# Open and query a SQLite file on a Mac

> Open a SQLite file with sqlite3 or TablePro. Browse tables, run queries, and troubleshoot encrypted files, locks and macOS file permissions.

October 8, 2026 · TablePro

Open a SQLite file with the `sqlite3` shell included in macOS, or use TablePro to browse tables and edit data. No database server or login is needed.

## Check that the file is SQLite

The extension does not identify the format: `.db` can mean other formats, and SQLite files may have no extension. Check with:

```bash
file ~/Downloads/app.db
```

A SQLite database starts with the bytes `SQLite format 3`, and `file` reports it as such.

If the folder also holds `app.db-wal` and `app.db-shm`, they belong to the database. Recent writes may still be in the `-wal` file, so copy or move all three together.

## Open it with sqlite3

```bash
sqlite3 ~/Downloads/app.db
```

Inside the shell, dot commands inspect the file and anything else is SQL:

```text
.tables
.schema users
.headers on
.mode column
SELECT id, email FROM users LIMIT 10;
.quit
```

To look without any chance of writing, open it read-only: `sqlite3 -readonly ~/Downloads/app.db`.

Some databases worth knowing about on a Mac:

| Source | Path |
|---|---|
| Rails | `db/development.sqlite3` in the project |
| Django | `db.sqlite3` in the project |
| iOS Simulator | Under `~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Devices/`, in the app's data container |
| Safari history | `~/Library/Safari/History.db` |
| Messages | `~/Library/Messages/chat.db` |

The last two sit in folders macOS protects. See [If it does not open](#troubleshooting).

## Open the file in TablePro

Any of these opens the file:

- Drag it onto a TablePro window or onto the Dock icon.
- Choose **File > Open File…** (`Cmd+O`) and pick it.
- In Finder, right-click it and choose **Open With > TablePro**. Files ending in `.db`, `.db3`, `.s3db`, `.sl3`, `.sqlite`, `.sqlite3` and `.sqlitedb` list TablePro there.

Other filenames work through drag and drop or **Open File…**. TablePro checks the file header, not just the extension.

To keep the file in your connection list:

1. Click **New Connection…** on the welcome window, or press `Cmd+N`, and pick **SQLite**.
2. Click **Browse…** and choose the file. There is no host, port or password to fill in.
3. Click **Save & Connect**.

**New…** beside **Browse…** creates an empty database at the path you choose when you connect.

No file at hand? **Help > Open Sample Database** opens a bundled SQLite database to try things on.

TablePro uses its own bundled SQLite, so the library version that came with your macOS does not matter.

## Browse and query

The sidebar lists the file's tables and views and leaves out the internal `sqlite_*` tables. Click a table to see its rows, and switch the view to **Structure** for its columns, indexes, foreign keys and DDL.

Press `Cmd+T` for a query tab and `Cmd+Enter` to run the statement the cursor is in:

```sql
SELECT name, sql FROM sqlite_master WHERE type = 'table';

PRAGMA table_info(users);

SELECT strftime('%Y-%m', created_at) AS month, count(*)
FROM users
GROUP BY month
ORDER BY month;
```

To query a second file next to the first, attach it:

```sql
ATTACH '/Users/me/Downloads/other.db' AS other;
SELECT * FROM other.orders LIMIT 10;
```

Edits in the grid are staged. Nothing is written until you save, and **Preview SQL** (`Cmd+Shift+P`) shows the statements first.

If another program changes the file, the table list reloads on its own. Rows already loaded in a tab stay as they were until you refresh that tab.

## Open a remote file over SSH

To open a file over SSH, set **Network > Connect via** to **Remote Database File**. Enter the remote **Path** and SSH details, then choose an **Open** mode:

- **On the Server** runs your statements on the server against the live file. The server needs `python3`.
- **As a Read-Only Copy** copies the file to your Mac and opens the copy read-only. The original is never written to.

## Limitations

- Encrypted database files do not open. Decrypt the file with the tool that encrypted it first.
- One connection is one file. An attached database can be queried as `alias.table`, but it does not appear in the sidebar.
- SQLite's `ALTER TABLE` can rename a table or a column and add or drop a column. Other structure changes, such as a new column type or a foreign key, are made by rebuilding the table. TablePro shows that script in full and runs it only when you confirm.
- A primary key cannot be added, removed or moved.
- A database built with an extension such as sqlite-vec or SpatiaLite cannot be read until that extension is added to the connection, under **Options**.

## Troubleshooting

- **unable to open database file**: the path is wrong, or the folder is one the app may not read. Files under `~/Library`, such as the Safari and Messages databases, need Full Disk Access: turn it on for TablePro, or for Terminal if you use `sqlite3`, in **System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access**, then relaunch the app.
- **database is locked**: another process holds a write lock. Quit the app that owns the file.
- **file is not a database**: the file is encrypted or is not SQLite. Run `file` on it again.

See the [SQLite docs](https://docs.tablepro.app/databases/sqlite) for extensions and remote-file errors, or the [SQLite feature overview](/sqlite-client). For other formats, [file support](/features/import-export#files) covers DuckDB’s read-only Parquet and CSV views and standalone CSV, JSON and Excel windows.