pgcli

A Postgres command-line client with smart autocompletion and syntax highlighting, part of the dbcli family.

Verified facts: 4 of 4
Alternatives ranked: 4
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About pgcli

pgcli is a drop-in improvement on psql, PostgreSQL's standard command-line client. It adds context-aware autocompletion that suggests table names after FROM and column names after SELECT or WHERE, syntax highlighting as you type, multi-line editing, pretty table output, named queries you can save and reuse, and support for most psql backslash commands. It is written in Python, installs with pip or Homebrew, and runs anywhere Python does, including Windows, macOS and Linux. pgcli is free and open source under the BSD 3-Clause licence and is part of the dbcli project, which also maintains sibling tools with the same features for MySQL (mycli), SQLite (litecli) and SQL Server (mssql-cli). Because it is a terminal tool, there is no visual data editing or schema designer, and very large result sets are better handled elsewhere. It is ideal for developers who already use psql on servers and want a friendlier prompt.

Best for: Postgres users who live in the terminal and want a smarter psql.

What works

Context-aware autocompletion and highlighting
Works with familiar psql commands
Free, BSD-licensed, with MySQL and SQLite siblings

Why people leave

Terminal only, no visual editing
PostgreSQL only
Needs Python to install

Top pgcli alternatives

See all 4

1
usql
A single psql-like CLI that also works with MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle and more.
66.5
2
Harlequin
A full-screen terminal SQL IDE with a catalogue and results viewer.
62.6
3
pgAdmin
A free graphical tool for full Postgres administration.
59.6
4
Postico
A simple native Mac GUI for Postgres.
57.2

Why people left pgcli

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pgcli: common questions

Is pgcli free?

Yes. pgcli is free, open-source software.

Is pgcli open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at dbcli/pgcli.

What platforms does pgcli run on?

pgcli is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

What are the best alternatives to pgcli?

The highest-ranked pgcli alternatives right now are usql, Harlequin and pgAdmin. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 4 pgcli alternatives

pgcli facts

4 of 4 verified

License: BSD-3-Clause; Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab); “License: BSD-3-Clause (BSD 3-Clause "New" or "Revised" License).”
Features: Auto-completion and syntax highlighting; Checked Oct 25, 2026pgcli.com(opens source in a new tab); “Pgcli is a command line interface for Postgres with auto-completion and syntax highlighting.”
Install: pip or Homebrew; Checked Oct 25, 2026pgcli.com(opens source in a new tab); “pip install pgcli If you're on macOS you can install it via Homebrew.”
Sibling tools: mycli for MySQL; Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab); “Description: Rich MySQL Terminal Client with AutoCompletion, Syntax Highlighting, and Dataframes.”