Getting Started

Dadbod Grip turns database tables into editable Vim buffers. It stages each change, shows the SQL it will run, and sends the batch between BEGIN and COMMIT.

Requirements

Neovim 0.10 or newer.
The CLI for each adapter you use: psql, mysql, sqlite3, duckdb, or sqlcmd.
No other Neovim plugin is required. Picker and completion integrations are optional.

Run :checkhealth dadbod-grip after installation to see which database clients and optional AI providers are available.

Installation

lazy.nvim (recommended)

The plugin ships a Lazy spec that registers its commands. You do not need to copy a cmd list into your configuration.

{
  "joryeugene/dadbod-grip.nvim",
  opts = {},
}

To dogfood a local checkout while keeping the plugin identity stable:

{
  "joryeugene/dadbod-grip.nvim",
  dir = "~/Documents/github/dadbod-grip.nvim",
  opts = {},
}

packer.nvim

use { "joryeugene/dadbod-grip.nvim", tag = "v*" }

vim-plug

Plug 'joryeugene/dadbod-grip.nvim', { 'tag': 'v*' }

Connect to a database

Run :GripConnect, then select a known connection or paste one of these forms:

postgresql://user:${DB_PASSWORD}@host:5432/dbname
mysql://user:${DB_PASSWORD}@host:3306/dbname
mariadb://user:${DB_PASSWORD}@host:3306/dbname
sqlite:path/to/file.db
duckdb:path/to/file.duckdb
sqlserver://user:${DB_PASSWORD}@host:1433/dbname
mssql://user:${DB_PASSWORD}@host:1433/dbname

/path/to/file.csv
https://host/data.parquet
duckdb::memory:

Dadbod Grip recognizes Parquet, CSV, TSV, JSON, NDJSON, JSONL, XLSX, ORC, Arrow, and IPC files. Remote HTTPS and S3 sources run through DuckDB.

Connections saved from the picker go to .grip/connections.json. Global connections live in ~/.grip/connections.json. See Connections for scopes, opaque saved-query bindings, and secret placeholders.

Your first edit

Run :GripConnect and connect to a database.
Navigate the schema sidebar with j and k, then press <CR> to open a table.
Move to a cell and press i or <CR> to edit it.
Press gl to inspect the staged DML.
Press a to send the staged statements as one BEGIN/COMMIT batch. If the database client reports an error, inspect the database before retrying.

Try the built-in demo

Run :GripStart to recreate and open the Softrear Inc. demo. Dadbod Grip uses DuckDB when the duckdb client is available and falls back to SQLite through sqlite3. One of those clients must be on your PATH. Each run reseeds the database, so edits from an earlier demo session are discarded. The walkthrough explains the investigation.

Configuration

Every option is optional. These are the current defaults:

require("dadbod-grip").setup({
  limit = 100,
  max_col_width = 40,
  timeout = 10000,
  completion = true,
  connections_path = nil,
  picker = "builtin",       -- "builtin", "telescope", or "snacks"
  pinned_max = nil,
  border = "rounded",
  cell_split = "horizontal",
  sticky_header = true,
  open_sidebar = true,
})

Set open_sidebar = false to connect directly into the welcome screen and query pad. The schema sidebar remains available through :GripSchema or gb.

timeout applies to database CLI calls. DuckDB work that may download an extension or read a remote URL receives a 60-second minimum for that network step, while connection health checks use five seconds.

What opens automatically

With open_sidebar = true, a connection opens three surfaces:

The schema sidebar shows tables, columns, primary keys, foreign keys, and DDL actions.
The query pad provides a persistent SQL buffer.
The main workspace displays welcome content and result grids.

Press 1, 2, or 3 to move among the primary surfaces. Keys 4 through 9 open the ER diagram, column statistics, columns, foreign keys, indexes, and constraints. Press <C-p> for the command palette or ? for the contextual keymap.