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TablePlus review

Database, Tooling

I've been using Sequel Pro for a few years for all my database needs. But lately my relation with Sequel Pro got troubled. This is due to a nasty bug in the latest version: If you close a tab, the program crashes. You can download a nightly build, but i still had weird problems.

Cons:
- filterbar gone (huh?)
- switching monitors messes everything up, the menu becomes huge.

— Michiel Gerritsen (@mbdgerritsen) December 17, 2018

So i decided to look for another program. I finally settled on TablePlus as i liked i during the trial. Here is my comparison of the 2.

tl;dr

Pros:

  • Regular updates (The last release of Sequel Pro is from 2016 😧).

  • Shortcuts: Command + P to open any database and/or table.

  • Lock connections: Get a warning when you change something of force yourself to enter your password before continuing.

  • You get to stage changes: Delete rows for deletion, but only commit this after entering a Cmd + S.

  • Support multiple database types (Mysql 5 and 8, Redis, SQLite, PostreSQL and more).

  • Table autocomplete

  • Changing table structure... actually works!

Cons:

  • Exporting and importing is meh. For example: When importing a file of 100mb, it only updates the process every table i think. With Sequel Pro you see a constant progress.

  • I can't import gz files, you have to unpack them first. (since 20 januari you can)

  • No process viewer which auto updates. Great to view what's going on on your server.

  • You can't stop imports or queries.

Overall review

So i've been using TablePlus for well over a month now, and i'm liking it more and more. The only thing i'm missing from Sequel Pro is the processlist which automatically updates. I still can view them by running show full processlist; in an sql window, but it doesn't auto refresh. Just Cmd + Enter when i need to update the result.

Plus for well over a month now, and i'm liking it more and more. The only thing i'm missing from Sequel Pro is the processlist which automatically updates. I still can view them by running show full processlist; in an sql window, but it doesn't auto refresh. Just Cmd + Enter when i need to update the result.

So first go over the cons.

Con: Exporting and importing

Here is a lot of room for improvements, but with every update it feels like this part is improved. For example: Importing and export .gz files was not supported, but is now. Also: it was not possible to change the exported file name, but now is.

But it still can be way better. When you export the default format is .csv, which is a bit weird. Also in Sequel Pro the export is more grannular, you can choose per table if you want the structure, data or both.

Con: You can't stop imports or queries.

Actually you can, but when running a big import it takes some time before it actually finishes. The same goes for running a long query: It feels like when you cancel a running query it only actually stops the query when it's finished. 

Pro: Regular updates

If the program is good it doesn't need much updates, but the last release of Sequel Pro contains a nasty bug which an update can easily fix. That said: TablePlus updates pretty quick, which i think is awesome.

Pro: Command + P to open any database and/or table

You can switch to the correct database and/or table using Cmd + P.

Pro: Lock connections

This is a feature that i was missing in Sequel Pro. You can lock a connection so you can't make changes to your production environment on accident. There are 2 modes:

  • Enter a password before changing anything.

  • Get a notification.

Pro: Stage changes

When you delete or change a row, truncate a table, etc, the change is staged. It is not yet sent to the server, only when you commit everything with Cmd + S. This takes some time to get used to, but i actually like it. I also like that you can delete data using shortcuts, something i was missing in Sequel Pro.

Pro: Multiple database types support

This is also a big pro: I can check what is happening in Redis. I looked for a Sequel Pro/PhpMyadmin for Redis before. There is phpRedisAdmin, but it doesn't work over SSH for example. TablePlus has support for: PostgreSQL - MySQL - Microsoft SQL Server - Cassandra - Snowflake - Redis - SQLite - Oracle - Cockroach - Vertica.

Big pro: Autocomplete

Sequel Pro has also autcomplete, but that's too slow. TablePlus has an almost instant autcomplete which works great.

Pro/Con: Pricing

I'm happy to pay for tools i use everyday. If there was a paid version of Sequel Pro i would have purchased it in a heart beat. TablePlus is quite affordable though: $ 50 dollar for a lifetime license with a year of upgrades. That's fine for me, but i can image that that's a bit too steep for people.

Conclusion

Sequel Pro was super great when i discovered it, it worked so much better than PhpMyAdmin which i used before. I have used it a lot the last few years, but due to the more recent bugs i decided to switch to TablePlus. And the experience is great, so i decided to don't look back and only move on.

 

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