DB Browser for SQLite — The Complete Guide: A One-File Database for Test Results and Measurements
DB Browser for SQLite is an open-source graphical tool for creating, browsing and editing SQLite databases, in an interface that looks like a spreadsheet. SQLite is a database that lives entirely in one file, with no server, so it suits lab data, component libraries and test results that have outgrown the comfort of Excel.
DB Browser for SQLite
DB Browser for SQLite project
Create, browse and edit SQLite databases in a spreadsheet-like view — test results, component libraries and measurement data.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Spreadsheet-style editing — browse and edit records directly.
- Table design — create and change the table structure in the interface.
- Import and export — CSV and SQL.
- SQL queries — filter, join and summarise data.
- Simple plots — straight from query results.
Practical use
Import several CSV files of test results — for example concrete compression tests or pull-out tests — into one table, and ask: what is the average per supplier? Which samples failed the requirement? It is not meant for server databases — use DBeaver for that. From Python, you can reach the same file with the built-in sqlite3 module.
Related tools
To quickly explore huge files — VisiData. To clean data — OpenRefine. For server databases — DBeaver.
VisiData
VisiData project
A spreadsheet in the terminal — quickly explore and clean huge CSV, Excel and log files from sensors and data loggers.
Get it from the vendor
DBeaver Community
DBeaver Corp
A universal database client — PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite and more, with an SQL editor and convenient table editing.
Get it from the vendorOpenRefine
OpenRefine
Clean up messy data tables — duplicates, inconsistent names, splitting columns and conversions.
Get it from the vendor
Python
Python Software Foundation
The language behind most modern engineering computation, and its full ecosystem.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
DB Browser for SQLite is the natural next step when an Excel sheet can no longer hold your data — free, simple and serverless.