What is mxds?
A native macOS IDE for working with data: a SQL editor, results, charts, Jupyter notebooks, dbt and a terminal for your AI agents, in one window. It is written in Rust and drawn on the GPU, so it opens fast and stays light.
General
What do I need to run it?
A Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
Is there a version for Intel Macs, Windows or Linux?
No. mxds is built for Apple silicon Macs only.
Can I download it now?
Not yet. Leave your email on the download page and we will write once, when it is ready.
Do I get updates?
Yes. Every update is free, on Free and Pro alike.
Databases
Which databases does mxds support?
Thirteen engines. Remote ones can connect through an SSH tunnel.
- DuckDB
- MotherDuck
- SQLite
- PostgreSQL
- Amazon Redshift
- MySQL
- MariaDB
- SQL Server
- ClickHouse
- BigQuery
- Snowflake
- Databricks
- Trino
Some engines are newer in mxds than others. If something does not work with yours, write to hello@mxds.app.
Where are my passwords stored?
In the macOS Keychain. They are never written to a file.
Can I import and export files?
Import CSV, TSV, Parquet and Excel files into DuckDB. Export any result to CSV, TSV, JSON, SQL, Parquet or Excel.
Agents and AI
Does mxds include an AI model?
No. Bring the agent you already use: Claude Code, Codex, opencode or any other CLI agent, with your own subscription. mxds runs it in its terminal and gives it the mxds CLI and MCP.
How does my agent work with mxds?
The mxds command is available in every mxds terminal, and the MCP server works with any MCP client. Through either one your agent runs queries in your tabs, reads results, builds charts, edits notebooks and searches Recall. Answers come back as compact, token-optimized text.
What is Recall?
A knowledge base for each project, kept on your Mac. Your agent saves what it learned, such as findings, conventions and gotchas, and finds it again in later sessions. Embeddings are computed on your Mac. Free includes up to 10 notes per project.
Notebooks and dbt
Do notebooks need Python?
Yes. Notebooks run on your own Jupyter kernels, so you need Python with ipykernel installed. SQL cells run on your saved connections and hand results to Python.
Do I need dbt installed?
To run dbt build, yes: mxds uses your own dbt, from the project’s virtual environment or your PATH. Previewing a model and the lineage graph work from the project files.
Privacy
Does mxds send my data anywhere?
Queries go straight from your Mac to your database. Results, query history, Recall and your files stay on your Mac.
mxds sends anonymous usage statistics (which features are used, never your SQL, data, names, paths or hosts) and crash reports with the query text removed. You can turn off either one in Settings. Details are in the Privacy Policy.
Licensing and billing
What is the difference between Free and Pro?
Free has the whole app with one remote database connection and up to 10 Recall notes per project. Pro removes both limits. See Pricing.
How many Macs can I use Pro on?
One Mac per license at a time. When you change Macs, deactivate the old one in the app or in your account, then activate the new one.
Does Pro work offline?
Yes. mxds checks your license when it is online, and keeps Pro for up to 14 days without a connection.
Can I get a refund?
Yes, within 14 days of a purchase or a renewal, no questions asked. See the Refund Policy.
Who handles payments?
Paddle, our reseller and Merchant of Record. Paddle takes the payment, adds sales tax or VAT where it applies, and sends the invoice.