Your Database GUI Shouldn't Need an Account

A critique of the trend toward account-required database GUI clients, arguing that tools holding production credentials should never route data through vendor backends. The post makes the case for local-first design using Tabularis as a concrete example: no signup, secrets stored in the OS keychain, all config as plain files on disk, bring-your-own-key AI, and only one network call (a GitHub version check). The tradeoffs — no sync, no team workspaces, no telemetry — are acknowledged openly. The core argument is that database clients are plumbing and should be durable and vendor-independent, not coupled to a company's runway.