# Tusk

9 Hacker News commenters recommended Tusk and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Free, offline app with no telemetry or subscription, praised for its design and easy first use. One critic says it is an Electron app despite calling itself native.

## Why people recommend it

- Positive first impressions after testing (2 comments): "I took it for a test spin just now and I'm impressed." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47687413)) "This is awesome! Thank you for building it!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47671516))
- Offline, no telemetry or subscription (2 comments): "Tusk is offline, doesn't connect back to a server for telemetry, updates, Ai, or anything else." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47671932)) "No Electron. No telemetry. No subscription." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47668518))
- Clean, dense design on GNOME (2 comments): "This feels alright on GNOME in terms of visual density." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47671843)) "Really appreciate the design from the screenshots." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47671650))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [DataGrip](https://hackerapproved.com/p/datagrip.md): 27 recommend
- [sqlit](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sqlit.md): 19 recommend
- [DBeaver](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dbeaver.md): 17 recommend
- [HeidiSQL](https://hackerapproved.com/p/heidisql.md): 16 recommend
- [DB Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/db-pro.md): 12 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Tusk", https://hackerapproved.com/p/tusk-for-macos-and-gnome/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).