Your SQL Server schema, versioned in Git

SQL Server Database Design,
ER Diagrams, and Schema Sync

DbSchema turns a SQL Server database into ER diagrams and documentation your whole team can browse — then lets you design, query, and deploy schema changes from the same model.

  • Connect to an instance and see every schema of the database as one ER diagram, in minutes
  • Publish interactive HTML documentation that opens in any browser — no SSMS, no DbSchema needed
  • Review schema changes in Git and deploy them as T-SQL scripts you read first
  • Design from Windows, macOS, or Linux — no Windows VM between you and SQL Server
available for ISO-27001 certified ISO-27001 certified
Free Community Edition No signup required 15-day Architect trial included
Free Download
DbSchema database design tool showing an ER diagram and schema documentation
100+ Databases
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Enterprise SQL Server Databases Grow Past
What Object Explorer Can Show You

A grown SQL Server database spreads over many schemas, views reference tables three schemas away, and the documentation is a wiki page nobody trusts. Expanding tree nodes in SSMS tells you what exists — not how it fits together.

DbSchema imports the whole catalog and lays it out as a model the team can see: diagrammed, documented, versioned, and reviewable.

Design, Document & Deploy
SQL Server Schemas from One Model

From reverse engineering the first instance to the reviewed production script, without switching tools.

Reverse engineer a SQL Server schema into an ER diagram
Understand a SQL Server Database You Didn't Build

Connect to on-premise SQL Server or Azure SQL and get the complete ER diagram — tables, views, keys, and relationships from every schema of the database — without opening a system table.

Generate HTML5 documentation for a SQL Server database
Hand the Schema to People Without SSMS

Publish interactive HTML5 documentation with zoomable diagrams, comments, and hover details. Analysts, auditors, and new joiners read it in a browser instead of asking the DBA.

Compare and synchronize SQL Server schemas
Never Run a Migration Script You Haven't Read

Compare the model against development, test, and production instances, review every difference, and generate the T-SQL migration script that applies only what you approved.

Design SQL Server schemas visually in focused diagrams
Keep a Schema With Thousands of Tables Readable

Split the database into focused diagrams per domain, color-code schema groups, and export diagrams to PDF or SVG for architecture reviews and DBA sign-off.

Build SQL Server queries visually
Get the Join Right Without Knowing the Schema by Heart

Drag tables, joins, filters, and grouping into place, then read the generated SQL before you run it — ideal when the foreign keys live only in application code.

Write T-SQL in the DbSchema SQL editor
Write T-SQL With the Schema in Front of You

Autocomplete that knows your tables and views, script execution, and results you can edit inline and export to CSV, Excel, or JSON.

Collaborate on SQL Server design without sharing live data.

SSMS Shows You the Live Server
DbSchema Gives You the Model

Your schema lives in a design model file, not only on the server. That one difference is what lets you work offline, review changes like code, and decide exactly what reaches production.

Design the SQL Server schema offline
Design Without a Connection

Model and change the schema on a plane, in a meeting, or before the database exists.

Review the SQL Server schema in Git
Review It Like Code

Branch, diff, and pull-request the schema in Git, in the same workflow as the rest of your project.

Read the generated T-SQL before it runs
See Every Change as T-SQL First

Read the exact statements a change will run before anything touches the server.

Deploy the same change across environments
Deploy Deliberately

Move the same reviewed change through development, test, and production, one approval at a time.

Every Schema Change,
a Commit Your Team Can Review

The model is a file in your repository, so the schema follows the workflow your code already has: branch it, diff it, pull-request it. Once the review is approved, DbSchema turns the change into T-SQL and walks it through development, test, and production.

SQL Server schema synchronization between the Git model and database instances
Read Git Workflow Docs

Documentation Your Auditors Can Open
Without Touching the Server

One click turns the model into interactive HTML5 documentation: searchable diagrams, table and column comments, hover details. Analysts, auditors, and new joiners browse the schema in any browser — no SSMS install, no login to production, no stale wiki page to maintain.

Explore the Documentation Tool

Interactive HTML5 documentation generated from a SQL Server schema

Now with AI Assistant

Ask for the query in plain English, paste a stored procedure in and ask what it does, or ask what index would make it faster. The Assistant reads your own design model, so the answers are about your tables, not generic examples.

See What the AI Assistant Can Do

DbSchema AI assistant generating SQL from a plain-English question

Watch: Connect and Design
a SQL Server Database

Connecting with Windows or SQL Server Authentication and designing the schema (7 min). DbSchema downloads the Microsoft JDBC Driver for SQL Server automatically on first connect; the same steps work for Azure SQL.

DbSchema vs SQL Server Management Studio

SSMS is Microsoft's free administration environment for SQL Server and the natural home for Agent jobs, backups, and query tuning. DbSchema complements it on the design side — and unlike SSMS, it is not tied to Windows.

DbSchema SQL Server Management Studio
Operating systems Windows, macOS, Linux Windows only
Supported databases 100+ engines, including Azure SQL and Synapse SQL Server family
ER diagrams and visual design Interactive multi-schema diagrams with layouts Basic database diagrams
Offline design model in Git Yes — model file with Git integration (Pro) —
Schema compare and migration scripts Diff any two instances or models, generate reviewed T-SQL (Pro) Via separate tooling (e.g. SSDT/DacFx)
Interactive HTML documentation Yes (Pro) —
Server administration and tuning — (schema design focus) Yes — Agent, backups, execution plans
Price Free Community edition; paid Pro with 15-day trial Free

Snapshot of typical SSMS 20.x usage; both tools evolve — verify details against Microsoft's documentation.

See Your SQL Server Schema in a Diagram

No signup. Free Community Edition and a 15-day Architect trial in the same installer.

Download Free

Tutorials and guides

Frequently asked questions

Yes. SQL Server authentication and integrated security are supported via the Microsoft JDBC driver.

Yes. DbSchema provides visual design, ER diagrams, SQL editor, and schema sync as an alternative desktop workflow.

Yes. Unlike SSMS, which runs on Windows only, DbSchema is a desktop application for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

For schema design, diagrams, documentation, and environment comparison, yes. For server administration such as Agent jobs, backups, and query tuning, SSMS remains the dedicated tool — many teams use both.

Port 1433 unless your instance uses a named instance or custom port in the JDBC URL.

Teams working with SQL Server often use these engines too. Explore dedicated guides and JDBC setup for each.

Browse all 100+ supported databases