ShellYard vs pgAdmin

Native desktop. Six engines.
No web UI ceremony.

pgAdmin is excellent at Postgres admin, but it's a slow-starting web app, Postgres-only, with a UI that hasn't aged. ShellYard is native, fast, and inspects Postgres alongside MySQL, SQL Server, SQLite, Redis, and Mongo — with live Health dashboards.

Download free for macOS, Windows, Linux

Free forever · Native · 6 engines · Live pg_stat_replication

localhost:5050/browser

pgAdmin

~8s startup

Postgres only

ShellYard

~2s startup

Postgres + 5 more

Live Health · postgres-prod

Cache hit %

99.4%

Replication lag

12 ms

Slow queries

Conn / max

47 / 200

Quick decision

Two minutes to know whether to keep reading.

Stay on pgAdmin if

pgAdmin is doing exactly what you need.

·You only ever touch Postgres — no MySQL, no SQL Server, no Mongo.
·The pg_dump / pg_restore wizards are non-negotiable.
·The Vacuum / Analyze UI with detailed reports is your daily tool.
·Browser-based is a feature for your environment (shared servers, locked-down laptops).

Switch to ShellYard if

You want the rest of the operations stack.

·You touch other engines — even occasionally.
·Native speed matters — you're tired of the eight-second boot.
·You want SSH-tunnel built in, not a separate per-connection config dance.
·You want Live Health (replication, cache, slow queries) next to the editor.
·You want an AI to read the slow-query plan and explain it.

Feature comparison

What you get in each tool.

Capability	pgAdmin	ShellYard
Postgres query editor	Yes — Query Tool with autocomplete	Yes — multi-tab, syntax highlight, query history
Schema / table browser	Yes — tree view	Yes — databases → schemas → tables → columns w/ types
EXPLAIN / query plan	Yes — graphical plan visualization	Yes — tree view + Magellan AI explain
Live Health dashboard	External monitoring required (Grafana / pgWatch)	Built in — pg_stat_replication, cache hit %, slow queries, conns / max
SSH-tunnel built in	Per-connection config, separate from terminal	Pick any open SSH session as the route — one dropdown
Number of engines	1 — Postgres	6 — Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server, SQLite, Redis, Mongo
Native desktop app	Desktop available but Electron-style; web at heart	Native — Wails + Go (~2s cold start, ~120 MiB)
Startup time	~8 seconds (server boot + browser tab)	~2 seconds
HTTP / GraphQL / Realtime client	No	Full Postman-class — collections, env vars, runner, 9 importers
Network toolkit	No	40+ tools — MTR, packet capture, TLS inspector, SNMP, DNS, etc.
AI for query / plan explanation	No	Magellan — BYO Anthropic / OpenAI / Gemini / Ollama key
Terminal / SSH sessions	No	Yes — SSH, Telnet, Serial, RDP, VNC, SSM in the same window
Modern UI	Dated — web UI rooted in pgAdmin 3 era	Modern dark-first design system
Backup / restore wizard	Yes — full pg_dump / pg_restore GUI	No — shell out via terminal
Vacuum / Analyze UI	Yes — with detailed report	No — SQL only
Pricing	Free, open source	Free (SQLite); Pro $24/mo for Postgres + 4 other engines + full stack

Reflects publicly documented pgAdmin 4 capability at time of comparison.

Where pgAdmin still wins

We're not pretending. Postgres-deep admin is pgAdmin's home turf.

If any of these are your daily motion, keep pgAdmin — possibly alongside ShellYard for the other engines and the rest of the operations stack.

Backup and restore wizards. The full pg_dump / pg_restore options UI — custom format, parallel jobs, table filters, restore preview.
Vacuum and Analyze UI with detailed per-table reports and progress.
Replication setup wizard — physical and logical, with slot management.
Postgres extension management — install / drop / configure from a UI.
Deep Postgres admin actions — Tablespace management, Role and Privilege configuration UIs, pgAgent job scheduling, server config editors (postgresql.conf, pg_hba.conf).

Switching path

Three steps from pgAdmin to ShellYard.

1

Install ShellYard.

Signed and notarized .dmg on macOS, Authenticode-signed .msi on Windows, .deb / .rpm / AppImage on Linux. ~120 MiB, ~2 second cold start. No browser tab, no separate server process.
2

Add your Postgres connection.

Host, port, database, credentials — same fields as pgAdmin. If your Postgres lives behind a bastion, SSH-tunnel via your existing SSH session in one dropdown. No manual ssh -L, no port-forward config.
3

Open a query. Live Health appears next to the results.

Editor on the left, result grid on the right, Health tab one click away — pg_stat_replication, cache hit %, slow queries, conns / max, all polling on a 5-second cadence. Ask Magellan to explain anything in any panel.

Before you install

The questions you'd ask first.

Can ShellYard SSH-tunnel to a remote Postgres?

Yes — pick any open SSH session as the route. The Data Inspector's connection editor has a "via" dropdown that lists every active SSH connection in the sidebar; choose one and the Postgres handshake rides through it. No manual ssh -L, no socat sidecar, no port collisions with the Docker container you forgot you started.

Backup and restore? pg_dump / pg_restore wizards?

Not a wizard. ShellYard does not match pgAdmin's pg_dump / pg_restore UI — you can run them from a ShellYard SSH terminal session, but the options pickers, custom-format toggles, and the parallel-job slider are pgAdmin strengths we don't replicate. If wizard-driven backup is your daily motion, keep pgAdmin for that one task.

Can I import my pgAdmin connections?

pgAdmin exports as JSON. ShellYard's connection importers cover CSV, OpenSSH config, SecureCRT, PuTTY, and our own .shellyard-space.zip — a pgAdmin JSON import may require a copy-paste round per connection. We're tracking direct pgAdmin JSON import; it's not in v0.9.998.

What's in the Live Health dashboard?

A "Health" tab next to the query editor polls Postgres on a user-set cadence (default 5s): pg_stat_replication, buffer cache hit %, commit/rollback ratio, connection count vs max_connections, pg_stat_activity for slow queries, version + uptime + role (primary/standby), and top databases by size. Pause / Resume / Refresh-now controls. The snapshot ships to Magellan with one click.

Can Magellan explain a slow query plan?

Yes. Attach the query and the EXPLAIN output to Magellan and ask. BYO Anthropic / OpenAI / Gemini / Ollama key — prompts go direct from your machine to the provider, never through us. Magellan also sees the full schema digest (one line per table with column names + types) so it doesn't guess at column types.

Pricing — pgAdmin is free, right?

pgAdmin is free and open source. ShellYard is free for personal use (SQLite Data Inspector, full SSH/terminal toolkit, 40+ network tools, Magellan with your own key). The Postgres / MySQL / SQL Server / Redis / Mongo engines unlock at Pro — $24/mo. That same Pro plan covers the full HTTP / GraphQL / Realtime client, the Pro network kit, cloud sync, and one Shared Space. No "Talk to sales" gate.

Stop waiting for the browser tab to load.

Install ShellYard. Add your Postgres connection. Open a query. Live Health next to the editor, five other engines in the same workspace, an AI that reads your slow-query plan. Two seconds from launch to first row.