DB CLI Setup (Ubuntu / Debian)

Schema compare and schema sync run on the app alone.
The official CLI tools of each database are needed only for backup and restore — and for the part of SQL Server data sync that goes through bcp.

Install only the tools for the databases you actually connect to.
SQLite needs no extra software at all.

See the Fedora / RHEL guide → · Other Linux distributions →

No need to edit your PATH environment variable

Even if a tool is not detected automatically after installation, you never have to edit the PATH environment variable of your OS.
Instead, point DiffyPick straight at the executable in Settings → "DB CLI paths".
Each section below includes the path to enter.

The verify button next to each path confirms on the spot that the tool runs.

Recommended versions

Older versions may work but are unsupported — if a run fails, the error message calls out the outdated CLI.

Database	Commands	Recommended
PostgreSQL	`pg_dump / psql`	17+
MySQL	`mysqldump / mysql`	8+
MariaDB	`mariadb-dump / mariadb`	10.5+
SQL Server	`sqlcmd / bcp`	18+
SQL Server	`sqlpackage`	162+

Install steps

Commands below use apt.
Package names are current for recent Ubuntu (22.04 and later) and Debian (12 and later); derivatives such as Linux Mint follow their base distribution.

PostgreSQL — pg_dump / psql

sudo apt install postgresql-client

A client-only package with no server. pg_dump needs to be at least as new as the server it dumps — if your distribution ships an older version, install the matching one from the official PGDG repository instead.

PostgreSQL downloads for Linux ↗

The tools land in /usr/bin and are usually detected automatically.
If not, enter:

/usr/bin/pg_dump
/usr/bin/psql

MySQL — mysqldump / mysql

sudo apt install mysql-client

A client-only package on Ubuntu.
Debian has no mysql-client package — add the official MySQL APT repository first, then install mysql-community-client.

MySQL APT Repository ↗

Usually detected automatically.
If not, enter:

/usr/bin/mysqldump
/usr/bin/mysql

MariaDB — mariadb-dump / mariadb

sudo apt install mariadb-client

A client-only package.
Usually detected automatically.
If not, enter:

/usr/bin/mariadb-dump
/usr/bin/mariadb

SQL Server — sqlcmd / bcp

curl -fsSL https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/microsoft.asc
curl -fsSL https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/24.04/prod.list | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list
sudo apt update
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt install msodbcsql18 mssql-tools18

Adds Microsoft’s official package repository, then installs ODBC Driver 18 and the version-18 command line tools.
Adjust ubuntu/24.04 in the URL to your distribution and version (e.g. debian/12 on Debian 12).

Install sqlcmd and bcp on Linux (Microsoft Learn) ↗

The tools are not placed on PATH.
Enter these paths in Settings:

/opt/mssql-tools18/bin/sqlcmd
/opt/mssql-tools18/bin/bcp

SQL Server — sqlpackage

sudo apt install dotnet-sdk-8.0
dotnet tool install -g microsoft.sqlpackage

Installs the .NET SDK, then sqlpackage via dotnet tool.
Ubuntu ships the SDK in its standard repositories; on Debian it comes from the Microsoft repository added in the SQL Server step above.
Enter this path in Settings:

~/.dotnet/tools/sqlpackage

If something still fails after setup, the troubleshooting page covers the common causes. Open troubleshooting