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Decode MessagePack, igbinary, Protobuf and Avro values with Display As #3607
Description
Problem
Display As has seven formats: Raw Value, Text, UUID, two Unix timestamps, JSON and PHP Serialized (features/json-viewer.mdx:14-22, apple/TablePro/Core/Services/Formatting/ValueDisplayFormat.swift:12-19). A binary column that holds a compact serialization shows only hex:
- MessagePack, common for cache payloads and job queues.
- igbinary, the binary form of PHP serialization, which the PHP Serialized viewer does not read.
- Protobuf and Avro. On Kafka, a topic whose values are Avro or Protobuf shows the raw bytes, five-byte wire-format prefix included (
databases/kafka.mdx:151-152).
The UUID format also renders the bytes in stored order (apple/TablePro/Core/Services/Formatting/ValueDisplayFormatter.swift:56-74). A MySQL column filled with UUID_TO_BIN(uuid, 1), which moves the time fields to the front, renders as a UUID that differs from the one the application wrote.
Proposed solution
- MessagePack on binary columns: decoded into the JSON tree viewer, read-only, with badges for
bin,extand timestamp values. - igbinary on binary columns: decoded into the PHP serialized viewer's tree.
- Protobuf on binary columns: with no schema, the wire format as field numbers and wire types. With a
.protofile or descriptor set chosen for the column, field names and types. - Avro on binary columns: decoded with a writer schema file chosen for the column.
- On Kafka, a value with the wire-format prefix reads its schema ID, and when the connection names a Schema Registry URL, the Avro or Protobuf schema is fetched from it.
- UUID (Swapped Time) for
UUID_TO_BIN(uuid, 1)columns, and an edit typed as a UUID is written back in the same byte order. - Each format behaves like the existing ones: set per column and scoped to the connection and table, rendering only, a single copied cell copies the decoded text, and filters and highlight rules still read the stored value (
features/filtering.mdx:32). - A value that does not decode falls back to hex, and the viewer says why.
Done when: each format decodes a fixture written by its reference library, a broken value falls back to hex, and a UUID_TO_BIN(uuid, 1) value renders as the UUID passed in.
Alternatives considered
Copy the hex out and decode it with a script, or write a view that decodes on the server where the engine can.
Platform
macOS
Related database type
N/A / General
Activity
J2TeamNNL commentedon Oct 31, 2026
I'm picking up the rest of this for the macOS app, on top of #3761. Plan:
serialize()string..avscfile. The schema is saved with the column's format, per connection and table. Logical types (decimal, uuid, date, time, timestamp) render as readable values. A value with the Kafka wire-format prefix decodes too, and the viewer names the schema ID.Protobuf with a
.protoor descriptor set, and fetching schemas from a Schema Registry, are left for a follow-up PR.J2TeamNNL commentedon Nov 1, 2026
Picking up the last two parts for the macOS app, on top of #3962 (it needs that PR's Avro decoder and schema file storage).
.protofile or a descriptor set fromprotoc --descriptor_set_out, then the message type when the file has more than one. Values show field names and declared types. The text form matchesprotoc --decode. Fields the schema does not name show by number, as without a schema.protocand by Confluent's serializers against a real Schema Registry, plus broken values.