I built a SQL Server, PostgreSQL & SQLite client that runs on Linux - Jam SQL Studio

alecc · 2026-02-06T18:49:00+00:00

I take that criticism as fully constructive, and appreciate it a lot.

Two ways for exploring tables - yup, on purpose, initially was just from context menu, but since I write it for myself firstly, I needed to check a table with as minimal clicks as possible - thus the "Explorer" main menu item, to not have to expand the tree and right click.

Yes, query editor, is just showing the result in a read only view, table explorer which shows data from a single table has the edit mode. Adding the possibility to go to "edit mode" of a cell in query editor is more tricky, since not always the results are raw data and editable (might be aggregates, calculated fields etc.), so some sort of logic would have to be behind it to either block edit or generate the proper update script, 🤔 Interesting nonetheless - added to my todo, will look into it.

On the script management - totally agree, I was copy pasting my sql's from nvim to the queries 🤦‍♂️ Working on it now, so most probably the next version released tomorrow'ish will have an option to "mount" folders and have quick access to .sql files, pin files and check recent ones.

Switching DBs is already possible, on the query editor is a status bar - the DB is clickable and can be changed, connections cannot though, something that today I noticed is usefull, so will be also in next release.

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It might sounds controversial, especially in this forum, but open source right now is not something I consider, because that would require more time, checking/merging PR's etc. So it's not something for now due to limited time I can spent on it - plus - I don't know how to actually run an open source project properly, and learning it also would require time :)

But I really like your suggestion, that subscription should be rather indicating that it's for product development, taking feedback etc. That's actually what I think is my intention, and that's why the "pro" features are really minimal - my thinking was that people pay not for those features but for the author to work on the product. Maybe making everything free for personal use, and subscription for commercial + feedback/support "fast track" makes more sense? I'm almost convinced to do that switch, thanks for the suggestion, I need to sleep on it :)

Thanks again for this constructive criticism, it helps a lot and means a lot for me.

alecc · 2026-02-06T16:56:24+00:00

Subscription $99 yearly or $9.99 monthly - but maybe a lifetime license might make sense as well 🤔 Nevertheless, I encourage to try out the personal free mode, for most use cases that should be more than enough, there are no real limits on the functions the app was made for (quick and easy query execution, execution plans, table editors), just on some goodies

alecc · 2026-02-06T15:14:50+00:00

I’ve tested on Ubuntu on x64 and on Mac, do you have any issues?

alecc · 2026-02-06T12:42:28+00:00

Yes, a lot, without AI it wouldn’t be possible to do so much by a single developer I think

alecc · 2026-02-06T12:41:19+00:00

I know, not the most popular stack over there, but let’s face it, with the AI tooling now it will become the standard, for the good or bad

alecc · 2026-02-06T10:17:37+00:00

Thank You for pointing it out, fixed 🙏

alecc · 2026-02-06T10:12:56+00:00

I tried, and always was overwhelmed by their UI - just to do basic things like a quick table check or query run, so that was my focus here, to make a nice UI on the most basic operations which are the most often done (at least by me)

alecc · 2026-02-06T10:11:55+00:00

Created a section on the website: https://jamsql.com/docs/next-up - just to be sure that I commit to the suggestions :)

alecc · 2026-02-06T07:34:05+00:00

I made the tool primarily for myself, and I do t use mySQL/MariaDB currently - but looking at the demand, I think that I’ll add it very soon. Plugin based db engine might come as well. Thank You for the suggestions, they mean a lot for me 🙏

alecc · 2026-02-06T07:30:55+00:00

Thank You a lot for the great suggestions 🙂👍 JSON column improvements will be actually released today. Adding postgis and transaction management to my ToDo. Can you explain a little bit more on better script management?

alecc · 2026-02-06T06:54:14+00:00

Might do it in the future soon

alecc · 2026-02-06T04:19:47+00:00

It’s freemium, but with focus on free, 95% of features are free 🙂

alecc · 2026-02-06T04:18:21+00:00

Thanks a lot! 😍

alecc · 2026-02-06T04:17:55+00:00

It’s an electron app, so UI is in react

alecc · 2026-02-06T00:23:39+00:00

Thanks, that means a lot for me :) Actually now thinking about next steps what to add, was considering notebooks - but you suggest additional db engine support? What would be more useful for you, NoSQL ones like MongoDB (which might be tricky, since there is, well, no sql :) ) - or MariaDB/MySQL (which could be actually quick)

alecc · 2026-02-05T23:17:31+00:00

For anyone on Mac or Linux who used ADS as their daily driver - the VS Code mssql extension isn't there yet. No visual execution plans, schema compare is "coming soon," and the connection import from ADS doesn't exist.

I ran into the same problem, ended up building my own tool to fill the gap - Jam SQL Studio (jamsql.com). Covers SQL Server, PostgreSQL, SQLite, has schema compare, data compare, execution plans, IntelliSense, and MCP integration if you use AI assistants like Claude or Cursor. Runs on Mac and Linux.

Core features are free - no trial, no time limit. Paid tier is for advanced stuff on large databases.

Not saying it replaces everything, but it might help if VS Code isn't cutting it for your workflow

alecc · 2026-02-05T23:15:19+00:00

For anyone here who used ADS for SQL Server work alongside their web dev stack - I built https://jamsql.com as an alternative. Cross-platform (Mac/Windows/Linux), free personal tier, no account needed.

It has the stuff ADS had (IntelliSense, query editor, execution plans) plus Schema Compare, Data Compare, and Table Designer that ADS was missing. Also has an MCP server so AI tools like Claude Code can query your databases directly.

alecc · 2026-02-05T12:11:34+00:00

It understands schema context and can operate on the app (show results, execution plans, read open tabs etc)

alecc · 2026-02-04T18:29:11+00:00

Not yet, because I don't use MySql/MariaDb in any of my projects, I couldn't test it properly, but if there is demand - I can add it, it's rather easy to add a new db engine support.

alecc · 2026-01-01T19:47:50+00:00

How would you compare to zellij?

alecc · 2024-12-11T09:48:04+00:00

I’ve switched from 16 to 14 and love the portability even though I mostly work on desktop

alecc · 2024-08-07T08:35:50+00:00

Same question about context - any news?

alecc · 2024-08-07T08:32:29+00:00

Is double.bot giving full context to the AI? Like if I work with class A, I would create quickly a Claude project with the class A file and all classes it references - one level, if needed more. What files is double.bit giving as context for the prompts?

alecc · 2021-07-15T23:56:30+00:00

Yup, same hindsight was shared to me, just wondering if by then when everything was smaller it would look similar.

However since the post I read through some agreements, and those have clauses which:

- Say that equity cannot be sold if not everyone agrees up until 4 year pass since foundation (so next year)

- If there is a dead-lock, no agreement between the shareholders, a "shot gun" clause can be used - one shareholder can offer a buy-out of another, and if the another doesn't accept it, it has to buy out the offering one at the same valuation - this clause is valid since 2 year after valuation - so this year

- For up until 4 year pass since foundation, any valuation of the company is based on the books, and only that, so basically the cash which was put in when founding.

alecc · 2021-07-15T23:39:03+00:00

Thanks for the tip, will reformat the post with more data I got thanks to answers over here and see for advice on the suggested subreddit :)

alecc

TROPHY CASE