pgxcli

Interactive PostgreSQL command-line client written in Go.

Table of Contents

1. About The Project
2. Comparison with pgcli
3. Getting Started
   • Installation
4. Usage
5. Configuration
6. Contributing
7. Thanks

About The Project

pgxcli is an interactive PostgreSQL command-line client built in Go, designed for a fast, and smooth REPL experience. It includes syntax highlighting, keyword autocompletion, command history, and support for PostgreSQL backslash commands.

Highlights:

• Interactive REPL with customizable prompt and style.
• Rich syntax highlighting.
• Context aware autocompletion.
• Persistent command history.
• PostgreSQL special backslash commands (\d, \l, \dt, \q).

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Comparison with pgcli

Pgcli is a mature PostgreSQL CLI developed over many years, which has set the standard for interactive PostgreSQL clients.

Where pgxcli stands out:

Now

• Single binary, no external runtime dependencies
• Fast startup and better performance
• Modern CLI Interface
• Performance improvements for large tables

Planned

• Streaming query results for large tables
• Browser based Table view via localhost
• Direct Table export to SQL INSERT statements, CSV, MD tables, Excel, and HTML.

For more details, see the Comparison with pgcli.

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Getting Started

Installation

pgxcli is distributed as a single binary for Linux, macOS, and Windows. You can download the latest version from the releases page.

Linux

Download the .deb, .rpm, .apk, or .pkg.tar.zst for your architecture and install it using your package manager.

# Example for Debian / Ubuntu
sudo dpkg -i pgxcli_*_linux_amd64.deb

macOS

Download the .tar.gz for your architecture (Intel or Apple Silicon), extract it, and move the binary to your PATH.

tar -xzf pgxcli_*_darwin_arm64.tar.gz
sudo mv pgxcli /usr/local/bin/

Windows

Download the .msi or .zip from the releases page. The installer will automatically add pgxcli to your PATH.

Docker

You can run pgxcli directly via Docker using the pre-built images:

docker run -it --rm ghcr.io/balajz/pgxcli:v0.3.0 postgres://user:pass@host:5432/db

Go Install

If you have Go installed, you can install directly:

go install github.com/balajz/pgxcli@latest

For more details, see the Installation Guide.

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Usage

# positional arguments
pgxcli mydb myuser

# flags
pgxcli --host localhost --port 5432 --user postgres --dbname postgres

# connection URI
pgxcli postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/dbname

# interactive connection form
pgxcli -i

For full flag documentation, see the docs.

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Configuration

On first run, a config file is created at:

• $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/pgxcli/config.toml (or the OS-equivalent user config directory)

For configuration documentation, see the configuration docs.

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Contributing

We welcome contributions of all kinds — bug reports, feature requests, documentation improvements, and code contributions. Whether you're fixing a typo, reporting an issue, or building a feature, every contribution helps make pgxcli better.

To get started, please read our Contributing Guide for:

• How to report bugs and suggest features
• Development setup and local testing
• Our code style and testing conventions
• Guidelines for pull requests

Thank you for being part of the community! 🙌

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Thanks

• pgx
• bubbletea
• Cobra
• Viper
• Inspired by pgcli
• sqls
• CockroachDB

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