head to head · open source
DBeaver vs mycli
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars, 4,372 forks, 3,334 open issues and last shipped today. mycli has 11,976 stars, 699 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. DBeaver leads on adoption by 333% (51,797 vs 11,976 stars). DBeaver is written in Java under Apache-2.0; mycli is written in Python under BSD-3-Clause. DBeaver has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, mycli 6%. DBeaver was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (database, mysql), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| DBeaver | mycli | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 12K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | Java | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 699 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick DBeaver if
- You weight community size — 52K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick mycli if
- You want the mycli feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and mycli fits your workflow better
About DBeaver
DBeaver is a free, multi platform database management tool built in Java, designed for developers, SQL programmers, database administrators, and analysts. It operates across Windows, macOS, and Linux and integrates with the Eclipse based plugin ecosystem via OSGi and Eclipse RCP frameworks.
read the full DBeaver overview →
About mycli
mycli is a rich terminal client for MySQL compatible databases, aimed at developers, data scientists, and operators who want auto completion, syntax highlighting, and dataframe tooling inside an interactive SQL shell.
read the full mycli overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is DBeaver or mycli more popular?
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars and mycli has 11,976. DBeaver has the larger community by that measure.
Are DBeaver and mycli free?
Both are open source. DBeaver is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mycli under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between DBeaver and mycli?
DBeaver is written in Java and mycli in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, DBeaver or mycli?
Choose DBeaver if you want the larger community (51,797 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose mycli if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.