"The world doesn't need another MongoDB GUI." That's what we told ourselves before we built one anyway. Here's why.
The Tools We Used
Like most MongoDB developers, we've tried them all. Studio 3T, MongoDB Compass, Robo 3T—each has its strengths, but none felt quite right for our workflow.
Studio 3T
Studio 3T is powerful. It has features we didn't even know existed. But that power comes at a cost—both literally and in terms of complexity. The interface feels overwhelming, startup times are slow, and the pricing puts it out of reach for many individual developers and small teams.
MongoDB Compass
Compass is free and officially supported, which is great. But it's built for a broad audience, including people new to MongoDB. For experienced developers who live in the shell, the hand-holding gets in the way. We wanted raw query power, not visual query builders that abstract away the syntax we already know.
Robo 3T
Robo 3T was our go-to for years. It's fast, lightweight, and respects the command-line workflow. But development has slowed, and it lacks modern features like SSH tunneling, proper autocomplete, and a maintained codebase. It feels like a tool from a different era.
What We Actually Wanted
After years of switching between tools and being disappointed, we made a list of what our ideal MongoDB client would look like:
- Fast startup and response times. We're in flow state. Don't break it with loading screens.
- Keyboard-driven workflow. Mice are fine, but shortcuts are faster.
- Smart autocomplete. Suggest field names from our actual data, not generic MongoDB methods.
- Multiple view options. Sometimes we need a table, sometimes JSON, sometimes a tree. Let us switch.
- Built-in SSH tunneling. No more configuring external tools to connect to production.
- Affordable pricing. Individual developers shouldn't need to justify enterprise pricing.
- Clean, modern interface. We stare at this thing all day. It should look good.
Building Sutido
We started Sutido as a side project to scratch our own itch. The first version was rough—just a connection panel and a Monaco editor hooked up to the MongoDB driver. But even that basic version felt faster than anything else we'd used.
Over time, we added the features we needed: IntelliShell autocomplete that learns from your collections, multiple result views with drill-down navigation, snippet management, query history, and SSH tunneling that just works.
We also added AI query generation, because sometimes you know what you want but can't remember the exact aggregation syntax. Describe your query in plain English and let the AI handle the translation.
Our Design Philosophy
Every feature in Sutido answers one question: "Does this help developers work faster?" If the answer is no, or if it adds complexity without proportional value, we don't build it.
We're not trying to replace Studio 3T for power users who need schema migration tools and SQL query translation. We're building for developers who want a fast, clean, reliable way to query their databases and get back to coding.
Local-First, Privacy-Focused
Your data stays on your machine. We don't sync your connections to the cloud. We don't track your queries. Your credentials are stored in your operating system's secure keychain, not in a config file or a remote database.
This isn't just a privacy stance—it's a performance decision. Local storage means instant access, no network latency, and no dependency on our servers being up.
What's Next
Sutido is ready for daily use, but we're just getting started. macOS and Linux versions are in development. We're adding more visualization options, improving the aggregation pipeline experience, and building features based on community feedback.
If you've been frustrated with your current MongoDB tools, give Sutido a try. We built it for developers like us—and hopefully, like you.