Who’s Bobby?

Bobby is a viewer utility. It displays tables from SQLite files. The most deployed database format in the world. That’s it.

Whilst hacking on the backend of Auroras I was missing an easy way to check my data tables. There are many database management tools, but they seemed too heavy for my use case.

GTK4 and Libadwaita

Releasing something smaller first also was a chance to refamiliarise myself with modern GNOME app development. It was my first serious project using Rust.

GTK is still the rock UI toolkit it has always been. Libadwaita makes it easy for your app to look beautiful and is a lot of fun to use.

The main challenge was hooking up the database backend to the ListModel required to be displayed by the new ColumnView. The struggle was worth it though as it enables Bobby to have lazy loading of rows, smooth scrolling, and a limited memory footprint.

After that using any other widget should be a breeze!

Future

I will keep the scope of the app small, but there are a few features I want to add in the future:

• Encrypted file support
• Updating values in place
• Search

Get Bobby on Flathub and always sanitise your database inputs!

Since there’s a whole new generation of GNOME contributors active right now, I’ll do a short reintroduction: Hello, I’m Hylke!

I was a design contributor in the late 2.X, early 3.X days. Mainly icons and theming. I’ve attended many GUADECs.

I’m also the developer of SparkleShare, a Git-based file sync app. Once a much used tool by the Design Team to collaborate on mockups, now in need for some love and care.

After many years just lurking I’m happy to be officially back as a GNOME Foundation member now that Bobby has joined Circle.

New plan

I lost my job this year due to the big tech layoffs. Also dealing with burnout, it made me realise I need to go back to working on things that matter to me.

I would love to contribute design full-time.

If you like my work and want to support me, I’m trying to gather enough small monthly sponsors to support me with a basic income. Every little helps.

My focus for 2026:

• Supply a stream of icons to the Linux ecosystem by designing at least one app icon a week. Developers can request free icons.
• Reboot SparkleShare. Finish the rewrite in Rust and redesign the interface with GTK4 and libadwaita.
• Launch a FOSS design service. Make a plan for sustainably assist FOSS communities with product design work.

I will post frequent updates here and on the Fediverse.

Good to be back!