Find slow queries, analyze them, and fix them — from your terminal.

RDST is a command-line toolkit for database diagnostics, query analysis, performance tuning, and caching with Readyset. Point it at PostgreSQL or MySQL and it finds your slow queries, explains why they are slow, and shows what an index, a rewrite, or a Readyset cache would do about it.

Highlights

• rdst top — live view of the slowest queries hitting your database
• rdst analyze — EXPLAIN-driven analysis with AI index and rewrite recommendations, plus a real Readyset cache benchmark (--readyset-cache)
• rdst ask — ask questions about your data in natural language; guarded, read-only SQL generation
• rdst audit / rdst fleet — deep health audits of one database or a whole fleet
• rdst scan — find ORM queries (SQLAlchemy, Django, Prisma, Drizzle) in your codebase and flag performance issues, deterministic and CI-friendly
• rdst demo — try everything against a local demo database in one command
• MCP built in — rdst claude add registers RDST as an MCP server so Claude Code can use your targets

Installation

Prefer an app? RDST Desktop packages the same toolkit with a graphical client for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Install the RDST CLI on macOS or Linux without sudo, pip, or a preinstalled Python:

curl -fsSL https://downloads.readyset.io/packages/rdst-cli/install.sh | sh

Open a new shell, then verify the installation:

rdst version

The installer supports Apple silicon, Intel macOS, and glibc-based x86_64 or arm64 Linux distributions. To install an exact package release:

curl -fsSL https://downloads.readyset.io/packages/rdst-cli/install.sh | \
  sh -s -- --version 0.1.1589

Immutable release scripts and checksums are published under packages/rdst-cli/versions/VERSION/ on the download origin.

Installer-managed RDST never updates silently. Check for and install updates explicitly:

rdst update --check
rdst update

rdst update installs the exact resolved release and makes no changes when the installed version is already current.

To uninstall the managed runtime while preserving ~/.rdst configuration:

curl -fsSL https://downloads.readyset.io/packages/rdst-cli/install.sh | \
  sh -s -- --uninstall

Existing uv and pipx users can continue to use uv tool install rdst or pipx install rdst; those installations remain managed by their package manager. Update them with uv tool upgrade rdst or pipx upgrade rdst.

After installing, run rdst init to configure your first database connection.

Native Windows development

Use PowerShell with Python 3.12+ and uv:

cd rdst
uv sync --group dev
uv run rdst version
$env:PROD_DB_PASSWORD = "your-password"

RDST stores user data under %USERPROFILE%\.rdst. Interactive editor commands use EDITOR or VISUAL and fall back to Notepad.

When the Docker CLI talks to a daemon on another machine, configure the daemon network explicitly:

$env:RDST_DOCKER_REMOTE = "1"
$env:RDST_DOCKER_PUBLISHED_HOST = "192.168.122.1"
$env:RDST_DOCKER_UPSTREAM_HOST = "192.168.122.222"

RDST_DOCKER_PUBLISHED_HOST is where Windows reaches published container ports. RDST_DOCKER_UPSTREAM_HOST is where containers reach a database running on the Windows client. The database must listen on that routable address.

Quick start

1. Initialize RDST — the wizard walks you through your first target:

   rdst init

2. Or configure a database target directly:

   rdst configure add --target mydb \
     --host db.example.com \
     --port 5432 \
     --database myapp \
     --user postgres \
     --password-env MYDB_PASSWORD

   Passwords are never stored in config files — RDST reads them from the environment variable you name, or the OS keychain.

3. Watch what's slow:

   rdst top --target mydb

4. Analyze a query:

   rdst analyze -q "SELECT * FROM users WHERE active = true" --target mydb
   
   # Verify with a temporary Readyset performance test
   rdst analyze -q "SELECT * FROM products ORDER BY created_at" --readyset-cache

5. Audit health — one target or the whole fleet:

   rdst audit --target mydb
   rdst fleet audit --target prod

   See the fleet audit docs.

No database handy? rdst demo setup starts a local demo database to explore with.

Commands

Command	Description
rdst top	Monitor slow queries in real time
rdst analyze	Analyze SQL query performance and caching opportunities
rdst ask	Ask questions about your database in natural language
rdst agent	Manage and run data agents with safety policies
rdst init	First-time setup wizard
rdst configure	Manage database targets and connection profiles
rdst tunnel	List, close, and test SSH tunnels
rdst schema	Manage the semantic layer that improves SQL generation
rdst query	Manage the saved-query registry
rdst guard	Manage reusable safety policies
rdst audit	Run a deep health audit of a database target
rdst fleet	Manage and audit database fleets
rdst scan	Scan a codebase for ORM queries (experimental)
rdst demo	Try RDST with a demo database
rdst claude	Register RDST with Claude Code (MCP)
rdst slack	Deploy a Slack bot for database queries
rdst web	Start the RDST web server and client
rdst report	Submit feedback or bug reports
rdst help	Show help, or answer a question (rdst help "...")
rdst update	Check for and install RDST updates
rdst version	Show version information

Run rdst <command> --help for options and examples.

AI-assisted commands (ask, analyze insights, schema annotate) use your ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, or a free trial you can start with rdst configure llm.

Requirements

• Packaged CLI: macOS or a glibc-based Linux distribution on x86_64 or arm64
• Native Windows development: Python 3.12+, uv, and PowerShell
• curl or wget for the macOS/Linux installer
• PostgreSQL or MySQL database access

About Readyset

Readyset is a SQL caching engine that sits between your application and your database, keeping query results up to date as the underlying data changes. Learn more at readyset.io.

Documentation and support

• RDST Documentation
• Download RDST Desktop
• Report Issues
• Security policy

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.