Sequel Ace
Sequel Ace is a Mac app for viewing, editing and running queries on MySQL and MariaDB databases. It’s made by Sequel Ace.
What it is
Sequel Ace is a free, open-source database tool. People use it to browse tables, edit records, run SQL commands and import or export data. It can change data in databases it connects to.
It uses database login details and can connect through SSH. Saved passwords are stored in the Mac’s Keychain. Its sandbox limits file access to locations you allow, including files used for database connections.
The project distributes the app through the Mac App Store and GitHub and publishes its source code. Its App Store privacy disclosure lists device identifiers and crash and performance data that may be collected without being linked to your identity.
Who makes it
Sequel Ace is an open-source project forked from Sequel Pro in 2020, with Moballo, LLC listed as its Mac App Store seller. Its website is sequel-ace.com.
Is it the real one?
Every Mac app carries a signature from the developer who made it. Apple checks who the developer is before handing out the certificate, and macOS refuses to open an app whose signature has been tampered with.
The real Sequel Ace is signed by Sequel Ace, Apple team ID NKQ4HJ66PX, or by the App Store for copies installed from there. A copy signed by anyone else isn’t from Sequel Ace. HARD’s Mac app checks this for you; to check by hand, open Terminal and run codesign -dv "/Applications/Sequel Ace.app", and look for that TeamIdentifier.
Its bundle ID, the name macOS knows it by, is com.sequel-ace.sequel-ace or com.sequel-ace.sequel-ace-beta or com.sequel-ace.sequel-ace.SequelAceTunnelAssistant. Download it only from sequel-ace.com or the Mac App Store, not from an ad or a link someone sends you.
What it can see
macOS asks you before an app can use these. You can change them any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
| Permission | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Local Network | To connect to database or SSH servers on your local network. |
Security record
Problems with Sequel Ace or Sequel Ace in the last three years, newest first. Keeping the app up to date covers the ones that were fixed.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Version 6.0.2 fixed a flaw in the optional AI integration that allowed EXPLAIN ANALYZE commands through its read-only safeguards. | ↗ | |
| A non-default authentication option could send passwords without encryption; version 6.0.2 required TLS for it, while server certificate verification remained an open concern. | ↗ |
References
- Sequel Ace — official website and downloads sequel-ace.com
- Sequel Ace — official repository github.com
- Sequel Ace — Mac App Store listing and version history apps.apple.com
- Sequel Ace — official build configuration and bundle identifiers raw.githubusercontent.com
- Sequel Ace — sandbox and file access sequel-ace.com
- Sequel Ace — migrating connections and Keychain passwords sequel-ace.com
- Sequel Ace — remote database connections sequel-ace.com
- Sequel Ace — official release notes github.com
- Cleartext authentication without required TLS — issue 2681 github.com
- Require TLS for cleartext authentication — fix 2682 github.com
- The signature on a real installed copy, read by HARD with
codesign.