SQL Server
Oracle
MySQL
PostgreSQL
Amazon Redshift
Azure SQL Database
DBT
Google Big Query
IBM DB2
MariaDB
SAP HANA
Snowflake
SQLite
Teradata
Vertica
Database documentation tools for Oracle
List of tools that allow the documentation (e.g. with descriptions) of schema of your databases.
Database documentation is a set of descriptions of the data, that facilitate management, maintenance, and retrieval of resources. Documentation can take many forms, however, it usually acts as a data catalog that holds detailed information about the table schema, all relationships, data types, etc. Description of datasets as well as single data objects also is referred to as metadata (data about the data).
Dataedo
Dataedo enables you to catalog, document and understand your data with Data Dictionary, Business Glossary and ERDs. It enables to document your databases and share documentation in interactive HTML.
| Data Lineage: |
|
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | HTML,MS Excel,PDF |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
dbForge Documenter for Oracle
dbForge Documenter for Oracle is a handy visual tool for documenting Oracle databases. The tool includes a wide range of options to set up, customize and fine-tune the generated documentation and allows automating Oracle database documenting with the command-line interface.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | HTML,PDF |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
dbdesc
dbdesc is a powerful tool to help you document your databases. It can produce detailed documents describing your databases. Now dbdesc includes a built-in report engine and report viewer to easily browse database documentation.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | HTML,MS Word,PDF,RTF |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
Elasoft SqlSpec (discontinued)
SqlSpec is a database documentation tool that generates documentation about all the objects (tables, views, stored procedures, triggers, indexes, constraints, functions, etc) in your database. It has both GUI and command-line interface. It enables you to generate entity-relation diagrams.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
SolarWinds Database Mapper
SolarWinds Database Mapper (formerly SentryOne Document) offers complete documentation for SQL Server databases and BI tools, including SSIS, SSRS, SSAS, Oracle, Hive, Tableau, Informatica, and Excel. In addition, the documentation can be customized for different audiences, so users only see the most relevant information for their role.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Word,RTF |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
Spectral Core Documenter
Spectral Core Documenter is the easiest way to generate detailed documentation of your database. All tables, procedures, functions, triggers, and user-defined types are listed with every detail.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
Leadum DBScribe
DBScribe is a SQL documentation tool that automatically creates comprehensive technical documentation of every detail of your database schema. DBScribe SQL documentation tool helps prevent from long routing documenting work and synchronization with database changes, enabling to perform precise database documentation.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Word |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
DTM Schema Reporter
DTM Schema Reporter is a documenting tool for database schema. With DTM Schema Reporter, you can analyze and audit database structure, create schema documentation, create a hard copy of the structure snapshots, etc.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Excel,MS Word,PDF,Plain text,RTF,XML |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
xSQL Documenter
xSQL Documenter provides comprehensive, uniform, and easily navigable database documentation in HTML and compiled CHM format. It can run as a console application, useful for automating the process of generating documentation for your databases on a schedule, or for integrating xSQL Documenter into your development process.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
TechWriter for Databases
TechWriter for Databases is a documentation tool for databases that leverages the information locked inside your database to automatically produce database reference documentation for Access, MySQL, Oracle, SAS, SQL Server, PostgreSQL and DB2 databases.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Word,PDF,RTF,XML,XPS |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
SchemaSpy
Free and open source tool that generates interactive entity relationship diagrams to HTML from database schema. Requires Java 5 or higher.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Free |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
EZ Data Dictionary
EZ Data Dictionary is a user-friendly data dictionary tool for business and technical end users. Documenting database through EZ Data Dictionary provides better results as compared with Excel. It allows users to review database elements and definitions in a friendly environment and provides better communication between systems professionals and end-users.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | HTML,PDF |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
Oracle SQL Developer
Oracle SQL Developer is a free, integrated development environment that simplifies the development and management of Oracle Database in both traditional and Cloud deployments. Besides database development, it is a handy-tool for database documentation.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Free |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | HTML,PDF,RTF |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
PLDoc
PLDoc is an open-source utility for generating HTML documentation of code written in Oracle PL/SQL. Working similarly to JavaDoc, it parses PL/SQL packages, object types, functions, procedures, and triggers, finding comments of definitions and building HTML format technical documentation for your project.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Free |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
SchemaCrawler
SchemaCrawler is a free database schema discovery and comprehension tool. Using the tool, you can search for database schema objects using regular expressions, and output the schema and data in a readable text format. The output serves for database documentation and is designed to be diff-ed against other database schemas.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Free |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | CSV,HTML,JSON,Plain text |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
Database documentation tools support data management by creating helpful descriptions, meaningful aliases, and annotating data assets with additional elements. The tools capture all the relevant information about the metadata and make it available to the users in a convenient way (tabular or graphical). The features of documentation tools can vary widely. The tools allow users to:
• Facilitate datasets with meaningful descriptions/aliases,
• Create relational diagrams,
• Advance search of resources,
• Track schema changes,
• Document repositories from various sources, through compatibility with many database engines,
• Automatic documentation export to user-friendly formats and easy-to-share formats (HTML, PDF, Excell )
Developers (especially those working on the backend) are constantly faced with questions from non-IT teams or customers about what a given object means. This is because creating and maintaining documentation is not a top priority. However, using documentation tools has many benefits such as:
• Help Data stewards quickly discover database schema,
• Data becomes understandable for non-IT members,
• Documentation as a single source of truth about the data is available to everyone
• Easier implementation for new people working on the repository,
We have selected database documenters that, we believe, are truly noteworthy. We have included both, open-source tools and advanced, professional software (offering trial versions).