<open-source database cli />

Databases, managed
like containers

dbpod runs real MySQL & PostgreSQL engines as project-local instances — installed like images, run detached, cleaned like containers. Zero global pollution.

curl -fsSL https://dbpod.io/install.sh | sh
  1. 1Install an engine$ dbpod engine install mysql@8.0
  2. 2Run an instance$ dbpod run --name dev --engine mysql@8.0
  3. 3Open a SQL shell$ dbpod exec dev
dbpod — zsh

Full lifecycle: install → run → query → inspect → stop. Re-recordable with vhs; scripted in-repo.

mental model

If you know Docker, you know dbpod.

Every concept maps one-to-one. No new vocabulary, no new workflow.

imageengine versiondbpod engine install mysql@8.0 — the series resolves to the latest known patch (8.0.46).
containerinstancedbpod run --name dev --engine mysql@8.0 — detached, ready when the prompt returns.
volumeproject datadirAll state lives in ./.dbpod/ — data, logs, socket, pid. Delete the directory, the database is gone.
docker images / rmi / pullsame-named commandsDocker-compatible commands ship as hidden aliases. Docker users already know dbpod.

capabilities

Built lightweight, on purpose.

One static binary. No system services, no /usr/local litter, no root.

Engines as images

Engine binaries as images. Install in seconds, run anywhere.

dbpod engine install postgres@17

Project-local data

Your data lives in your project. ./.dbpod is the whole story.

ls ./.dbpod/dev/

Managed runtime

Detached like a daemon, clean like a container.

dbpod run --rm --name ci --engine postgres@17

One-YAML extensibility

MySQL and PostgreSQL built in. MariaDB, Percona, MongoDB via one YAML file.

dbpod registry add ./mongodb.yaml

exec: the toolbox

Every binary in the distribution, one command away.

dbpod exec dev mysqldump --help

One binary, everywhere

One binary. macOS, Linux, Windows.

dbpod engine ls --all

engines

Two engines built in. More are one YAML away.

Builtin engines ship with the binary. Community engines come from thedbpod-ext registry — adding one touches zero lines of main code. How extending works →

Developed in the open.

Read the source, file issues, or add your own engine. Start in under a minute: