Caracal

A fast, featherlight SQL client for Windows.
Connect, browse, and query your databases — without the bloat.

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Caracal exists because I was tired of SQL Server Management Studio — the wait at startup, the weight, the clutter — when all I needed was to connect, browse, and query. It keeps the workflows SSMS got right and rebuilds them for speed: a native Rust core, a ~15 MB standalone executable, instant startup, and a UI that stays smooth even on huge result sets. Now with PostgreSQL and SQLite alongside SQL Server and Azure SQL.

Features

• SQL Server & Azure SQL
  • SQL login, Windows Authentication, or Microsoft Entra ID with browser sign-in (like SSMS's "Entra MFA" — sign in once, stay signed in)
  • Multi-database servers: browse and switch between all databases on a server, with instant name filtering, a refresh button, and one-click create-database
  • Named instances (server\SQLEXPRESS) resolved automatically via SQL Browser
• PostgreSQL — password auth with TLS support, full multi-database browsing (tables, views, materialized views)
• SQLite — open existing files or create new databases with a native file picker
• Query editor — syntax highlighting, schema-aware autocompletion, Ctrl+Enter to run, and SSMS-style run-selection: highlight part of a script and run only that
• Execution plans — Explain (Ctrl+Shift+Enter) shows the estimated plan; Analyze runs the query and shows the actual plan as a heat-colored flowchart with real per-step timing (click a step for full metrics), so you can see exactly where time is spent — including parallel operators
• Results grid — virtualized scrolling through 10,000 rows without stutter, drag-to-resize columns, double-click to auto-fit
• Export — save any result to CSV (Excel-compatible), Excel .xlsx, or JSON
• Cancel running queries — the Run button turns into Stop; cancelling ends the work server-side (SQL Server, PostgreSQL)
• Query tabs — work on several queries side by side
• Connection manager — color-coded saved connections, recent-connection prefill, one-click seeded demo database, and auto-detection of local PostgreSQL / SQL Server servers for quick connect
• Security by default — passwords live in the Windows Credential Manager and sign-in tokens are DPAPI-encrypted; nothing sensitive is written in plain text

Install

Download the latest Caracal_x.y.z_x64-setup.exe from Releases and run it — no admin rights required, no dependencies to install.

Build from source

Requirements: Rust, Node.js, Windows 10/11.

npm install
npm run tauri dev      # run in development
npm run tauri build    # produce the installer (src-tauri/target/release/bundle/nsis)

Tech

Tauri 2 (Rust) + React + TypeScript. Database drivers are native Rust: tiberius for SQL Server, rusqlite (bundled) for SQLite. The UI renders in Windows' built-in WebView2 — no embedded Chromium.

Roadmap

• MySQL driver
• Multiple result sets per batch
• Copy rows as INSERT statements

Known limitations

• SQL Server connections are TCP-only (LocalDB's named pipes are not supported; enable TCP/IP for local instances in SQL Server Configuration Manager)
• GO batch separators are not supported — run batches separately
• Only the first result set of a multi-statement batch is displayed

License

MIT © Albion Berisha