Show HN: AI-first PostgreSQL client for Mac
"Can you check if this user is on the premium plan?" "I have a support ticket on Mr.Bean, saying he cannot login... Can you have a look?" "How many subscriptions did we have today?" ... As senior SWE at Twenty.com (open source CRM), I had these quite often. Every day I needed to check something in Postgres, I had to wait 30 seconds for DBeaver to load or fight pgAdmin's UI. So I built Paul. Yes our database configuration has too many schemas (3000 schemas) for those clients, but still, it was not Postgres fault. Only the client that couldn't handle it. Paul is a native macOS app, light ( I did not go very deep in the DBA features, nor in the UI. I kept Paul simple: you can browse tables, filter them, and sort them. A few distinctions: - Paul's read-only by default: you have to explicitly s
Simple PostgreSQL client for Mac
The PostgreSQL client for people who aren't DBAs.
Paul is an AI-first PostgreSQL client for engineers, support teams, and anyone who needs fast answers from their database — without the complexity of traditional tools. Read-only by default. Edit when you need to.
Free macOS app Read-only by default Edit mode when you need it No account, no tracking
Trusted by teams at
Alan
Twenty
Korint
Certo
Classic DB tools were not built for you
Great for database admins. Overkill for everyone else.
⏱️
Slow & Heavy
pgAdmin takes 900MB and minutes to open. DBeaver eats your RAM. DataGrip needs 30 seconds to cold start.
🧩
Too Complex
Dozens of panels, menus, and settings designed for DBAs — when you just need to check a user or fix a row.
Paul is different
Opens in 2 seconds. Ask in plain language. Safe by default. Simple as that.
Perfect for
Works with any PostgreSQL database — local, staging, or production.
On-call engineers
Investigate user issues in seconds. Trace data relationships across tables without writing SQL under pressure.
Support & success teams
Look up customer data yourself. Ask in plain language, get answers — no need to wait for an engineer.
Startup teams
Give your team safe database access without building internal tools. Simpler than Metabase, safer than DBeaver.
Quick data fixes
Switch to edit mode to INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE rows directly — with a clear safety toggle so you never edit by accident.
See it in action
Connect in seconds, browse tables, ask in plain language, and edit when you need to.
Built for simplicity, not database admin
Fast, safe, and focused — without the complexity of traditional tools.
🤖
AI-first
Ask questions in plain language. Paul turns your words into queries — no SQL needed.
🔒
Safe by default
Read-only mode by default. Switch to edit mode when you need it — INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE with full control.
⚡
Opens in 2 seconds
Under 20MB. No loading screens, no bloated setup. Connect and start working immediately.
🔍
Visual navigation
Follow foreign keys, split-view across tables, filter & sort — all without writing a single query.
Paul vs. the rest
Built for people who use a database, not people who administer one.
Paul pgAdmin / DBeaver TablePlus / DataGrip
Startup time 2 seconds Minutes 15–30 sec
App size <20 MB 200–900 MB 100–400 MB
AI / natural language Built-in agent No Plugin / paid
Production safety Read-only default Full write access Full write access
Price Free Free (bloated) $99+ / year
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