Database documentation tool
ErdDocs is a database documentation tool that runs in the browser: paste a schema dump and get a data dictionary — every table, column, type, default, key and description — and an interactive ER diagram, printable to PDF. No install, no account; the schema is parsed in your browser and never uploaded.
A warehouse schema; note how the NULL-meaning comments become the Description column — that is the part hand-written docs always lose first.
The landscape, honestly
Database documentation tools split by one question: does the tool connect to your database, or do you bring the schema to it?
| Tool | Model | How it works | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| SchemaSpy | Open source (Java) | Connects to a live DB, generates an HTML site | Free, needs Java + JDBC + CLI setup |
| tbls | Open source (Go) | Connects to a live DB, writes Markdown for CI | Free, docs-as-code teams |
| dbdocs | Commercial | Code-first: write DBML, host docs in the cloud | Subscription; DBML is the source of truth |
| SchemaCrawler | Open source (Java) | CLI over JDBC: schema as readable text, plus diagrams | Free, needs Java 17+ and a driver |
| DBeaver | Open source client (Java) | Desktop client over JDBC; an ERD tab per table or schema | Free community edition; paid tiers exist |
| Atlas | Open source CLI + cloud | Schema as code (HCL, SQL or an ORM); docs built on push | Hosted schema docs need an Atlas Cloud account |
| Redgate SQL Doc | Commercial | Connects to SQL Server, writes HTML, PDF, Word or Markdown | License; SQL Server only, needs .NET |
| Dataedo | Commercial (enterprise) | Metadata platform: repository, lineage, glossary | Annual licensing |
| ErdDocs | Commercial (this site) | Paste a dump or ORM schema in the browser — ten formats, nothing connects to the database; dictionary + ERD, print to PDF | Free tier; $9 once |
Connect-and-run tools automate re-generation — right for CI pipelines and standing documentation programs. ErdDocs sits on the other side of that question: you bring the schema to it, which is what makes it right when documentation is a deliverable: an audit request, a handover, an onboarding doc — produced now, from the schema you already have, without pointing anything at production.
Product names belong to their owners; the landscape reflects public information as of August 2026.
FAQ
What is the fastest way to document an existing database?
Export the schema — pg_dump --schema-only or mysqldump --no-data — and paste it into ErdDocs; the dictionary appears as you paste and prints straight to PDF. Nothing to install, no account and no connection to the database, so the whole path is a few minutes — most of it spent reading your own schema.
What are the open source options?
SchemaSpy is the classic: a Java tool that connects to a live database and generates an HTML site with diagrams — solid, but it needs Java, JDBC drivers and CLI time. tbls does the same in Go with Markdown output, good for docs-as-code in CI. Both are connect-and-run tools, which is what makes them right inside a pipeline: point them at a database once and they can be re-run automatically on every migration. ErdDocs is the answer at a laptop — no Java, no driver, nothing pointed at your database at all: you paste the schema, and the dictionary and the diagram are there.
Which tool should a team with a documentation program use?
It depends on whether documentation is a program or a deliverable. A standing program — descriptions edited in the app, a shared repository, lineage across systems — is platform work, and Dataedo, or dbdocs if the team already lives in DBML, is built for it. The far more common case is the deliverable: an audit request, a handover, an onboarding doc. ErdDocs covers that one end to end — paste the schema, read the dictionary, print the PDF — with nothing to install, nothing to maintain and nothing pointed at production.
Why does privacy matter for a documentation tool specifically?
Because the input is your entire database structure — table names, columns, relations. That is exactly what an attacker wants for reconnaissance and what NDAs often cover. ErdDocs parses the schema inside your browser and never transmits it: there is no server that could log, cache or leak it, and nothing ever connects to the database itself.
What does it cost?
Free without an account: diagrams up to 25 tables, dictionary preview, all image and text exports. One $9 payment unlocks full dictionaries and diagrams for any schema size — one payment, not a subscription.
Related
- Data dictionary generator — the document itself, in depth.
- Dataedo alternative — the enterprise-platform comparison in detail.
- Lucidchart alternative — when the job is the diagram, not the drawing.
- MySQL ·PostgreSQL — dialect-specific pages.