App
UI
The native shell: title bar, sidebar, center dock, side panes, Home, command palette, and appearance.
based is a GPUI desktop app (the same GPU UI stack as Zed), not a wrapped browser. Chrome layout, fonts, and theme are app preferences — they are not stored in the git project.
Title bar
Custom title bar with platform traffic lights where the OS expects them.
- Context rail — project name (open another folder), git branch (read-only), environment name (read-only).
- Center — command palette search field. Click it or press ⌘K / Ctrl+K.
- Right — appearance cycle (sun / moon), app overflow (About, Settings, updates; Help items on non-macOS).
Sidebar
Left column, about 296px, collapsible with ⌘\ / Ctrl+\. Collapsed state is remembered in native preferences, not in Settings.
- Icon rail — connections, engine icon, connect state.
- Content rail — catalog for the selected connection, plus a query lane for loose queries.
Center dock
Tabs use a dock area with a tab bar (not a standalone tabs widget). Labels are short names from the panel. Split panes are available from the View menu and the tab ⋯ menu. There is no per-tab × yet — close from ⋯ or ⌘W / Ctrl+W. Closing the last tab respawns Home. Pinned tabs are not closable.
Status bar
- Connection chip: engine, label, state; menu for connection actions.
- Pane toggles: Inspector (⌘⌥I), History (⌘⌥H), Saved (⌘⌥S).
- Update progress when the updater is running, plus app version.
Right panes
| Pane | Content |
|---|---|
| Inspector | Metadata for the active tab’s object or connection. Empty state shows shortcut hints. |
| History | Run history for the current connection (All / Today). Click a row to reopen it in a query tab. |
| Saved | All project queries; favorites sort first. Shift-click the star to pin. |
Home
Default center tab: logo and quick actions — New Query, Command Palette, Open Project, New Connection, Settings. After you connect, a Home dashboard for that connection is pinned and not closable. The generic Home tab is closable when other tabs are open; it comes back if you close everything.
Command palette
⌘K / Ctrl+K searches schema objects, saved queries,
history, and workspace commands. ↑ / ↓ move,
Enter opens. Shift+Enter on a schema object inserts a
new query with SELECT * FROM … LIMIT 100 (no auto-run); on a
history item it injects SQL into the active editor. Escape
dismisses.
Appearance
Light, Dark, or System. Light and dark each have their own theme name. Bundled families include Based, Gruvbox, Catppuccin, Ayu, Everforest, and Solarized. Cycle appearance with the title-bar button or ⌘⌥⇧T / Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T. Density and fonts are in Settings.