The missing SSMS workflows on macOS
Create • Rename • Delete • Backup • Restore
SQL Server database management, finally native on Mac.
Features • Quick Start • Screenshots • Why MJ Forge? • Roadmap • Contributing
You're a developer on Mac. You run SQL Server in Docker. VS Code and Azure Data Studio are great for queries, but when you need to:
- Create a new database for a feature branch
- Backup your local DB before a risky migration
- Restore a production dump for debugging
- Delete old test databases to free up space
...you're stuck. Start a Windows VM? docker exec with T-SQL you can never remember? Ask a teammate on Windows?
That ends now.
MJ Forge automatically detects SQL Server containers running on your machine. It understands volume mounts, so backup/restore paths just work.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 🐳 Docker SQL Server Detection │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 📦 sql-server-dev ● RUNNING │
│ Port: localhost:1433 │
│ Volume: ~/backups → /var/opt/mssql/backups │
│ │
│ [ Connect ] │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Never wonder "what did the app actually do?" Every operation shows the exact T-SQL being executed. Copy it, learn it, or run it elsewhere.
BACKUP DATABASE [MyApp]
TO DISK = N'/var/opt/mssql/backups/MyApp_20260122.bak'
WITH COMPRESSION, INIT, STATS = 10;Long-running operations show real-time progress. See exactly how far along your backup or restore is, with elapsed time and speed metrics.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 💾 Backing Up: MyApp │
│ │
│ ████████████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 67% │
│ │
│ 104 MB / 156 MB • 00:12 elapsed • 8.7 MB/s │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Destructive operations require explicit confirmation. Type the database name to delete. System databases are protected.
Multi-tab query workspace with syntax highlighting, results grid, and messages pane. Everything you need for day-to-day SQL work.
Connect your own AI API keys (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Groq, or Cerebras) to unlock:
- Smart Tab Naming — Tabs auto-rename based on query content
- Result Analysis — Ask questions about your query results in natural language
- Pattern Detection — AI identifies trends and anomalies in your data
Every query execution is saved as a snapshot. Compare any two runs side-by-side to see exactly what changed — added rows, removed rows, and modified values highlighted.
- macOS 13 (Ventura) or later
- Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) or Intel Mac
- SQL Server 2017+ (local Docker or remote server)
- For Docker SQL Server: Docker Desktop
⬇️ Download MJ Forge for macOS
| Chip | Download |
|---|---|
| Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) | MJ Forge-x.x.x-arm64.dmg |
| Intel | MJ Forge-x.x.x-x64.dmg |
Note: On first launch, right-click the app and select "Open" to bypass Gatekeeper (the app is not yet notarized).
git clone https://github.com/MemberJunction/Forge.git
cd mj-forge
npm install
npm run dev # Development mode with hot reload
npm run package:mac # Build .dmg installer- Launch MJ Forge
- Click "Detect Docker SQL Server" (or "Add Connection" for remote servers)
- Select your container and enter the SA password
- Start working!
Screenshots coming soon
| Feature | MJ Forge | Azure Data Studio | TablePlus | SSMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| macOS Native | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Create/Rename/Delete DB | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Backup Database | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Restore Database | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Docker Detection | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| T-SQL Transparency | ✅ | N/A | N/A | ❌ |
| Query Editor | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Object Explorer | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Result History & Diff | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| AI Analysis | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| FK Navigation | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
- Framework: Electron + Angular 18
- SQL Connectivity: node-mssql (TDS protocol)
- Security: macOS Keychain for credentials
- Docker: dockerode for container detection
- Code Editor: Monaco Editor
Built with patterns from MemberJunction, the open-source metadata-driven application platform.
- Project foundation
- Connection management with Keychain storage
- Docker SQL Server detection
- Object explorer (databases, tables, views, procedures, functions)
- Multi-tab query editor with results grid
- Create / Rename / Delete database
- Full backup with streaming progress
- Restore with file relocation wizard
- Query result history with snapshots
- Result comparison (diff view)
- Dark/Light mode themes
- Export results (CSV, JSON, Excel)
- Foreign key navigation in results
- AI-powered features (tab naming, result analysis)
- Differential backups
- Connection grouping and tagging
- Azure AD authentication
- IntelliSense / autocomplete
- Backup scheduling
- Schema scripting
- SQL generation with AI
- Node.js 20+
- npm 10+
- Xcode Command Line Tools
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/MemberJunction/Forge.git
cd mj-forge
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Start development mode (hot reload)
npm run dev
# Build for production
npm run build
# Package as .app
npm run packagemj-forge/
├── src/
│ ├── main/ # Electron main process
│ ├── preload/ # Context bridge scripts
│ ├── renderer/ # Angular application
│ └── shared/ # Shared types and constants
├── plans/ # System design documents
├── resources/ # App icons and assets
└── tests/ # Unit, integration, E2E tests
See CLAUDE.md for detailed development guidelines.
We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guidelines for details.
- Report Bugs: Open an issue with reproduction steps
- Suggest Features: Describe your use case and idea
- Submit PRs: Bug fixes, features, documentation
- Spread the Word: Star the repo, share with others
MJ Forge is sponsored by and built with MemberJunction, the open-source metadata-driven application development platform.
MemberJunction provides the foundational patterns used in MJ Forge:
- Singleton patterns for service management
- Object caching for performance
- Utility functions for data handling
If you're building data-intensive applications, check out the full MemberJunction platform.
MIT License — see LICENSE for details.
Made with ❤️ for Mac developers who work with SQL Server