Design and Manage Amazon Athena Databases Visually with DbSchema

DbSchema lets you design, manage, and document Amazon Athena databases. Create ER diagrams, define tables and columns, and generate SQL scripts - with or without a live database connection.

Use Git to share the design, compare it with the Amazon Athena database, and deploy changes. DbSchema also includes a data editor, query builder, and HTML5 documentation - everything you need in one tool.

DbSchema Database Designer

Download DbSchema Download Amazon Athena JDBC Driver

Visualizing the AWS Glue Data Catalog with DbSchema

Amazon Athena is a serverless query engine that reads data directly from S3, using the AWS Glue Data Catalog as its metadata store. Unlike traditional databases, there is no persistent cluster — Athena's schema is the set of Glue databases and tables that point to S3 paths and file formats such as Parquet, ORC, and CSV. DbSchema connects via the Simba Athena JDBC driver and renders these Glue-cataloged tables as an interactive ER diagram, providing a visual representation of the data lake schema that is otherwise only accessible through the Athena console or the Glue API.

Build and Run SQL Queries on S3-Backed Data

DbSchema's visual query builder generates Presto-compatible SQL for Athena, letting analysts join Glue catalog tables and set filter conditions without writing SQL. Queries execute asynchronously via the Athena API and results are retrieved from the configured S3 output location and displayed in the data grid.

DbSchema visual query builder building SQL queries against Amazon Athena S3 data

Browse Data Lake Table Contents

The data explorer fetches rows from Athena tables by issuing SELECT queries through the JDBC driver. Use it to inspect file-backed table contents, verify partition data, or sample rows from Parquet and ORC datasets stored in S3 — without returning to the Athena console for each lookup.

Exploring Amazon Athena data lake table contents in the DbSchema data explorer

Document the Data Lake Schema

DbSchema generates HTML schema documentation from Athena's Glue catalog metadata, embedding ER diagrams and table definitions for every database in the catalog. This makes the data lake schema shareable and accessible to data consumers and stakeholders who do not have Athena console access.

Auto-generated Amazon Athena data lake schema documentation in DbSchema

Connecting DbSchema to Amazon Athena

Download the Simba Athena JDBC driver from the AWS documentation page and register it in DbSchema's driver manager. The JDBC URL format is jdbc:awsathena://AwsRegion=us-east-1;S3OutputLocation=s3://bucket/prefix/. Authenticate using an IAM user's Access Key ID and Secret Key provided in the connection dialog, or configure the AWS default credentials chain on the host machine for credential-free setup. The IAM principal must have athena:StartQueryExecution and s3:PutObject permissions on the S3 output bucket — without write access to the output location, all queries will fail at execution time.

Why Teams Use DbSchema with Amazon Athena

  • Visualize Glue Data Catalog databases and tables as a navigable ER diagram
  • Run Presto-SQL queries on S3-backed data through a visual query builder
  • Inspect partitioned table data without opening the Athena console
  • Generate schema documentation for the data lake catalog
  • Share the Glue catalog schema with stakeholders who lack AWS console access