Askbase for macOS

Askbase

Ask your database a question. Get the table and the query behind it.

The model is a file on your disk, so the question and the data never leave the computer. Free, and there is no account to create.

See how it works Where your data goes

No network needed. The application works with the Wi-Fi switched off.

Askbaseconnected to analytics · read-only

Question

How many new customers came from each region in September?

Query

SELECT r.name, COUNT(*) AS nFROM clients cJOIN regions r ON r.id = c.region_idWHERE c.dt_reg >= '2026-09-01'  AND c.dt_reg <  '2026-10-01'GROUP BY r.name LIMIT 1000

Answer

RegionCustomers
Manchester412
Leeds188
Bristol94
Cardiff71

What it counted. Customers whose registration date falls in September 2026, grouped by region. Customers with no region are not in the answer.

Model and data stay on this computer
Watch it answer
Three steps

Connect a database, ask in words, read the answer

There is nothing to model, nothing to configure and no query language to learn. The first answer takes about a minute from opening the application.

  1. sales_2026.sqlite
    34 tables, 412 columns
    read-only · checked
    01

    Connect

    Drop in an SQLite file, or enter the host for PostgreSQL. The password goes into the macOS Keychain, never into a settings file.

  2. Top ten customers by revenue this year
    no table names needed
    02

    Ask

    Type the question the way you would say it to a colleague. Russian and English both work, and the application does not need the table names.

  3. Manchester412
    Leeds188
    Bristol94
    SQL shown · CSV
    03

    Read

    You get the table, the query that produced it, and a sentence saying what was counted and what was left out.

What makes it different

The same four questions, two different answers

Typical desktop tool
Askbase
Where the model runs
In the cloud. One vendor states on its own pricing page that running from your device does not mean the processing is offline.
On your disk. The application works with the Wi-Fi switched off.
What protects your database
A read-only role, and instructions in the prompt. Published research shows prompt wording is not a safety measure.
A read-only role, plus a parser. One SELECT only, no recursive CTEs, a row limit and a timeout.
Whether you can check the answer
A table, and usually the SQL.
The table, the SQL, and the assumptions in a plain sentence, including who was left out.
What the accuracy is
Not published on any public benchmark, for any of the eight tools I checked.
Measured and published under a protocol fixed before the run. No number until the run exists.
See every tool comparedWhy trust the measurement
Status

In development, and this page says so

Askbase is being built in the open. The benchmark, the held-out question set and the protocol will be published; the application itself is in progress. There is no download yet, and this page will carry one when there is.

A number without a protocol is an advertisement.

Read the benchmark it grew from