Magda

Finally, a Cassandra client that doesn't get in your way.

A native desktop client for Apache Cassandra — built entirely in Rust. Zero browser overhead. Instant startup. Open source.

Download • Features • Roadmap • Contributing

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Why Magda?

If you work with Cassandra, you know the pain:

• cqlsh is powerful but has no GUI, no autocomplete, no visual feedback
• DataStax Studio is browser-based, heavy, and requires a running server
• DBeaver is generic — it doesn't understand CQL nuances

Magda is different. It's a native desktop app purpose-built for Cassandra developers:

	cqlsh	DataStax Studio	DBeaver	Magda
Native performance	-	-	-	Yes
CQL syntax highlighting	-	Yes	Partial	Yes
Schema-aware autocomplete	-	Yes	Partial	Yes
Lightweight (< 50 MB)	Yes	-	-	Yes
Instant startup	Yes	-	-	Yes
No server required	Yes	-	Yes	Yes
Open source	Yes	-	Yes	Yes
Query variables	-	-	-	Yes
Multiple connections	-	Yes	Yes	Yes

Features

CQL Editor with Syntax Highlighting & Autocomplete

Write CQL with confidence — keywords, types, functions, strings, and {{variables}} are all color-coded. Autocomplete suggests CQL keywords as you type, and knows your table names after FROM.

Schema Browser

Explore keyspaces, tables, column types, partition keys, and clustering order — all in one view.

Data Browser with Pagination

Browse table data with automatic pagination. Export results to CSV with one click.

Query History & Saved Queries

Every query is logged with execution time. Save your most-used queries as reusable snippets in the sidebar.

Query Variables

Define reusable {{variables}} that get substituted into your queries. Perfect for parameterized testing.

Multiple Connections

Manage and switch between multiple Cassandra clusters. Each connection is persisted across sessions.

Download

Pre-built binaries for each release are available on the Releases page.

Platform	Download
macOS (Apple Silicon)	magda-macos-aarch64.dmg
Linux (x86_64)	magda-linux-x86_64.deb
Windows (x86_64)	magda-windows-x86_64-setup.exe

Build from source

# Prerequisites: Rust toolchain + Dioxus CLI
cargo install dioxus-cli

# Run in development mode
cd desktop && dx serve

# Build release
cd desktop && dx build --desktop --release

Roadmap

Done

• CQL syntax highlighting
• Schema-aware query autocomplete
• Multiple connection management
• Schema browser (keyspaces, tables, columns)
• Data browser with pagination
• Query history with execution times
• Saved queries / snippets
• Query variables ({{var}} substitution)
• Export results to CSV
• Persistent config (connections, variables, queries)
• Cross-platform (macOS, Linux, Windows)

Next Up

• Export results to JSON
• Light theme
• Connection import / export
• CSV / JSON data import with validation
• Edit table data directly in the grid
• Query templates for common CQL patterns

Future Vision

• Query Performance Analyzer — execution time, tombstones, nodes touched, optimization suggestions
• Smart Schema Designer — real-time validation, anti-pattern detection (wide partitions, hotspots)
• Cluster Health Dashboard — node status, heap usage, compaction, network topology
• Data Migration Tools — batch operations, schema comparison between clusters
• Visual Query Builder — drag-and-drop query construction
• Query Explainer — why a query is slow, which nodes are impacted, how to optimize

Architecture

Built with Dioxus (Rust UI framework) and cdrs-tokio (pure Rust Cassandra driver). No Electron. No JVM. No C dependencies.

magda/
├── desktop/              # Desktop app (Dioxus + cdrs-tokio)
│   ├── assets/           # CSS, icons
│   └── src/
│       ├── main.rs               # App entry + window config
│       ├── state.rs              # Global state (Dioxus Signals)
│       ├── cassandra.rs          # CQL driver integration
│       ├── cql_tokenizer.rs      # Syntax highlighting + autocomplete engine
│       ├── connection/           # Multi-connection manager
│       ├── config.rs             # Persistent user preferences (TOML)
│       └── components/           # UI components
├── web/                  # Web target (planned)
├── mobile/               # Mobile target (planned)
└── ui/                   # Shared UI components

Contributing

Magda is open source and contributions are welcome! Whether it's a bug fix, new feature, or documentation improvement — every PR helps.

# Clone and run
git clone https://github.com/sidneip/magda.git
cd magda/desktop
dx serve

Check the Roadmap for ideas on what to work on, or open an issue to discuss your idea first.

License

MIT