I'm not an anti-GUI person. In fact, I wrote about web GUI development with Java. However, I also like the command-line interface (CLI), especially text-based UIs. three books After of exploring and the DevOps world, I got to with many text-based CLI tools that I didn't even know existed. These tools are especially useful when connecting to remote servers that don't have a GUI. a year MariaDB discover and play One special CLI tool that I frequently use is the SQL (or in the MySQL world)—a CLI program used to connect to MariaDB-compatible databases. mariadb client mysql With it, you can send SQL queries and other commands to the database server. The SQL client has multiple , one of which is the possibility to set a . If you are familiar with Linux, you have probably heard of or used the and pagers. mariadb configuration options terminal pager more less You can set a pager through the environment variable and will automatically use it. Alternatively, you can set a pager only for the current session using the prompt. PAGER mariadb mariadb For example, to use the pager, run the following command once you are connected to the database: less pager less The next time you run a query, you’ll be able to navigate through the result set using the arrow keys on your keyboard. SQL The pager is useful but not the best for SQL result sets that are shown as tables. less There’s an open-source tool called (see the documentation and source code on ), initially developed for but which later added support for several other databases, including MariaDB. pspg GitHub PostgreSQL Since the SQL client is able to connect to databases; I gave it a try, and it worked perfectly. Keep reading to find out how to try it out. mariadb MariaDB Xpand The easiest way to get an Xpand database up and running is by creating a service on (it’s free). However, you can also run a local instance using . Here’s the snippet you need: SkySQL Docker docker run --name xpand \ -d \ -p 3306:3306 \ --ulimit memlock=-1 \ mariadb/xpand-single Databases are more fun when there’s data in them. A simple yet interesting demo database is available on . On Linux-like operating systems, run the following commands (change the IP address in the last command if your Xpand database is running somewhere else): this website sudo apt install curl -y curl https://www.mariadbtutorial.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/nation.zip --output nation.zip unzip nation.zip mariadb -h 127.0.0.1 -u xpand < nation.sql rm nation.zip nation.sql Remember to install : pspg apt install pspg -y Connect to the database using the SQL client with a custom and cooler prompt that shows “Xpand”: mariadb mariadb -h 127.0.0.1 -u xpand --prompt="Xpand [\d]> " nation I learned this tip from my colleague Patrick Bossman (Product Manager at ) during a . I recommend watching it if you want to learn more. MariaDB webinar on MariaDB Xpand + Docker Set the pager for the current session: pspg pager pspg -s 14 -X --force-uniborder --quit-if-one-screen A nice feature in is that it shows the fancy text-based UI only when it makes sense ( ). So if your query returns only a few rows that fit in the screen, it will just show them right there on the screen as usual. For example, try running the following query: pspg --quit-if-one-screen MariaDB SQL select * from continents; Nothing new to see here. However, try the following: select * from countries; A navigable text-based interface allows you to explore the data more efficiently. You can search for a row, order, export to CSV, freeze columns, mark rows, and even use the mouse to interact with the tool, among other things. I hope this tool helps you the next time you have to interact with a database via SSH and the command line. You can find more information about how to install on your operating system, configuration options, and documentation on the for the project. pspg GitHub repository If you want to learn more about distributed SQL and the database, watch this , take a look at this , and explore some of the and . MariaDB Xpand short video datasheet blog posts documentation Also published here