MySQL Explorer
Browse and query MySQL, MariaDB, and MySQL-wire-compatible databases from Visual Studio Code — inspired by Beekeeper Studio and IntelliJ's database tools. This is a read-first explorer: connections are read-only by default, and every write-capable action is gated per connection.
Supported servers:
- MySQL 5.7 / 8.0+
- MariaDB 10.5+
- Amazon RDS for MySQL
- Amazon Aurora MySQL
- PlanetScale
- TiDB
- Google Cloud SQL for MySQL
Features
- Connection tree — a lazy-loaded browser: databases → tables, views, sequences (MariaDB), functions, procedures, indexes, foreign keys, constraints, triggers, with approximate row-count estimates on tables and views, which expand to their columns (type, nullability, default) and, when partitioned, their partitions. Single-click a table or view to preview its data; Search Objects finds a table, view, function, procedure, or column across all databases by name.
- Query editor — run the whole query, just the selection, or the statement under the cursor with
Ctrl+Enter / Ctrl+Shift+Enter / Ctrl+Alt+Enter (Cmd+… on macOS).
- Results panel — sortable grid with resizable columns (drag a header edge, double-click to fit), type-aware column filters (pushed server-side into the SQL for wrappable queries above
mysqlExplorer.serverSideThreshold via a per-tab toggle, with text-filter keystrokes debounced; page-local otherwise), pagination, and export to CSV / TSV / JSON / SQL INSERTs (clipboard or file). TIMESTAMP/DATETIME cells can optionally render in your local wall clock (mysqlExplorer.renderTimestampsLocal).
- EXPLAIN plan viewer —
EXPLAIN FORMAT=JSON (MySQL 8+) rendered as an indented plan tree; EXPLAIN ANALYZE (8.0.18+) shows the tree text as a result tab.
- Connection diagnostics —
information_schema.processlist sessions with KILL (per-statement or full session) and best-effort lock-wait reporting (MySQL 8.0+ via performance_schema, 5.7 / MariaDB fallbacks).
- SSH tunnel — connect through an SSH bastion with password, private key, or agent authentication (TOFU host-key trust).
- Schema-aware autocomplete — tables/views/columns/functions and SQL keywords in editors bound to a connection, with alias resolution.
- Bookmarks and query history — save and re-open queries scoped to a connection.
- Record editing — double-click a row to edit it when the query is a single-table
SELECT on a table with a primary key that the result actually includes (read-only connections get a read-only form).
- Read-only by default — each connection starts read-only; opt into writes per connection.
- Color-coded connections + tags — assign a color swatch and tags, and filter the tree by tag.
- License — free tier limited to 5 saved connections; a Pro license unlocks unlimited connections.
📖 FEATURES.md — the full feature list.
📖 USAGE.md — walkthrough and every command.
⚙️ CONFIGURATION.md — settings and the security model (credential storage, TLS, read-only mode).
Requirements
- VS Code ^1.85 (or Cursor)
- A MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.5+ server reachable from your machine (or through an SSH tunnel). The structured EXPLAIN plan viewer needs MySQL 8.0+.
Quick start
- Open the MySQL Explorer view in the Activity Bar and click Add Connection.
- Expand a connection → database, right-click a connection for New Query, then press
Ctrl+Enter.
Right-click tables for Preview Data, Count Rows, Generate SQL (SELECT/INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE stubs), View/Copy DDL; right-click a connection for Connection Diagnostics (server info + active sessions).
Development
npm install
npm run build # bundle with esbuild
npm run typecheck # type check without emitting
npm test # run unit tests (node --test)
Open the extension Development Host via the Run and Debug view (extension launch config) to test it live.
License
Free tier for up to five saved connections. A Pro license (mysql-explorer-pro) lifts the connection limit — see https://linhvu.net/pricing.
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