SQLite IntelliView

See · Edit · Explore SQLite — right in your editor.
Browse tables, run queries, and follow relationships.
Local, offline, and free. Available through VS Code Marketplace and Open VSX.

Install for VS Code  ·  Install from Open VSX  ·  Supported editors  ·  Quick start  ·  Demos  ·  Settings  ·  Report an issue

Beta: actively evolving. Your database contents stay on your machine; the extension has no cloud service or telemetry. See editing and limits before working with important or shared data.

Your database, in context

Work with	What you can do
Tables	Open multiple tabs, reorder them, and browse with pagination, page search, column filters, sorting, pinning, and resizable rows and columns.
Cells and rows	Edit values inline, select rows with checkboxes, export a selection, and delete selected rows in one transaction.
SQL	Use the bundled Monaco editor, keep query results in separate tabs, and choose your result limits.
Relationships	Inspect columns and keys, follow foreign-key links, and explore an interactive ER diagram.
JSON and BLOBs	Expand values, view formatted JSON and images, or copy data as JSON, Base64, or Hex.
Files	Open SQLite or SQLCipher databases, monitor external changes, and checkpoint write-ahead logs.

Supported editors

SQLite IntelliView uses the VS Code 1.101+ extension API and a desktop Node.js extension host. The same extension is distributed through VS Code Marketplace, Open VSX, and the release VSIX.

Editor	Installation
Visual Studio Code	Install from VS Code Marketplace.
VSCodium	Search for SQLite IntelliView in Extensions, using its default Open VSX registry.
Cursor	Search for SQLite IntelliView in its Open VSX-backed extension catalog. Availability can depend on the editor's catalog policies.
Other compatible desktop editors	Install from Open VSX when supported, or use Extensions: Install from VSIX… with a package from GitHub Releases.

Release tests run in Visual Studio Code. Other editors must provide the required extension API and are not individually validated by this project's test suite. Browser-only extension hosts are not supported.

Missing your editor, or something is not working? Report an editor compatibility issue. The form includes fields for your editor, version, operating system, installation source, and steps to reproduce.

Quick start

1. Install SQLite IntelliView in VS Code 1.101 or later, or install it from Open VSX in a compatible editor supporting the same extension API.
2. Open a database file. Supported extensions are .sqlite, .sqlite3, .db, .db3, .s3db, and .sl3, including uppercase variants.
3. If prompted, choose Open With… → SQLite Database IntelliView. You can also right-click a file and choose Open SQLite Database.
4. Choose a table, then use Data to browse and edit, Schema to inspect columns, Query to run SQL, or Diagram to explore relationships.

The Database Explorer lists tables and columns alongside your editor. For a different filename extension, use custom file extensions. For an encrypted file, follow SQLCipher setup.

See it in action

Browse and edit

Ask your data a question

Open a focused demo:

Explore	Inspect	Connect
Multiple table tabs	Schema view	Foreign-key navigation
ER diagrams	JSON viewer	SQLCipher databases
External updates	BLOB viewer

Editing and limits

Select, export, delete. Use a row checkbox or click a row to select it. The header checkbox selects all filtered rows on the current page, including rows outside the virtual viewport. A new table snapshot or filter change clears the selection. Export Selected writes the selected rows as CSV; Delete Selected asks for confirmation and commits the selection together or rolls it back.

Keep text intact. Control characters display as \n, \r, \t, \b, \f, or \u0000; a literal backslash displays as \\. Use the same escapes while editing. Invalid escapes keep the editor open without saving. CSV exports preserve original text and quote multiline fields.

Keep in mind	Current behavior
Persisted changes	Inline edits and row deletion write to the database file. Work on a copy when the data is important or another process also uses it.
Query-editor writes	SQL writes change the in-memory database and are not saved automatically. A later inline edit or deletion can save that in-memory state. Use a dedicated SQLite client for SQL write workflows.
Safe row identity	Views and tables without a usable, stable row identity are read-only.
Virtual tables	Selection and export remain available; row deletion is disabled. Supported modules, such as FTS3, retain inline cell editing when rows have stable identities.
FTS5	Schema and ER views can read FTS5 declarations. The bundled engine does not support executing FTS5 queries or views that query those tables.
Search and export scope	Table search and filters operate on the loaded page. CSV export includes that page's visible or selected rows.
Result size	Queries return up to 10,000 rows by default, with a notice when truncated. Configure the limits for larger results; larger pages and unlimited results use more memory.
Restricted SQL	The query editor blocks statements such as PRAGMA key, ATTACH DATABASE, and DETACH DATABASE.

Settings

Open your editor's Settings and search for SQLite IntelliView, or edit settings.json. All names below use the sqliteIntelliView. prefix.

Rows and results

Setting	Default	Purpose
defaultPageSize	1000	Initial table page size, capped by maxTablePageSize.
maxTablePageSize	100000	Maximum rows per table page. Set to 0 for no configured cap.
queryMaxRows	10000	Maximum query-result rows. Set to 0 for no configured cap. Schema and ER metadata are unaffected.

Choose Custom… in the rows-per-page selector to enter a positive whole number. The cap is applied before calculating the new page. Caps accept non-negative safe integers; invalid settings fall back to their defaults.

WAL and external changes

Setting	Default	Purpose
walCheckpointMode	"full"	full attempts a full checkpoint, passive makes a less intrusive attempt, and off skips automatic checkpointing.
walAutoCheckpoint	true	Compatibility switch: false disables automatic checkpointing regardless of the mode.
walMonitoring	true	Watches database, WAL, and SHM files for external changes.
externalRefreshDebounceMs	500	Groups nearby file events into one refresh. Increase this for busy external writers.

Custom file extensions

{
  "sqliteIntelliView.additionalFileExtensions": [".database", "sqlite-backup"]
}

Values may include a leading dot and are matched case-insensitively. Invalid or duplicate entries are ignored. The setting updates IntelliView's open dialogs and commands; it does not dynamically change VS Code's custom-editor associations or Explorer context menu. Use SQLite IntelliView: Open SQLite Database to choose a custom-extension file.

SQLCipher encrypted databases

Install the sqlcipher command-line tool and make it available on your PATH. Then run SQLite IntelliView: Connect with SQLCipher Key from the Command Palette and enter your key. IntelliView uses SQLCipher to decrypt, re-encrypt, and checkpoint encrypted databases.

Platform	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 another SQLCipher build and add sqlcipher.exe to PATH.

Verify with sqlcipher -version. Need help with PATH? See the Windows guide or macOS guide.

WAL and SQLite tools

For databases using write-ahead logging, IntelliView attempts a checkpoint before loading and refreshes when monitored files change. It uses a bundled sqlite3 executable when available, then falls back to one on your PATH. Ordinary SQLite files can still open without a CLI, but checkpointing may be unavailable.

To install a system SQLite CLI:

Platform	Install SQLite
macOS / Homebrew	brew install sqlite
Ubuntu / Debian	sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y sqlite3
Windows	winget install --id SQLite.SQLite -e or choco install sqlite

Verify with sqlite3 --version. Use SQLite IntelliView: Checkpoint WAL and Refresh to request a checkpoint manually. A locked database or read-only access can prevent checkpointing and leave the displayed data stale.

Commands and shortcuts

All commands below appear under SQLite IntelliView: in the Command Palette.

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
Checkpoint WAL and Refresh	—	—

The Command Palette's Export Data command (Ctrl+Shift+E / Cmd+Shift+E) is a placeholder. Use the table's Export or Export Selected controls for CSV export.

While focus is inside the IntelliView editor:

Action	Windows / Linux	macOS
Run query	Ctrl+Enter	Cmd+Enter
Clear query	Ctrl+K	Cmd+K
Focus table search	Ctrl+F or / on the Data tab	Cmd+F or / on the Data tab
Refresh the current view	Ctrl+Shift+R	Cmd+Shift+R
Reload the database from disk	Ctrl+Alt+R	Cmd+Option+R

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Try this
Database locked or checkpoint fails	Close other apps holding the file, then run Checkpoint WAL and Refresh.
Encrypted database will not open	Check that sqlcipher -version works, then reconnect with the correct key.
WAL data appears stale	Confirm that checkpointing is enabled and the database is writable. Another active writer may prevent a complete checkpoint.
Repeated external-change notifications	Keep monitoring enabled and increase externalRefreshDebounceMs, for example to 750 or 1000.

Still stuck? Open an issue with your editor's name, version, and steps to reproduce. Avoid including private database contents or encryption keys.

Project

Release notes · MIT license · Issues and feedback

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