what is squirrel fr?

lieut-data/squirrel — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-18 · repo last pushed 2025-07-16

GoAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5StaleSetup · easy

vibe map

mindmap
  root((Squirrel))
    What it does
      Builds SQL in code
      Avoids string concat
      Returns SQL and params
    Tech stack
      Go
      SQL
      Postgres placeholders
    Use cases
      Conditional filters
      Dynamic search queries
      Safe query building
    Audience
      Go backend developers
      API builders
      Database admins
    Tradeoff
      Not an ORM
      No struct mapping

mindmap root((Squirrel)) What it does Builds SQL in code Avoids string concat Returns SQL and params Tech stack Go SQL Postgres placeholders Use cases Conditional filters Dynamic search queries Safe query building Audience Go backend developers API builders Database admins Tradeoff Not an ORM No struct mapping

what do people make with this?

VIBE 1

Build a user search feature with optional filters without writing separate SQL for each combination.

VIBE 2

Generate parameterized SQL safely without manual string concatenation.

VIBE 3

Switch placeholder styles between databases, like using $1, $2 for PostgreSQL.

VIBE 4

Execute built queries directly against a database using RunWith().

what's the stack?

GoSQLPostgreSQL

how it stacks up fr

	lieut-data/squirrel	42wim/fabio	42wim/go-xmpp
Language	Go	Go	Go
Last pushed	2025-07-16	2018-02-04	2020-01-24
Maintenance	Stale	Dormant	Dormant
Setup difficulty	easy	moderate	moderate
Complexity	2/5	3/5	3/5
Audience	developer	ops devops	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

how do i run it?

Difficulty · easy time til it works · 5min

prompts (copy fr)

prompt 1

Show me how to use Squirrel to build a SELECT query with a WHERE clause that only applies when a filter value is provided.

prompt 2

Write a Go function using Squirrel that conditionally adds JOIN and LIMIT clauses to a query.

prompt 3

How do I use Squirrel's RunWith() to execute a query directly against a PostgreSQL database?

prompt 4

Convert this raw SQL into a Squirrel query builder chain: SELECT * FROM users WHERE age > 21 LIMIT 10

Frequently asked questions