ErdDocs

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.

Your schema

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?

ToolModelHow it worksCost
SchemaSpyOpen source (Java)Connects to a live DB, generates an HTML siteFree, needs Java + JDBC + CLI setup
tblsOpen source (Go)Connects to a live DB, writes Markdown for CIFree, docs-as-code teams
dbdocsCommercialCode-first: write DBML, host docs in the cloudSubscription; DBML is the source of truth
SchemaCrawlerOpen source (Java)CLI over JDBC: schema as readable text, plus diagramsFree, needs Java 17+ and a driver
DBeaverOpen source client (Java)Desktop client over JDBC; an ERD tab per table or schemaFree community edition; paid tiers exist
AtlasOpen source CLI + cloudSchema as code (HCL, SQL or an ORM); docs built on pushHosted schema docs need an Atlas Cloud account
Redgate SQL DocCommercialConnects to SQL Server, writes HTML, PDF, Word or MarkdownLicense; SQL Server only, needs .NET
DataedoCommercial (enterprise)Metadata platform: repository, lineage, glossaryAnnual licensing
ErdDocsCommercial (this site)Paste a dump or ORM schema in the browser — ten formats, nothing connects to the database; dictionary + ERD, print to PDFFree 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.

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