Tools & Ecosystem

CSharpDB provides 10+ ways to interact with your database — from embedded APIs to remote services, AI integrations, and visual tools.

Data Access Layers

Engine API (In-Process)

The Database class is the primary entry point for embedded use. It provides direct, high-performance, in-process access to the SQL engine and Collection API.

using CSharpDB.Engine;

public record User(string Name, string Email);

await using var db = await Database.OpenAsync("myapp.db");
await using var result = await db.ExecuteAsync("SELECT Name, Email FROM Users");
var users = await db.GetCollectionAsync<User>("users");

ADO.NET Provider

Standard DbConnection, DbCommand, DbDataReader, and DbTransaction implementations. Compatible with ORMs and data access libraries that use ADO.NET.

using CSharpDB.Data;

await using var conn = new CSharpDbConnection("Data Source=myapp.db");
await conn.OpenAsync();

await using var tx = await conn.BeginTransactionAsync();
await using var cmd = conn.CreateCommand();
cmd.Transaction = tx;
cmd.CommandText = "INSERT INTO Users VALUES (@id, @name)";
cmd.Parameters.Add(new CSharpDbParameter("@id", 1));
cmd.Parameters.Add(new CSharpDbParameter("@name", "Alice"));
await cmd.ExecuteNonQueryAsync();
await tx.CommitAsync();

Features: parameter binding, connection pooling, transaction support, type mapping.

Client SDK

A unified C# client with pluggable transports. Use the same ICSharpDbClient interface whether connecting locally, over HTTP, or via gRPC.

await using var client = CSharpDbClient.Create(new CSharpDbClientOptions
{
    Transport = CSharpDbTransport.Direct,
    DataSource = "myapp.db"
});

// Swap the transport to talk to a host instead:
// Transport = CSharpDbTransport.Http, Endpoint = "http://localhost:5000"
// Transport = CSharpDbTransport.Grpc, Endpoint = "https://localhost:5001"

var tables = await client.GetTableNamesAsync();
var result = await client.ExecuteSqlAsync("SELECT * FROM Users");
await client.ExecuteProcedureAsync(
    "GetUser",
    new Dictionary<string, object?> { ["id"] = 1 });

Hosting & Services

REST API

An ASP.NET Core Minimal API exposing 33+ endpoints across 13 groups. Includes OpenAPI/Swagger documentation with Scalar UI for interactive exploration.

gRPC Daemon

A standalone gRPC service host (CSharpDB.Daemon) for remote client access. Enables multi-machine architectures with the same Client SDK interface used locally.

Developer Tools

CLI REPL

An interactive shell for executing SQL and inspecting databases from the terminal.

$ csharpdb myapp.db
CSharpDB CLI v2.3.0

csharpdb> SELECT * FROM Users;
┌────┬───────┬───────────────────┐
│ Id │ Name  │ Email             │
├────┼───────┼───────────────────┤
│  1 │ Alice │ alice@example.com │
│  2 │ Bob   │ bob@example.com   │
└────┴───────┴───────────────────┘

csharpdb> .tables
Users, Products, Orders

csharpdb> .schema Users
CREATE TABLE Users (Id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, Name TEXT, Email TEXT)

csharpdb> .indexes
idx_users_email ON Users (Email)

csharpdb> .quit

Meta-commands: .tables, .schema, .indexes, .views, .triggers, .procedures, .read <file>, .snapshot, .quit

Admin UI (Blazor Server)

A full-featured web dashboard for database management and exploration.

VS Code Extension

A NativeAOT-backed extension for Visual Studio Code with deep CSharpDB integration.

• Auto-connect to workspace .db files
• Schema explorer — tables, columns, views, indexes, triggers, procedures
• .csql syntax highlighting, completion, and hover help
• Query results panel with export
• Data browser with CRUD for tables
• Table designer for schema editing
• Storage diagnostics viewer

AI Integration

MCP Server (Model Context Protocol)

A Model Context Protocol server exposing 15+ tools for AI assistants. Works with Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code Copilot, LM Studio, and other MCP-compatible clients.

Cross-Platform

Native FFI (NativeAOT)

A C library compiled with NativeAOT for cross-language interop. Enables CSharpDB usage from Python, Node.js, Go, Rust, Swift, Kotlin, Dart, and other languages via FFI.

Node.js Package

A TypeScript/JavaScript wrapper around the native library using koffi for FFI binding. Brings CSharpDB to the Node.js ecosystem.