The latest articles on DEV Community by Riajul Islam (@riaj003). https://dev.to/riaj003 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4114207%2F530119ff-2347-4328-99ec-8f4440affe5e.jpg https://dev.to/riaj003 en Riajul Islam Mon, 07 Sep 2026 15:59:08 +0000 https://dev.to/riaj003/your-laptop-is-not-slow-your-database-client-is-4e86 https://dev.to/riaj003/your-laptop-is-not-slow-your-database-client-is-4e86 <p>I kept pgAdmin open “just for one query.”</p> <p>Activity Monitor said a few hundred MB.</p> <p>Then Redis Insight. Then Compass.</p> <p>Fan on. Still no real work done.</p> <p>That is a <strong>stack tax</strong>. Three heavy apps for one backend.</p> <p>I built <a href="https://www.rowdex.app" rel="noopener noreferrer">RowDex</a> as one native <strong>Tauri</strong> app instead.</p> <p>Then we put the size numbers next to the tools people already use.</p> <p><strong>Live table:</strong> <a href="https://www.rowdex.app/compare" rel="noopener noreferrer">rowdex.app/compare</a></p> <h2> The uncomfortable number </h2> <blockquote> <p>DataGrip’s Apple Silicon installer is <strong>970 MB</strong>.<br><br> RowDex is <strong>under 50 MB</strong>.</p> </blockquote> <p>970 MB is the <strong>download size</strong> (official JetBrains file).<br><br> RAM is a different number — often <strong>1 GB+</strong> while it runs.</p> <p>You should not need that to run <code>SELECT 1</code>.</p> <h2> How we measured (Sept 2026) </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Installer</strong> → official Apple Silicon macOS download</li> <li> <strong>Idle RAM</strong> → app open, no query</li> <li> <strong>In use</strong> → one connection open</li> </ul> <p>RowDex idle RAM is our published figure: <strong>under 60 MB</strong>.<br><br> Other RAM figures are typical for that stack. Not a lab race on one Mac.</p> <div class="table-wrapper-paragraph"><table> <thead> <tr> <th>Client</th> <th>Install</th> <th>Idle RAM</th> <th>Stack</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><strong>RowDex</strong></td> <td><strong>&lt; 50 MB</strong></td> <td><strong>&lt; 60 MB</strong></td> <td>Tauri</td> </tr> <tr> <td>TablePlus</td> <td>133 MB</td> <td>100–180 MB</td> <td>Native</td> </tr> <tr> <td>DBeaver</td> <td>118 MB</td> <td>400–700 MB</td> <td>Java</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Compass</td> <td>167 MB</td> <td>300–450 MB</td> <td>Electron</td> </tr> <tr> <td>pgAdmin</td> <td>222 MB</td> <td>250–400 MB</td> <td>Electron</td> </tr> <tr> <td>DataGrip</td> <td><strong>970 MB</strong></td> <td>700 MB–1.5 GB</td> <td>IntelliJ</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p>The RAM follows the stack. Electron and Java are heavy. Tauri is not.</p> <p>RowDex is the lightest install <strong>and</strong> the lowest idle RAM on that list.</p> <h2> Why this matters </h2> <p>If you keep 3 clients open, you pay RAM three times.</p> <p>One light app is enough for daily database work.</p> <p><strong>Try it:</strong> <a href="https://www.rowdex.app" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.rowdex.app</a><br><br> macOS, Windows, Linux. Basic is free.</p> <h2> Question </h2> <p>What is eating your RAM right now — <strong>pgAdmin, DBeaver, or DataGrip</strong>?</p> <p>Drop it in the comments.</p> devtool postgressql redis bullmq