Design and Manage CockroachDB Databases with DbSchema
Build a clearer workflow for CockroachDB: reverse engineer existing schemas into interactive ER diagrams, model changes visually, and generate reviewed SQL scripts before deployment.
DbSchema is built for relational modeling, migration planning, and SQL-first collaboration. Keep an offline model in Git, collaborate across teams, and publish documentation that developers, analysts, and stakeholders can navigate in minutes.
Download DbSchema See CockroachDB Features Download CockroachDB JDBC Driver
What happens after you download?
Get to your first CockroachDB schema diagram in minutes. No account, no credit card.
Install in minutes
Download the installer for Windows, macOS, or Linux and launch DbSchema. No signup required.
Connect to CockroachDB or open a sample
Reverse engineer an existing CockroachDB database or open a sample model to explore tables, relationships, and indexes.
Design, document, and deploy
Edit schema visually, generate documentation, and prepare reviewed migration scripts for safer releases.
CockroachDB is a distributed SQL database that speaks the PostgreSQL wire protocol and replicates data across nodes using the Raft consensus algorithm. Its schema model includes column families — groupings of columns stored together for access locality — and zone configurations that control data placement across regions. DbSchema connects via the PostgreSQL JDBC driver and exposes the full CockroachDB schema for visual design, documentation, and synchronization.
ER Diagram Design for CockroachDB Schemas
DbSchema reads tables, foreign keys, indexes, and column family definitions from CockroachDB's information schema and renders them as interactive ER diagrams. You can design multi-region schema layouts, annotate tables with notes, and export diagrams as HTML documentation for your distributed systems team.
Download DbSchema Free See CockroachDB Features
SQL Editor with CockroachDB Distributed SQL Support
The DbSchema SQL editor connects directly to a CockroachDB cluster and supports the full PostgreSQL-
compatible SQL dialect that CockroachDB implements, including SHOW RANGES,
SHOW ZONE CONFIGURATIONS, and other cluster-management statements. Multiple editor
tabs let you run queries against different databases within the same cluster simultaneously.
Schema Synchronization Across CockroachDB Environments
CockroachDB's online schema change mechanism applies DDL changes without locking tables, but keeping development and production schemas aligned still requires tooling. DbSchema compares two CockroachDB connections — or a saved schema file against a live cluster — and generates the PostgreSQL-compatible DDL needed to resolve differences.
Connecting DbSchema to CockroachDB
CockroachDB listens on port 26257 by default and accepts connections from any PostgreSQL JDBC driver,
which DbSchema downloads automatically. The JDBC URL format is
jdbc:postgresql://host:26257/dbname?sslmode=require. CockroachDB Serverless clusters
require the full connection string from the CockroachDB Cloud console, which includes the cluster SNI
header (options=--cluster=cluster-name) embedded in the URL. For CockroachDB Dedicated,
download the cluster's CA certificate and reference it with the sslrootcert parameter.
Why Teams Use DbSchema with CockroachDB
- Column family visibility — see how columns are grouped into storage families within each table in the ER diagram.
- Multi-region layout — document zone configurations and regional table placements visually.
- Schema diff and sync — compare dev and production CockroachDB clusters and generate targeted migration DDL.
- Offline modeling — design schema changes locally without touching the cluster, then apply them using online schema changes.
- Git-based history — store the DbSchema project file in Git to track every schema change as a versioned commit.