Modern SQL Access to Legacy DBF Data

DbSchema points at a folder of DBF files, reads the field definitions straight from each file header, and treats every file as a table — so data from dBASE, FoxPro, and Clipper becomes something you can diagram, query, and document without the original software.

Open a directory of .dbf files — each one appears as a table, no server involved
Query the data with SQL instead of dBASE's own syntax, joins included
Review Character, Numeric, Date, Logical, and Memo fields as SQL columns
Plan the type mapping for a migration to PostgreSQL, MySQL, or another target

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DbSchema showing legacy DBF file structures as an ER diagram

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The Application Retired.
Its DBF Files Never Did

The DBF format started with dBASE in the 1980s and spread through FoxPro, Clipper, and Visual FoxPro. Point-of-sale systems, government agencies, and industrial equipment still read and write these files — while the tools that created them get harder to find every year.

DbSchema gives that data a present-day workflow: field definitions on a diagram, records behind a SQL editor, and a documented structure the next maintainer can actually study.

Read, Query & Migrate
DBF Data on Your Terms

Everything a rescue or migration project needs, from first look to final mapping.

Reverse engineer DBF file headers into an ER diagram

From File Headers to a Diagram

Field names, types, and widths are read from each DBF header and laid out on the canvas — the data model of a legacy application, recovered without its development environment.

Query dBASE DBF files with SQL in DbSchema

1980s Data, Today's SQL

Answer ad-hoc questions about a legacy dataset in the SQL editor and export results — no dBASE syntax, no vintage runtime, no data conversion first.

Visually join multiple DBF files in the query builder

Join Files That Never Met a Foreign Key

DBF files share key fields, not declared relationships. Drag the files together in the visual builder, pick the matching columns, and read the generated SQL.

A Handover Document
for Data Older Than the Team

Export the recovered structure as interactive HTML5 documentation — searchable diagrams, field definitions, and comments in any browser. Compliance reviewers and migration contractors get the full picture without touching a single legacy install.

Explore the Documentation Tool

HTML5 documentation generated from legacy DBF file structures

DBF Connection Facts

Register either the xBaseJ or the JDBF JDBC driver JAR in DbSchema's driver manager — DbSchema's own open-source DBF JDBC driver is also available on GitHub. The URL takes the form jdbc:xbase:/path/to/directory, pointing at the directory that holds the .dbf files; each file becomes a table, with Character, Numeric, Date, Logical, and Memo fields mapped to SQL types. See the DBF JDBC driver page for setup details.

Two cautions for FoxPro-era files: CDX compound indexes need a driver version that supports compound index files, since some drivers silently skip indexed records otherwise, and memo fields stored in external .dbt or .fpt files likewise require a driver that handles external memo storage.