Sequel Ace alternative for MySQL on Mac

Sequel Ace is a free, MIT-licensed macOS client for MySQL 5.7+ and MariaDB 10+, and it is the maintained successor to Sequel Pro. You search for a Sequel Ace alternative when App Store sandbox rules block a Unix socket or an SSH helper, when a teammate needs Windows or Linux, or when you want the GUI to preview the exact UPDATE before it runs.

What stays free after you switch

License cost does not have to change. Sequel Ace is MIT. TabulaSQL is also MIT: no subscription, no account, and no telemetry. You still get a SQL editor, a results grid, saved connections, and first-class MySQL and MariaDB support. Both tools speak the same wire protocol you already use from the mysql CLI, including caching_sha2_password on MySQL 8.4 and 9.x when the client library is current.

TabulaSQL adds a few things that stay free on every OS: encrypted saved connections, optional SSH tunnels in the New Connection dialog, inline cell edits, index and foreign-key views, SQL dump import, and export to CSV, JSON, or SQL. Apple Silicon and Intel macOS builds exist, plus Windows and Linux. Minimum versions are MySQL 5.7+ and MariaDB 10.4+, tested against MySQL 8.4, MySQL 9.7, and MariaDB 11.

DBeaver Community is another $0 option if you hop between engines. TablePlus needs a paid license after the trial.

What you actually lose

The Cocoa App Store build ships Intel and Apple Silicon binaries and a connection window Sequel Pro users already know. Leaving it means you give up that exact UI, the Sequel Pro favorites migration path, and Mac-only extras that TabulaSQL does not copy.

Those extras matter for some shops. Sequel Ace can mint AWS IAM tokens for Amazon RDS, log in through HashiCorp Vault OIDC so database passwords never sit on disk, and run an optional localhost MCP server for AI agents (off by default, read-only unless you change it). TabulaSQL has none of those. Recreate connections by hand: host, port, user, password, and SSH if needed. There is no Sequel Ace plist importer.

You also trade App Store Gatekeeper trust for a .dmg. TabulaSQL macOS builds may be unsigned. If macOS blocks the first launch, right-click the app and choose Open. That is a packaging difference, not a feature difference.

Sandbox limits: sockets, SSH, and Operation not permitted

Sequel Ace ships sandboxed so it can live in the Mac App Store. The sandbox is why a connection that works in Terminal fails in the GUI.

Local sockets are the usual first hit. Homebrew, Docker Desktop, and Laravel Herd often put mysqld.sock under /tmp or a versioned cellar path. Sequel Ace may refuse that file with Operation not permitted even if Full Disk Access is on. The supported workaround is a TCP connection: host 127.0.0.1, port 3306 (or the Herd mapped port), same user and password the CLI uses. A symlink in /tmp is not enough for the App Store build.

SSH is the second hit. Sequel Ace can open an in-app tunnel, but it uses the system SSH client inside the sandbox. Setups that need SSH_AUTH_SOCK, IdentityAgent, PKCS11Provider, ProxyCommand, ProxyJump, or a hardware key (YubiKey and similar) often fail with Operation not permitted. The reliable escape hatch is an external forward:

ssh -L 3307:127.0.0.1:3306 [email protected]

Then point any GUI at 127.0.0.1 port 3307. MySQL never listens on the public internet; only SSH does. Details of in-app tunnels are in MySQL GUI with SSH tunnel. Docker and Herd TCP vs socket notes live in Connect a MySQL GUI to Docker.

TabulaSQL is not an App Store sandbox binary, so local TCP and in-app SSH with a key file or password usually work without the container-path dance. Prefer 127.0.0.1:3306 over a Unix socket anyway: it matches how most local stacks publish MySQL and avoids socket-path surprises on every upgrade.

License, OS, SSH, and engines compared

Price and OS support are measurable. Native feel is not. If you only ever use one Mac and Sequel Ace already connects, stay. If you need the same client on a Linux laptop and a Windows desktop, Sequel Ace cannot follow you.

Recreate a local MySQL connection in five steps

1. In Sequel Ace, open the connection window and note Host, Port, Username, and whether SSH is enabled. For Docker Compose the host is usually 127.0.0.1 and the published port is whatever you mapped, often 3306. For a socket-only local server, plan to use TCP instead.
2. Download TabulaSQL from https://tabulasql.com/download and install the Apple Silicon or Intel .dmg. If Gatekeeper blocks it, right-click Open once.
3. Choose New Connection. Set host 127.0.0.1, port 3306 (or your mapped port), username (for example root or app), and password. Leave SSH off for a machine-local server.
4. Click Test connection. Error 1045 means the user or host ('root'@'127.0.0.1' vs 'root'@'localhost') does not match. Error 2002 usually means MySQL is not listening on that TCP port. Create a mysql user for '%@127.0.0.1' if you previously only used a socket.
5. Open a table in the grid, edit one cell, and turn on Safe Lock if it is not already on. The app should show the UPDATE SQL before it runs. That preview is the main daily-workflow difference versus firing writes from a results view with no SQL shown.

Saved connections stay encrypted on disk. Export them as a .dbmconn file when you set up a second machine; there is still no cloud sync.

Keep Sequel Ace when its extras are the product

Sequel Ace remains a strong Mac-only MySQL GUI. Keep it when App Store updates matter, when RDS IAM or Vault OIDC is how your team authenticates, or when you already live in its filter and favorites UI. Look at TabulaSQL, or another free client, when you need Windows or Linux, when sandbox SSH or sockets block you, or when you want Safe Lock on production grids. Feature lists and screenshots are on /features. A broader Mac-speed roundup sits in Lightweight MySQL client for Mac.