mycli — MySQL CLI with Auto-Completion and Syntax Highlighting

What it is

mycli is a Python-based interactive CLI for MySQL, MariaDB, and Percona with smart auto-completion, syntax highlighting, and result formatting. It is the MySQL counterpart of pgcli, part of the dbcli project family.

The tool serves database administrators, backend developers, and data engineers who work with MySQL from the terminal and want a more productive alternative to the default mysql client.

How it saves time or tokens

mycli auto-completes table names, column names, and SQL keywords as you type, eliminating the need to look up schema details manually. Syntax highlighting catches typos visually before you run the query. Formatted output with proper alignment makes result sets readable without copying to a spreadsheet.

How to use

1. Install mycli: pip install mycli or brew install mycli.
2. Connect to your database: mycli -h localhost -u root -p mydb.
3. Start typing SQL and auto-completion activates automatically.

Example

# Install
pip install mycli

# Connect to a local MySQL database
mycli -h localhost -u root mydb

# Inside mycli, auto-completion works as you type:
# SELECT * FROM or -> suggests: orders, organizations
# SELECT o.id, o.sta -> suggests: status, start_date

# Useful features:
# \T  - change output format (table, csv, tsv)
# \f  - toggle output to file
# F2  - toggle smart completion mode
# \dt - list tables

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Common pitfalls

• mycli's auto-completion loads the schema at connection time. For databases with many tables, this can delay the initial prompt. Use --no-auto-complete for faster startup on large schemas.
• mycli uses less as the default pager. Large result sets page automatically. Set \P to change the pager or disable it.
• Some MySQL 8.0 features (like CTEs with recursive) work correctly in mycli, but auto-completion may not suggest CTE syntax.