Introducing ClavisDB

If you develop scripts for FiveM or RedM, or you've ever managed your own server, there's a good chance you've used HeidiSQL.

I certainly have, and it does its job. The problem is that database clients like HeidiSQL and DBeaver still feel like tools from another era. They're powerful, but their interfaces are often crowded, outdated and unnecessarily intimidating, especially for a server owner who just wants to find a player, edit a value or understand what's actually stored inside their database.

That's where the idea for ClavisDB came from.

The concept is simple: build a desktop SQL client that is fast, easy to use, safe and secure and actually pleasant to look at. A modern application with a clean interface, good UX and all the functionality you'd expect from a proper database client, without making simple operations feel more complicated than they need to be.

ClavisDB is being built with Electron and initially supports MySQL and MariaDB, including remote databases and SSH connections. Underneath the modern interface it's still a real SQL client, with a database explorer, data browser, inline editing, a proper query editor with schema aware autocomplete, filtering, sorting, exports and protection against potentially destructive queries.

Built with FiveM and RedM in Mind

This is where ClavisDB becomes a little different from another "Modern SQL Client".

Because I've been working with FiveM and RedM for years, I wanted the application to understand the databases we work with every day instead of treating them like any other random MySQL database.

Frameworks such as RSG Core and QBCore store a lot of character information inside JSON columns. Money, character information, jobs, metadata and other values often end up as huge JSON strings that are incredibly annoying to read and edit with traditional SQL clients.

ClavisDB automatically detects JSON values and gives you a proper editor with a structured tree view, raw view, validation and formatting. Even JSON stored inside normal TEXT or VARCHAR columns can be detected and edited directly.

But I wanted to go further than that…

ClavisDB includes a dedicated FiveM and RedM Toolkit that can recognize common frameworks such as QBCore, QBox, RSG Core, ESX and VORP by analyzing the database structure.

This makes features like the Player Inspector possible. Instead of manually opening the players table, searching for a license or Citizen ID and then trying to understand several JSON fields or opening different tables to actually see “related player data across different tables”, you'll be able to search for a player and immediately see their character, identifiers, money, job, status and other relevant information in a readable interface.

And this is only the beginning. The plan is to expand this integration with inventory viewers, administration tools, ban management and even the ability to create a connection directly from the mysql_connection_string inside your server.cfg.

Made for Developers, but Not Only Developers

One thing that's important to me is that ClavisDB shouldn't become a FiveM or RedM administration panel disguised as a database client, the core product is still a proper SQL client.

If you're a developer, you can write SQL normally, inspect schemas, work with multiple results, use real schema based autocomplete, format queries and see execution times.

If you're a server owner with very little SQL experience, however, you shouldn't need to learn a dozen SQL commands just to safely change something in your database.

That's the balance I'm trying to achieve, ClavisDB should be powerful enough for someone who spends all day writing queries, but simple enough that a server owner can open it for the first time and understand what's happening.

More Than a Better Looking HeidiSQL

Making a prettier SQL client would be easy, but it wouldn't be enough.

The goal with ClavisDB is to rethink some of the small things that make database work annoying. Better JSON editing, safer destructive operations, easier SSH connections, global database search, better data editing and eventually tools like schema comparison and migration generation are much more important than simply putting a modern interface on top of MySQL.

The FiveM and RedM integration then gives it something that general purpose SQL clients simply aren't designed to provide.

I'm building ClavisDB because it's a tool I personally want to use every day, and that's usually where my favorite projects start… A modern SQL client that makes database work feel simple again.

Get your license: ClavisDB | Pricing Page

Download the App Releases · ZioMark13/clavisdb-release