Development

The Eskuel Suite is under continuous development, and contributors are very welcome. Its repository is available on GitHub at https://github.com/lucques/eskuel-suite.

The following versions can be used on this website:

Version 1.3.3
Version 2 (latest version, e.g. via the “Quick start” buttons)

History

The Eskuel Suite began in December 2021 as a way to run escape-room games created by students in an upper-secondary computer-science course. What Lukas Convent originally wrote as a small JavaScript program connected to sql.js has since grown into a software suite that has supported several generations of students in developing their own SQL games.

The most important milestones are listed below.

Date	Event
2026-09-15	Version 2.0.0 released. Major overhaul with not so many new features but lots of small improvements, formal specifications and more robustness. New responsive layout / design, movable panels, light and dark modes Multilingual interface and content catalogs: English and German PostgreSQL support alongside SQLite, both running entirely in the browser Monaco SQL editor; cancellable queries without freezing the interface Formally specified, versioned file formats; compatibility with existing games and databases Packages in `.eskuelgame` / `.eskueldb` format bundling content, dependencies, licences, attribution, and source information Extended scene hints: progressive text hints, expected results, optional sample solutions Inline formatting and highlighted SQL in scene text and hints Saved game progress; editor draft recovery and undo / redo Broader image-format support and automatic resizing CLI tools for packaging, validation, playing, and automated game review Modernized build and embedding API, with extensive automated tests
2026-03-31	The Eskuel Suite won first prize in the MNU and Ernst Klett Verlag competition for outstanding young STEM ideas. Read more.
2026-03-04	Presentation at ILTiS 2026 in Rostock. Follow-up materials about classroom project work are available in the teacher guide.
2026-03-03	Version 1.3.3 released. Fixed incorrect parsing of table IDs containing digits.
2026-02-20	Version 1.3.2 released. Fixed comparison of result tables.
2025-09-29	Presentation of the Eskuel Suite at the National Science on Stage Festival in Radebeul. The shared poster is available here.
2025-05-13	Relaunch of eskuel.de.
2024-11-11	Version 1.3.1 released. Fixed manipulate scenes.
2024-11-01	Version 1.3.0 released. Added the Image scene type and support for graphics.
2024-10-13	Version 1.2.0 released. Added a “New game” button to the SQL Game Editor. Added support for `.db` files alongside `.sql` files. Games must now contain at least one scene. Various minor fixes.
2024-05-24	Version 1.1.0 released. Added support for embedding Base64-encoded images in game files.
2024-05-09	Version 1.0.1 released. Table and column names may now contain umlauts, spaces and other special characters.
2024-04-24	Published complementary tasks and materials for learning SQL: MaInLab database course.
2024-04-07	Version 1.0.0 released. Fixed the supplied games. Simplified and improved the user interface. Select scenes can optionally compare column names, column order and row order in result tables.
2024-02-28	First test version released and presented by Lukas Convent and Finn Rüge at ILTiS, the fifth computer-science teachers’ day in Rostock.
2021-12-01	The first prototype—a small JavaScript program without a game editor—is used in class.

Technologies

The Eskuel Suite web application is built with the following technologies.

TypeScript as the main programming language.
React as the frontend library for building the user interface.
Node.js 24+ as the runtime for build scripts, maintenance scripts, and CLI tools.
npm as the package manager and script runner.
Vite as the development server and production bundling tool.
sql.js for running SQLite client-side in the browser through WebAssembly.
PGlite for running PostgreSQL client-side in the browser through WebAssembly.
Bootstrap as the CSS framework.
Monaco Editor as the SQL code editor.
Dockview for movable, resizable workspace panels.
Effect for asynchronous operations and session management.
i18next for English and German translations.

Issues and bugs

Issues and bugs are tracked centrally in the GitHub repository: https://github.com/lucques/eskuel-suite/issues. If you encounter a bug, please send us an email, open an issue or propose a fix.

Future plans

Planned improvements include:

Additional widgets that can easily be embedded in HTML pages.
A platform for submitting and sharing more games.
Advanced type checking of SQL queries with improved feedback for users.

Ideas for making the Eskuel Suite even better are always welcome. Send us an email, open an issue or submit an enhancement.