Show HN: DataRamen, a Fast SQL Explorer with Automatic Joins and Data Navigation
You run it locally from the CLI (no cloud version yet), connect your databases, and you're ready to go. The goal is to let you explore and query data like you would in a spreadsheet: intuitive, fast, and without friction.
Key features:
- Automatic joins & related data navigation: Right-click any row to instantly see related records in other tables (based on foreign keys or references).
- Keyboard-driven UI: Hit N to jump to a table, F to filter, and so on, it’s optimized for speed so you can go from question to insight in seconds (this point is still in progress, I find it confortable, but the goal is to make it even better).
- Named tabs with saved queries: Keep multiple tabs open with different queries, useful for comparing or cross-checking data. Tabs are saved, so you can get back to your queries at any time.
- Instant edit & insert: One click to edit or add rows, no need to write full queries.
- Multi-DB support: Connect several databases and search across all of them.
- Search across all columns: Find what you need even if you don't know the exact column.
If you've ever felt slowed down by writing the same SQL over and over just to explore your data, this might save you a ton of time. I’d love feedback or suggestions, especially from folks who wrangle data often.
Find more information on https://dataramen.xyz
PS. don't be harsh on the logo, I did my best :)
And yes, you're absolutely right about the lack of screenshots. I realize now how important that is for trust and clarity. I’m working on improving the landing page with proper visuals, and I’m also exploring the idea of a live demo using an in-browser SQLite DB — that should let people try it instantly without setup. It’ll take a bit of time, but it’s now high on the priority list. Appreciate the feedback!
But def looks very interesting and i like the simple minimal design on mobile. Logo's great too. Congrats on getting it out there!
After reading all the comments, I can see there are two big issues here:
- The code is not open-sourced, and some people don't trust running it locally
- The landing page does not clearly show/explain what DataRamen is and how it works
I should've seen it coming. I will take the following actions to tackle these problems:
1) Open-source the CLI code. There are no super sophisticated algorithms behind it, so no need to keep it private.
2) Improve the landing page with screens and videos to showcase its features.
In addition to this, I will keep working on new features. I saw multiple comments mentioning SQLite support. Since it is possible to run SQLite directly in the browser, I might as well use it as a live demo where you can try the tool with a dummy DB without installing it locally (can't promise it, I have to see the feasibility of this project).
I think most people would be wary of running random npm modules to which they will be giving database credentials and passing through their actual data.
I hadn’t initially planned to open source it, but this feedback is making me seriously reconsider. At the very least, more transparency is clearly needed, and I’m thinking through the best way to approach that.
Curious though, would you feel any more comfortable if it were a packaged desktop app (with no source) instead of a CLI? Or is open code the baseline no matter the form?
I personally would not run an arbitrary binary from somebody I've never heard of on my local machine. And definitely not give it database credentials or access. I also think anybody that is willing to do so is insane. There's so much garbage and malware on npm, that something that is installed via the @latest on npm is arguably even worse. Even if it's fine now, there's no telling when one of its deps could be compromised too.
- Local database: it stores some stuff locally, like saved queries or DB configurations
- Query runner: when you run a query in the webapp it will call your localhost server, which will connect to the database and execute the SQL statement
It is technically possible to host it elsewhere, but I wouldn't recommend it (there is no documentation).
``` Error [ERR_REQUIRE_ESM]: require() of ES Module /Users/cupid/.bun/install/global/node_modules/yargs/index.mjs not supported. ```
Is there a GitHub or similar where issues can be reported?
This seems like a yargs compatibility issue (I kind of expected it to be problematic), I will probably switch to commander to handle CLI.
On my part, I would like to see sqlite support and screenshots on the mainpage, also not a big fan of running an unknown command on my data.
Since you run locally, any value of having the frontend loaded from a website instead of just opening it in localhost ?
> I would like to see sqlite support Indeed, it is something I'm planing to add, but following all the feedback I got so far this will have to wait (landing page needs some work, plus a lot of people are having concerns regarding CLI tool not being open sourced)
> any value of having the frontend loaded from a website instead of just opening it in localhost ? I want the CLI package to be as small as possible, and including 600kb React bundle in it is the exact oposite of small. Moreover, the idea in the future is for you to be able to connect to any host (be it cloud, localhost or selfhosted) from the same page (for example I have company self hosted server and a local server for my local databases).
Not a single screenshot on the page
I'll prioritize getting some clear screenshots and maybe even a short demo video up soon. Thanks for pointing it out, appreciate the feedback.
Neat idea on paper though!