## Feature Request: Context-Aware Completion Modes for Faster Auto-Completion

[zailaib]

Problem

Currently, mycli performs auto-completion against all possible candidates globally — keywords, table names, column names, functions, aliases — regardless of the user's current intent. In databases with hundreds of tables and thousands of columns, this leads to:

• Noticeable lag when triggering completion
• Noisy suggestion lists that include irrelevant candidates
• Wasted keystrokes — users often think "table first" (e.g., job_position) but must type SELECT ... FROM ... before table/column completion becomes useful

Proposed Solution

Introduce manual completion modes (or contexts) that narrow the candidate scope:

\mode query     # tables, columns, SELECT/DML keywords only
\mode alter     # DDL keywords, constraints, column types
\mode monitor   # SHOW, STATUS, EXPLAIN, PROCESSLIST, etc.

Each mode would restrict auto-completion to a relevant subset, significantly reducing:

• Candidate lookup time
• Visual noise in the suggestion menu

Alternative / Simpler Approach

If explicit mode switching is too heavy, consider a lighter-weight option:

• completion_scope config in .myclirc:

  completion_scope = dml    # only tables/columns/DML keywords
  completion_scope = ddl    # only DDL keywords/constraints
  completion_scope = all    # current behavior (default)

• Hotkey to toggle scopes at runtime (e.g., Ctrl-T to cycle through modes).

Use Case

A developer frequently switching between:

• Writing SELECT queries (needs tables and columns)
• Running SHOW PROCESSLIST / EXPLAIN
• Modifying schema with ALTER TABLE

Each context benefits from a different, smaller set of completions.

Related Issues / Prior Art

• smart_completion already attempts keyword-aware narrowing, but still scans all schema objects.
• GUI tools like DataGrip and DBeaver provide context-aware completion out of the box.

Desired Outcome

Faster, more focused auto-completion with less cognitive overhead, especially for users working with large schemas or frequently switching SQL contexts.

[rolandwalker]

Hi @zailaib ! I've converted this Issue to a Discussion since it doesn't map directly to an actionable PR.

While the comments are very welcome, it is a bit confusing to say

mycli performs auto-completion against all possible candidates globally — keywords, table names, column names, functions, aliases

since that isn't the case! Mycli does its best to parse the incomplete SQL statement as it is written (which is not always easy) and to complete what is appropriate for the point where the cursor is. Sometimes it does fall back to global completion. PRs to improve this are always super welcome!

If you suffer from this issue:

Noticeable lag when triggering completion

my strong suggestion is to set the following in ~/.myclirc:

# Minimum characters typed before offering completion suggestions.
# Suggestion: 3.
min_completion_trigger = 3

which might become the default in mycli 2.x.