inheriting Settings (local-xxx.cnf)
!include ~/.db_configs/local.cnf
[client]
database = xxx
Example 3: External Remote Server (external.cnf)
[client]
host = <host>
user = <user>
password = <password>
database = <name_of_database>
ssl-ca = /path/to/ca-cert.pem
reconnect = true
compress = true
[mysqld]
tcp_keepalive_time = 60
⚠️ Always use TLS for remote connections. Unlike Example 1, this connection goes over the network, so without ssl-ca (or with skip-ssl = true) your credentials and query results would be sent unencrypted. Only set skip-ssl = true on a remote host for a throwaway dev/test server, never for anything you care about.
💡 Need more details on configuration? Check the official MariaDB Option Files Documentation.
🔒 Production safety
Two extra, extension-specific options can be added to any .cnf file, in their own [db-client] section:
[client]
host = ...
user = ...
password = ...
database = ...
[db-client]
production = true # shows a red "PRODUCTION" warning banner in the results panel
readonly = true # blocks INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE/DDL on this connection entirely
These must go in [db-client], not [client]. [client] is also read by the real mysql/mariadb command-line tools, which reject unknown variables (unknown variable 'production=true') — unknown sections like [db-client] are simply ignored by them, so keeping these two options there means the same .cnf file still works fine as a --defaults-file for the real CLI tools.
There are also two related settings, available under Settings → Extensions → DB Client:
db-client.blockUnsafeUpdateDelete (default: on) — blocks UPDATE/DELETE statements that don't have a WHERE clause, since those affect the whole table.db-client.requireConnectionNameConfirmation (default: off) — before a bulk delete or bulk column edit from the results grid, requires typing the connection name to confirm. Destructive confirmations always show the target host and database.
🚀 How to Use
Run SQL
- Open or create any file with a
.sql extension.
- Type your database query.
- Press
Ctrl + Enter to execute the current SQL query, or Alt + X to run the whole file.
Running the whole file executes every statement in it (the results grid shows the last SELECT's results). Note that DDL statements (CREATE/ALTER/DROP/TRUNCATE/RENAME) auto-commit in MySQL/MariaDB, so wrapping a script in a transaction can't roll those back if a later statement fails.
Snippets
- Place the cursor at the beginning of a new line.
- Press
Ctrl + Space.
- Select the SQL snippet you want to insert.
Change DB connection and DB color
Setup & connection commands
| Command |
Description |
| DB client: Create Default Connection (localhost) |
First-run setup: creates .db_configs (if needed) + a default localhost.cnf (skipped if any .cnf already exists) |
| DB client: Reload Connection Files |
Re-scan .db_configs for .cnf files after adding/editing one |
| DB client: Test Connection |
Verify a connection can be established |
🐧 OS Support
✅ Linux
✅ Windows
Linux Notes
To see colors correctly when assigning a color to a database connection, install the Noto Color Emoji font.
📄 License
GPL-2.0
☕ Support the Project
