DadView 🗃️

A modern, pure Lua database UI for Neovim. Browse connections, execute queries, and view results - all without leaving your editor.

✨ Features

• 🚀 Pure Lua Implementation - No external dependencies, uses Neovim's native async job API
• 🔌 Pluggable Adapter System - Easy to add new database support
• 💾 PostgreSQL Support - Built-in PostgreSQL adapter (more coming soon!)
• 🎨 Beautiful UI - Clean sidebar for managing connections
• ⚡ Async Query Execution - Non-blocking queries with progress indicators
• 🎯 Connection Testing - Validates connections before use
• 🛑 Query Cancellation - Cancel long-running queries with <C-c>
• 📊 Result Buffers - Dedicated buffers for query results
• 🔄 Auto-execute on Save - Optional auto-execution when saving query buffers

📦 Installation

Using lazy.nvim

{
  'your-username/dadview',
  config = function()
    require('dadview').setup({
      width = 40,
      position = 'left',
      auto_open_query_buffer = true,
      auto_execute_on_save = true,
    })
  end
}

Using packer.nvim

use {
  'your-username/dadview',
  config = function()
    require('dadview').setup()
  end
}

🚀 Quick Start

1. Configure Database Connections

Add your database connections to your Neovim config:

vim.g.dbs = {
  {
    name = 'local_dev',
    url = 'postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb',
  },
  {
    name = 'production',
    url = 'postgresql://user:password@prod.example.com:5432/proddb',
  },
  {
    name = 'oracle_dev',
    url = 'jdbc:oracle:thin:@hostname:1521/service_name?user=username&password=password',
  },
}

2. Open DadView

Use :DadView or your configured keymap to open the sidebar.

3. Connect to a Database

• Press <CR> on a connection in the sidebar, or
• Use :DadView <connection_name> to connect directly

4. Write and Execute Queries

DadView will automatically open a query buffer. Write your SQL and:

• Press <leader>r or <C-CR> to execute
• Press <C-c> to cancel a running query
• Save the buffer (:w) to auto-execute (if enabled)

📖 Usage

Commands

Command	Description
:DadView [connection]	Toggle sidebar or connect to named connection
:DadViewToggle	Toggle the sidebar
:DadViewConnect <name>	Connect to a database by name
:DadViewNewQuery	Open a new query buffer
:DadViewExecute	Execute the current query buffer
:DadViewCancel	Cancel the current running query
:DadViewClose	Close the sidebar

Default Keymaps (in query buffers)

Key	Action
<leader>r	Execute query
<C-CR>	Execute query
<C-c>	Cancel running query

Sidebar Keymaps

Key	Action
<CR>	Connect to database under cursor
R	Refresh connection list
?	Show help
q	Close sidebar

⚙️ Configuration

require('dadview').setup({
  -- Sidebar width
  width = 40,
  
  -- Sidebar position ('left' or 'right')
  position = 'left',
  
  -- Result buffer split direction ('horizontal' or 'vertical')
  result_split = 'horizontal',
  
  -- Automatically open query buffer when connecting
  auto_open_query_buffer = true,
  
  -- Reuse most recent query file instead of creating new ones
  reuse_query_buffer = false,
  
  -- Auto-execute query when saving buffer
  auto_execute_on_save = true,
})

Setting up Keymaps

-- Toggle sidebar
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>db', '<cmd>DadView<cr>', { desc = 'Toggle DadView' })

-- Quick connect to specific databases
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>dl', '<cmd>DadView local<cr>', { desc = 'Connect to local DB' })
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>dd', '<cmd>DadView dev<cr>', { desc = 'Connect to dev DB' })

-- Open new query buffer
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>dq', '<cmd>DadViewNewQuery<cr>', { desc = 'New query buffer' })

🔌 Database Adapters

Currently Supported

• PostgreSQL (postgresql:// or postgres://)
  • Requires: psql command-line tool
• Oracle Database via JDBC (jdbc:oracle:thin:@host:port/service or jdbc:oracle:thin:@host:port:sid)
  • Requires: Oracle SQLcl (sql command) or SQL*Plus (sqlplus command)
  • Credentials can be passed via URL parameters: ?user=username&password=password

Adding a New Adapter

DadView uses a pluggable adapter system. To add support for a new database:

1. Create a new adapter file in lua/dadview/adapters/your_database.lua
2. Implement the required interface:

local M = {}

-- Parse connection URL
function M.parse_url(url)
  -- Parse and return connection details
  return {
    scheme = 'your_database',
    host = 'localhost',
    port = 1234,
    user = 'user',
    password = 'pass',
    database = 'dbname',
    params = {},
  }
end

-- Build command for executing queries
function M.build_command(parsed, opts)
  -- Return command array and environment variables
  local cmd = { 'your-db-cli', '--host', parsed.host }
  local env = { YOUR_PASSWORD = parsed.password }
  return cmd, env
end

-- Format query results
function M.format_results(output, opts)
  -- Format the CLI output
  return output
end

-- Optional: Test connection
function M.test_connection(parsed)
  -- Return true/false, error_message
  return true, nil
end

return M

3. Register your adapter in lua/dadview/db.lua:

local your_db = require('dadview.adapters.your_database')
adapters.register('your_database', your_db)

See lua/dadview/adapters/postgresql.lua for a complete example.

🏗️ Architecture

lua/dadview/
├── init.lua              # Main plugin entry point
├── db.lua                # Database operations (query execution, etc.)
├── adapters/
│   ├── init.lua          # Adapter registry and interface
│   └── postgresql.lua    # PostgreSQL adapter
└── ...

Key Components

• Adapter System: Modular architecture for database support
• Async Query Execution: Uses vim.system() for non-blocking queries
• Result Management: Dedicated buffers for query results
• Connection Pooling: Efficient connection reuse
• No Memory Leaks: Proper cleanup of resources

🆚 Comparison with vim-dadbod

DadView was inspired by vim-dadbod but built from scratch in Lua:

Feature	DadView	vim-dadbod
Language	Pure Lua	VimScript
Dependencies	None	None
Memory Leaks	✅ None	❌ Known issues
Async Queries	✅ Yes	⚠️ Limited
UI	✅ Built-in	Requires plugin
Adapters	1 (PostgreSQL)	18+ databases

DadView focuses on modern Neovim features and a clean architecture, making it easier to maintain and extend.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Especially:

• New database adapters (MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB, etc.)
• UI improvements
• Bug fixes and performance improvements

📝 License

MIT

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Inspired by vim-dadbod
• Built for the Neovim community