# Look inside an SQLite database from Finder

> Look inside SQLite databases with Quick Look: every table's columns, types, keys and indexes, and the rows, opened read-only so nothing changes.

Select a `.sqlite`, `.sqlite3` or `.db` file and press Space: Gander shows its tables, their structure and their rows, without a database app. The file is opened read-only, so the database is never touched.

![nimbus.sqlite on the Structure tab: the api_keys and cities tables with column types, primary keys and NOT NULL flags.](https://ganderfinder.com/img/features/sqlite-structure-2x.webp)
![nimbus.sqlite on the Content tab: the cities table with names, countries, latitudes and longitudes.](https://ganderfinder.com/img/features/sqlite-content-2x.webp)

## How to do it

1. Install Gander from the Mac App Store and open it once.
2. Select the database in Finder and press Space.
3. Use **Structure** for columns, types, keys and indexes, and **Content** for the rows, table by table.

## Structure and Content

Two tabs cover what you usually want to know about a database:

- Structure: every table’s columns with their types, primary keys, NOT NULL and indexes
- Content: the first 1,000 rows of each table, with NULL shown in grey
- One tab per table, for databases with many tables
- Copy a table’s rows as tab-separated values with a header, ready to paste into a spreadsheet

## Safe for live databases

Gander opens the file read-only and immutable: it never writes to it and never creates `-wal`, `-shm` or journal files beside it. That makes it safe to look at the databases apps keep, such as Core Data stores. Rows that exist only in an uncommitted `-wal` file aren’t shown, and the preview says so.

## Limits

Each table shows its first 1,000 rows, and very long cells are shortened. Finder keeps its own icon for SQLite files, because macOS doesn’t let other apps draw their thumbnails.

## Questions

### Can previewing a database damage it?

No. Gander opens it read-only and immutable, so it never writes to the file or creates files beside it.

### Which files does Gander open as SQLite?

`.sqlite`, `.sqlite3` and `.db` files that are SQLite databases.

### Can I run queries or edit data?

No. Gander is a viewer: it shows the structure and the rows. To read `.sql` query files, see [SQL formatting](https://ganderfinder.com/sql-formatter).

## More guides

- [Preview Markdown in Finder, rendered the way GitHub shows it](https://ganderfinder.com/markdown-quick-look)
- [View Mermaid diagrams on your Mac without a browser](https://ganderfinder.com/mermaid-viewer)
- [Turn Markdown into a PDF or a Word document, right from Finder](https://ganderfinder.com/markdown-to-pdf-word)
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- [Read Jupyter notebooks on your Mac without starting Jupyter](https://ganderfinder.com/jupyter-notebook-viewer)
- [A fast JSON viewer in Finder, for JSONC and JSON Lines too](https://ganderfinder.com/json-viewer)
- [Read any SQL query neatly laid out, without changing the file](https://ganderfinder.com/sql-formatter)
- [Open log files at the newest line, with errors in red](https://ganderfinder.com/log-viewer)
- [Check a .env file without putting secrets on screen](https://ganderfinder.com/env-file-viewer)

Gander is free on the Mac App Store, with no in-app purchases, no subscription and no account, and nothing you preview leaves your Mac. https://apps.apple.com/app/id6817038818

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