Oracle JDBC Driver Download

Download the Oracle JDBC driver, copy the JDBC URL into DbSchema, and start designing schemas with ER diagrams — free Community Edition.

About the Oracle JDBC driver

A JDBC driver is a Java .jar library that lets applications connect to Oracle. DbSchema uses JDBC to reverse engineer schemas, run SQL, and generate documentation. Driver files are usually published by the database vendor or an open-source project.

JDBC URL format

Host, port, database name, and SSL options are passed in a URL starting with jdbc:. Each Oracle driver uses its own syntax — see the connection details below.

The Oracle JDBC driver

Oracle Database is the industry-leading enterprise RDBMS, widely used in banking, healthcare, and government sectors. It supports advanced features like partitioning, PL/SQL stored procedures, RAC clustering, and pluggable databases (PDB/CDB).

The Oracle JDBC URL

• Required File(s): ojdbc15.jar (For Java 1.5), ojdbc16.jar (For Java 1.6)
• Java Driver Class: oracle.jdbc.OracleDriver
• URL ( connect via SID ): jdbc:oracle:thin:@HOST[:PORT]:DB
• URL ( connect via service name ): jdbc:oracle:thin:@//HOST[:PORT]/DB
• Website: Oracle

Download Oracle JDBC Driver

The driver archive is a zip file. Extract it and load the .jar files using DbSchema's Driver Manager.

Thin Driver vs Oracle Client

The thin driver (oracle.jdbc.OracleDriver) does not require an Oracle client installation and works out of the box. Connect via SID (jdbc:oracle:thin:@host:port:SID) or service name (jdbc:oracle:thin:@//host:port/service). For Autonomous Database on Oracle Cloud, download the wallet and use the ojdbc-full.jar bundle which includes the required TLS certificates.

Connecting to a Remote Oracle Database

Clients never reach the database directly — they reach a listener, which hands the connection to an instance. Most failed Oracle connections are a listener that is not running, or a name that the listener does not recognize.

1. Ask the listener what it serves. On the database host run lsnrctl status. Its output is the answer to every field in the Connection Dialog: the listening endpoints give you the host and port, and the services summary gives you the names you are allowed to connect to. A listener that is down produces ORA-12541: TNS:no listener; start it with lsnrctl start.
2. Pick the matching Connection Mode. Oracle accepts three different names, and DbSchema has an entry for each. Connect via SID builds jdbc:oracle:thin:@host:port:SID and takes the instance name. Connect via Service Name builds jdbc:oracle:thin:@//host:port/service and takes a name from the services summary. TNS takes a full descriptor. Using a service name where a SID is expected, or the reverse, is the usual cause of ORA-12514.
3. With a container database, name the pluggable database. The CDB and each PDB register their own services. Connecting to the CDB's service shows you the container's own dictionary rather than the application schema you were after — use the PDB service name.
4. Check the listener accepts remote addresses. A listener whose listener.ora endpoint names localhost answers only on the loopback interface. The file sits in $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin, or wherever TNS_ADMIN points. After a change, lsnrctl reload applies it.
5. Open port 1521 in the server's firewall. The database listens on port 1521 unless it was installed with a different one. A host firewall on the server blocks incoming connections on that port until a rule allows them. The firewall guide has the commands for Windows, ufw, firewalld and iptables.
6. Connect from DbSchema. In the Connection Dialog choose Remote computer or custom port, fill in the server host and the port, then press Test Connection to check that the server answers before you connect.

For Autonomous Database on Oracle Cloud none of this applies: download the wallet, use the ojdbc-full bundle that carries the TLS certificates, and take the connection string from the cloud console.

• Or reach the server through SSH. When the database port is deliberately closed to the internet, press Setup SSH Tunnel... in the Connection Dialog and connect through a host that is exposed. The database host and port are then the ones seen from the SSH host — often localhost. See the SSH tunnel guide.

DbSchema and Oracle

DbSchema renders Oracle's multi-schema environments as tabbed diagrams, making it easy to navigate between large schema objects like tables, views, packages, and sequences. The Schema Synchronization feature generates Oracle-compatible DDL including sequence grants and constraint syntax.