Alternatives to usql
Use one command-line interface for many database systems. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
usql
Use one command-line interface for many database systems.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as usql.
LazySQL
Browse and query databases through a terminal interface.
LazySQL provides a cross-platform terminal interface for browsing and querying databases rather than a plain command line, but is still alpha software.
rainfrog
Query databases through a terminal editor with history and favorites.
rainfrog is a terminal query editor with history, favorites and table inspection, though its database drivers vary in support and stability.
Harlequin
A SQL IDE that runs in the terminal, with adapters for DuckDB, SQLite, Postgres and more.
Harlequin is a full terminal SQL IDE with adapters for DuckDB, SQLite, Postgres and more, installed through Python rather than a single binary.
pgcli
A command-line PostgreSQL client with auto-completion and syntax highlighting.
pgcli brings context-aware completion and syntax highlighting to the terminal but connects only to PostgreSQL instead of many database systems.
mycli
A command-line MySQL client with auto-completion, syntax highlighting and fuzzy history search.
mycli adds auto-completion and fzf history search in the terminal but covers only MySQL, MariaDB and compatible servers.
LiteCLI
A command-line SQLite client with auto-completion and syntax highlighting.
LiteCLI provides auto-completion and syntax highlighting in the terminal but works only with SQLite databases.
Also worth comparing
These listings name usql as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
dblab
An open-source terminal UI client for browsing and querying PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite and other databases.
usql gives one consistent command-line interface across many database engines, but as a shell rather than a browsing UI, and driver features vary by database.
sq
An open-source command-line tool to inspect, query, join, import and export data across databases and files.
usql gives one command-line interface across many database systems using ordinary SQL instead of the SLQ language, but it lacks sq's import, join and diff features.
SQL Workbench/J
A free, DBMS-independent SQL query tool written in Java for running scripts and exporting data.
usql moves multi-database querying to a single command-line interface under MIT, with no Java runtime but also no graphical interface.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
trdsql
Query structured files with SQL from the command line.
DBeaver Community
One database client for more than a hundred databases, with a proper SQL editor and ER diagrams.
DuckDB
In-process analytical database that queries CSV, JSON and Parquet directly.
Dbmate
Manage database schema changes with plain SQL migration files.
VisiData
An interactive terminal multitool for exploring, cleaning and converting tabular data in many formats.
