DevDb

What is DevDb about?

DevDb is a lightweight VS Code extension that automatically discovers and loads your project's database, offering a full‑featured client inside the editor and exposing connection information through an MCP server for AI‑driven tools.

How to use DevDb?

1. Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace.
2. Open a workspace that contains a supported framework (DDEV, Laravel, Django, Rails, Adonis, etc.).
3. The extension will auto‑discover the database; the DevDb view appears in the side panel.
4. Use the shortcut Cmd+K Cmd+G (macOS) or Ctrl+K Ctrl+G (Windows/Linux) to jump to any table.
5. For environments without zero‑config support, create a .devdbrc file at the project root with JSON connection objects.
6. Click the hammer icon in the UI to copy MCP server settings and paste them into your AI‑IDE’s MCP configuration file.

Key Features of DevDb

• MCP Server – shares database connection details with Cursor, Windsurf, and other MCP clients.
• Quick Table Access – keyboard shortcut to open any table instantly.
• Zero‑Config Auto‑Discovery – works out‑of‑the‑box with DDEV, Laravel, Django, Rails, Adonis, containerized setups, etc.
• Rich Database Client – browse, edit, delete rows, preview JSON, export to JSON/SQL.
• Framework Integrations – CodeLens and context‑menu actions for Laravel (model factories, query explainer), plus generic context‑menu table opening.
• Multi‑Database Support – SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server.
• Cross‑Platform – consistent experience on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Use Cases of DevDb

• Local Development – instantly view and manipulate data without leaving VS Code.
• Debugging – generate factories, explain queries, edit values on‑the‑fly.
• AI‑Assisted Coding – MCP server supplies database schema to AI assistants for smarter code suggestions.
• Team Onboarding – zero‑config discovery reduces setup friction for new developers.
• Rapid Prototyping – export data snapshots as JSON or SQL for sharing.

FAQ

Q: Do I need to configure anything for supported frameworks? A: No. If the project root contains typical config files (e.g., .env, docker‑compose.yml, config/database.yml), DevDb auto‑detects the connection.

Q: How do I connect an external AI IDE to DevDb? A: Click the hammer icon in the DevDb view to copy the MCP server JSON, then paste it into the IDE’s MCP configuration file (e.g., .vscode/mcp.json).

Q: Can I use DevDb with a database not listed? A: Yes. Create a .devdbrc file with the appropriate connection fields; the extension validates the schema and provides IntelliSense.

Q: Is the extension safe for production databases? A: It is intended for local development. .devdbrc should be excluded from version control, and the extension respects workspace permissions.

Q: What VS Code version is required? A: VS Code 1.83 or newer.

DevDb

A lightweight VS Code extension that auto-loads your database and provides affordances from your database to aid development and debugging.

Built with 💖 for developers.

Featured In

Latest Features

1. MCP Server for providing database connections to Cursor, Windsurf, etc.
2. Quick table access: Press Cmd+K Cmd+G (Mac) or Ctrl+K Ctrl+G (Windows/Linux) to quickly open any table
3. New zero-config support: applications running in DDEV
4. New zero-config support: Django - SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL
5. New zero-config support: Ruby on Rails - SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL
6. New zero-config support: Adonis (Lucid ORM) - MySQL and PostgreSQL

Sponsors

We are genuinely grateful to the following sponsors of DevDb:

• DevWorkspace Pro - The Ultimate GUI for DDEV, also tuned to supercharge your productivity
• Traycer AI - A Powerful AI assistance, natively integrated into your VS Code workflow.

Features

• MCP Server: Provide your database information to AI-powered IDEs and MCP clients like Cursor, Windsurf, etc.

• Quick table open command: Press Cmd+K Cmd+G (Mac) or Ctrl+K Ctrl+G (Windows/Linux) to quickly open any table.

• Zero-config Database Auto-discovery: Automatically discover and load your database ― no manual configuration required. Supports environments like DDEV, Adonis, Laravel, containerized setups (Laravel Sail), etc.

• Database affordances for Local Development: Because of a deep understanding of your database schema, DevDb is able to provide affordances that aid development and debugging, such as one-click generation of Eloquent Model factories, etc.

• Powerful IDE Integrations: DevDb nicely integrates your database with your IDE to provide very useful IDE-powered features like Context Menu & CodeLens Integrations directly in your editor, providing features like opening tables from code, invoking SQL query explainer when working on query optimization tasks, etc.

• Rich Database Client with Intuitive UX: Dedicated database client view with one-click data browsing, inline editing, deletion, one-click reconnection, etc. Easily modify, set values to null, preview complex JSON data, all within a responsive interface.

• Data Export: Export table data as well-formatted JSON or SQL INSERT statements copied to your clipboard or saved to file.

• Comprehensive Multi-database Support: Seamlessly interface with SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, and Microsoft SQL Server; with more to come!

• Intuitive Configuration System: In environments where automatic zero-config is unavailable, DevDb provides quick snippets that produce well-formatted templates, as well as JSON Schema validation IntelliSense, which altogether makes creating configuration file for connecting to your database an awesome experience.

• Integrated Framework & Tool Support: Tailored support for popular frameworks and tools including Laravel, DDEV, Ruby on Rails, and Adonis ensures a seamless development experience. Need special feature(s) for your environment? We're listening!.

• Cross-platform Compatibility: Engineered to perform consistently on Linux, macOS, and Windows, ensuring maximum flexibility as you can carry on your work across all these platforms.

Screenshots

Requirements

• VS Code 1.83 or newer
• A VS Code project using any of the supported databases

OS/Platform Support

• Linux *(Linux-x64, Linux-arm64, Linux-arm, Alpine-x64)
• macOS (Darwin-x64, Darwin-arm64 Apple Silicon)
• Windows (Win32-x64)

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Quick Start

• In a VS Code project using any of the supported databases, ensure your database is properly configured and accessible from your application code.
• For zero-config environments, DevDb automatically discovers and auto-loads your database. View your database by opening the DevDb view like in the screenshot shown, or by using the shortcut.

[!NOTE] DevDb also provides several Language and Framework Integrations

UI Actions and Key Map

• Cmd + K + D to toggle the view panel
• Cmd + K + G to go to a table
• Cmd + Click table name in the sidebar to open the table in the current tab
• Cmd + Click on a database value to edit it
• Click any value to preview it in the pane (useful for viewing prettified JSON string values)
• The right pane offers options to view the current table schema or selected value
• During edit sessions (activated during data edit/delete), the control box appears as shown in the screenshot
• During edit sessions: Cmd + Z to undo changes, Cmd + Y to redo changes, and Cmd + S to save changes
• Added new "Suggest New Feature" button

One-click Actions (Data Manipulation)

• Click the trash icon on a table row to delete it
• Click the Set null button on a database value to set the value to null

Supported Databases

Currently supported databases:

• SQLite
• MySQL
• MariaDB
• PostgreSQL
• Microsoft SQL Server

Loading Databases

DevDb can automatically discover and load your database using connection details from your VS Code workspace (zero-config mode). When this zero-config auto-discovery isn't available, a configuration file option is provided.

1. Zero-config (Automatic Database Discovery)

No configuration file is needed when the workspace root contains any of the following:

1. Applications managed by DDEV
2. Adonis using default .env config for MySQL and PostgreSQL (with Lucid ORM)
3. Django with settings.py for SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL
4. Ruby on Rails with config/database.yml for SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL
5. Laravel with default local SQLite database
6. Laravel with default .env config for MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, and Microsoft SQL Server
7. Containerized Laravel MySQL (Laravel Sail) with default .env/docker-compose.yml config (including dev containers support)

2. Config-based Database Loading

If zero-config support isn't available for your environment, create a .devdbrc file in your project root with your database connection details.

[!WARNING] Exclude the .devdbrc config file from version control by adding it to .gitignore. This protects sensitive information and allows team members to use different database configurations.

The configuration file should contain a single array of database connection objects. DevDb provides rich editing features for .devdbrc:

• JSON Schema Validation: Automatic configuration validation
• IntelliSense: Autocompletion for all fields, including type
• Snippets: Quick configuration templates:
  • devdb mysql: MySQL configuration
  • devdb mariadb: MariaDB configuration
  • devdb postgres: PostgreSQL configuration
  • devdb sqlite: SQLite configuration
  • devdb mssql: Microsoft SQL Server configuration

Configuration File Example

[
	{
		"name": "My test MySQL database",
		"type": "mysql",
		"host": "127.0.0.1",
		"port": "3306",
		"username": "root",
		"password": "12345",
		"database": "test" // <-- the database to show in VS Code DevDb view
	},
	{
		"type": "sqlite",
		"path": "/path/to/database.sqlite"
	},
	{
		"name": "My MSSQL database",
		"type": "mssql",
		"host": "localhost",
		"port": "1433",
		"username": "sa",
		"password": "YourPassword123",
		"database": "master",
		"options": {
			"trustServerCertificate": true
		}
	}
]

Tools and Framework Integrations

Context Menu Entry

Open any database table in DevDb by right-clicking its name/model/entity from the editor in any framework/programming language.

Example from a Node.js app

Laravel

Eloquent Model Code Lens

DevDb provides Code Lens features for:

• Viewing the underlying table for the Eloquent model
• Generating a factory for the model (automatically pre-filled with real data from the underlying table)

[!NOTE] Factory Generation is also available via the context menu

Query Explainer

The Query Explainer integrates with MySQL Visual Explain to optimize SQL queries by analyzing MySQL's query execution plan. Usage:

1. Open a Laravel PHP file containing SQL query (Eloquent or DB facade)
2. Select the SQL query to analyze
3. Click the Explain query Code Lens or select Explain query from the context menu
4. View the explanation in your browser or copy the URL

[!NOTE] VS Code multi-root workspaces support is in development. Track progress here.

MCP Configuration

1. As shown in screenshot, click the hammer icon to copy the MCP settings.
2. In your IDE's MCP settings file (e.g. .vscode/mcp.json, windsurf/mcp_config.json, etc.), paste the copied JSON as one of the available MCP servers.

Your IDE/AI-tool should now be able to use your database details.

URI Handler

DevDb provides a custom URI handler that allows you to open specific database tables directly from external applications or links. This is useful for integrating DevDb with other tools or creating shortcuts to frequently accessed tables.

URI Format

The URI format follows this pattern:

vscode://devdb/open/table?connectionId=123&database=main&table=users&workspace=...

Parameters:

• connectionId: The ID of the database connection
• database: The database name
• table: The table name to open
• workspace: (Optional) The workspace path

Support

You can support the development of DevDb by contributing or by sponsoring the development. We appreciate your DevDb sponsorships with perks. Check the sponsorship page for available sponsorship options.

We also appreciate your support by saying 'thank you' to our existing sponsors by patronizing or subscribing to the amazing services they offer:

• Traycer AI
• DevWorkspace Pro

Contribution

[!IMPORTANT] Contributions are currently limited to the extension core code. UI code is not available for public contribution.

1. Fork this repository and clone your fork locally
2. Run bun install to install dependencies
3. Make your contributions to the codebase
4. Press F5 to launch the debugger and test changes locally
5. Run test suites with bun run test-services and ensure all tests pass
6. Push changes to your fork
7. Open a PR to this repository
8. Take your flowers! 💐🌺🌹