SQLite IntelliView (Beta)

Modern SQLite (and SQLCipher) database viewer/editor for VS Code: table browsing, Monaco-powered queries, ER diagrams, and quality-of-life tooling for JSON/BLOBs and large tables.

Beta note: features and stability are evolving. Please report issues/feedback on GitHub.

Offline + Secure: runs locally inside VS Code and the extension does not send your database contents anywhere (no cloud, no telemetry).

GIF Demos

A quick tour of the main workflows (all offline, inside VS Code):

Browse + edit tables	Multi-table tabs
Schema view	Query editor (Monaco)
Foreign-key navigation	ER diagram
JSON viewer	BLOB viewer
SQLCipher (encrypted DBs)	External updates

What You Get

• Free: no paywalls; MIT-licensed.
• Offline + secure by design: database contents stay on your machine (the extension doesn’t make network requests).
• Custom database editor for .db, .sqlite, .sqlite3 (opens as a rich UI, not plain text).
• Database Explorer view (tables + columns) while a database is open.
• Multi-table tabs (open multiple tables/results, drag to reorder).
• Fast table browsing: pagination, quick search, sorting, column filters, resizable columns/rows, column pinning.
• Editing: inline cell edit + row delete (writes changes back to the database file).
• Context menu tools: copy cell/row/column, copy row/table as JSON, JSON viewer for JSON cells, BLOB viewer + copy as Base64/Hex.
• Export from the table UI: export currently visible rows to CSV.
• Foreign-key navigation: jump to referenced rows from FK cells.
• ER diagram: interactive relationship diagram (zoom/pan) built with D3.
• WAL-aware: checkpoints WAL on open (best-effort) and refreshes when -wal/-shm change.

Quick Start

1. Open any .db, .sqlite, or .sqlite3 file.
2. If VS Code asks, choose Open With… → SQLite Database IntelliView.
3. Use the left Database Explorer to open tables, then:
   • Data tab: browse/edit rows
   • Schema tab: inspect columns/keys
   • Query tab: run SQL
   • Diagram tab: generate an ER diagram

Tip: right-click a database file in Explorer → Open SQLite Database.

Requirements (Optional, but Recommended)

SQLite IntelliView runs locally inside VS Code. For best functionality, install these command-line tools and ensure they’re available on your PATH:

• sqlite3 (recommended): used for WAL checkpointing on unencrypted databases.
• sqlcipher (only for encrypted DBs): used to decrypt/re-encrypt SQLCipher databases and checkpoint encrypted WAL databases.

If you don’t install these:

• Unencrypted databases will still open, but WAL checkpointing may be limited.
• Encrypted (SQLCipher) databases won’t be able to open/decrypt.

Install sqlite3

• macOS (Homebrew): brew install sqlite
• Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y sqlite3
• Windows:
  • Winget: winget install --id SQLite.SQLite -e
  • Chocolatey: choco install sqlite

Verify: sqlite3 --version

Install sqlcipher

• macOS (Homebrew): brew install sqlcipher
• Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y sqlcipher
• Windows:
  • MSYS2: pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-sqlcipher
  • Or install a SQLCipher build and add sqlcipher.exe to your PATH.

Verify: sqlcipher -version

Detailed PATH setup guides

• Windows: readme/windows-path-setup.md
• macOS: readme/macos-path-setup.md

SQLCipher (Encrypted Databases)

• Run SQLite IntelliView: Connect with SQLCipher Key and enter your key.
• Or use the input box at the top of the Database Explorer view.
• SQLCipher support requires the sqlcipher CLI to be available on your PATH (used for decrypt/re-encrypt and WAL operations).

WAL Mode (Write-Ahead Logging)

If your database uses WAL mode, IntelliView will try to checkpoint the WAL before loading so you see up-to-date data, and will refresh when WAL/SHM files change.

If the database is locked by another process (or you only have read-only access), you may see stale data. Use:

• SQLite IntelliView: Checkpoint WAL and Refresh

For best results, ensure the sqlite3 CLI is available on your PATH (used for WAL checkpointing on unencrypted databases).

Settings (WAL + Refresh)

These VS Code settings control WAL behavior and external refresh noise:

• sqliteIntelliView.walCheckpointMode ("full" | "passive" | "off", default: "full"): controls how WAL checkpointing runs when opening a database with a -wal file.
  • full: more aggressive checkpoint (best chance of up-to-date data).
  • passive: less intrusive checkpoint attempt.
  • off: skip auto-checkpoint on open.
• sqliteIntelliView.walAutoCheckpoint (default: true): backward-compatibility toggle. If set to false, auto-checkpoint is disabled even if walCheckpointMode is full or passive.
• sqliteIntelliView.walMonitoring (default: true): watches DB/WAL/SHM files and auto-refreshes when changes are detected.
• sqliteIntelliView.externalRefreshDebounceMs (default: 500): coalesces bursts of DB/WAL/SHM file events into a single refresh. Increase this if external writers are noisy.
• sqliteIntelliView.defaultPageSize: default rows per page in table views.

Tip: if you see repeated refresh notifications from busy external writers, keep walMonitoring on and increase externalRefreshDebounceMs (for example, 750 or 1000).

Commands

Command	Purpose
SQLite IntelliView: Open SQLite Database	Open a database in the custom editor
SQLite IntelliView: Connect with SQLCipher Key	Connect to an encrypted database
SQLite IntelliView: Refresh Database	Refresh the Database Explorer view
SQLite IntelliView: Checkpoint WAL and Refresh	Force a WAL checkpoint (best-effort)
SQLite IntelliView: Export Data	Placeholder command (use the in-table Export button today)

Keybindings (VS Code)

Command	Windows/Linux	macOS
Open SQLite Database	Ctrl+Shift+O	Cmd+Shift+O
Connect with SQLCipher Key	Ctrl+Shift+K	Cmd+Shift+K
Refresh Database	Ctrl+Shift+R	Cmd+Shift+R
Export Data	Ctrl+Shift+E	Cmd+Shift+E

Keyboard Shortcuts (Inside IntelliView)

These work while focus is inside the database editor webview:

Action	Shortcut
Execute query	Ctrl+Enter / Cmd+Enter
Clear query editor	Ctrl+K / Cmd+K
Focus table search	Ctrl+F / Cmd+F (or / on the Data tab)
Refresh view (re-fetch)	Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R
Hard reload from disk	Ctrl+Alt+R / Cmd+Option+R

Notes, Limits, and Safety

• Query results are capped (to keep the UI responsive). For very large exports, use the table UI’s CSV export or a dedicated SQLite client.
• Query editor writes are not persisted yet: non-SELECT statements may run in-memory but are not currently written back to disk; use inline cell editing / row delete for persisted changes.
• Edits write to the database file. Consider working on a copy if the database is important or shared with other processes.
• SQL restrictions: some sensitive statements are blocked in the query editor (for example: PRAGMA key, ATTACH DATABASE, DETACH DATABASE).

Troubleshooting

• “Database is locked” / WAL checkpoint fails: close other apps holding the DB, or run Checkpoint WAL and Refresh.
• Encrypted DB won’t open: ensure sqlcipher is installed and on PATH, then reconnect with the correct key.
• Stale data in WAL mode: checkpoint requires write access; read-only workspaces may not be able to merge WAL changes.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md.

License

MIT License – see LICENSE.

Credits

Built with (bundled locally): sql.js (WASM SQLite), monaco-editor, d3, sortablejs.