Design and Manage FrontBase Databases with DbSchema

Build a clearer workflow for FrontBase: reverse engineer existing schemas into interactive ER diagrams, model changes visually, and generate reviewed SQL scripts before deployment.

DbSchema is built for visual modeling, schema documentation, and deployment. Keep an offline model in Git, collaborate across teams, and publish documentation that developers, analysts, and stakeholders can navigate in minutes.

DbSchema Database Designer

Download DbSchema See FrontBase Features Download FrontBase JDBC Driver

What happens after you download?

Get to your first FrontBase schema diagram in minutes. No account, no credit card.

1
Install in minutes

Download the installer for Windows, macOS, or Linux and launch DbSchema. No signup required.

2
Connect to FrontBase or open a sample

Reverse engineer an existing FrontBase database or open a sample model to explore tables, relationships, and indexes.

3
Design, document, and deploy

Edit schema visually, generate documentation, and prepare reviewed migration scripts for safer releases.

Get Started Free

Visual Database Tools for FrontBase on macOS and Unix

FrontBase is a high-performance SQL database developed primarily for macOS and Unix environments, offering ACID compliance and a standards-conformant SQL implementation. It is used in server-side application development and academic research environments where a capable native macOS database engine is preferred. DbSchema connects to FrontBase via JDBC, renders the SQL schema as an interactive ER diagram, and provides SQL editing tools for working with FrontBase-specific syntax.

Download DbSchema Free See FrontBase Features

Connect and Explore the FrontBase Schema

DbSchema reads FrontBase's SQL catalog after connecting and displays tables, columns, primary keys, and foreign key constraints in the diagram canvas. Multiple schemas within the same database can be visualized side by side, making cross-schema dependencies in larger FrontBase deployments easier to understand.

Opening a FrontBase connection in DbSchema and rendering the schema diagram

Execute SQL Queries Against FrontBase

The SQL editor supports FrontBase's SQL dialect — including its handling of sessions, transaction isolation levels, and its type system. Write and run queries interactively, inspect result sets, and iterate on query logic without leaving DbSchema.

SQL editor running a query against a FrontBase database in DbSchema

Generate HTML Schema Documentation

DbSchema's documentation generator exports the complete FrontBase schema as an HTML report, including table definitions, column types, constraints, and navigable relationship diagrams. This is useful for sharing the database structure with team members who do not have FrontBase client access configured.

HTML schema documentation generated from a FrontBase database in DbSchema

Connecting DbSchema to FrontBase

FrontBase listens on port 4242 by default. The JDBC URL format is jdbc:FrontBase://host/dbname. Download the FrontBase JDBC driver from frontbase.com and register the JAR in DbSchema's driver manager. The FrontBase database server must be running before DbSchema attempts to connect — on macOS, the server can be started through the FrontBase Manager application or via the FrontBase command-line tool included with the installation package.

Why DbSchema for FrontBase

  • Visualize FrontBase SQL schemas in an ER diagram without writing system catalog queries.
  • Run SQL interactively in a desktop client that understands FrontBase's type system.
  • Document schemas as shareable HTML reports for team review and audit purposes.
  • Design schema modifications visually and apply the resulting DDL to the server.
  • Compare schema versions across FrontBase instances using DbSchema's synchronization tool.