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
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).
SQLyog
SQLyog is the most powerful manager, admin and GUI tool for MySQL, combining the features of MySQL Query Browser, Administrator, phpMyAdmin and other MySQL Front Ends and MySQL GUI tools in a single intuitive interface. It provides you with powerful means to manage and do HTML schema documentation of your MySQL databases.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
MagicDraw
MagicDraw is the award-winning business process, architecture, software and system modeling tool with teamwork support. It includes the entity-relationship diagram, SQL database modeling/diagramming and DDL script generation/reverse features. Its automatic report generation engine rapidly-produce comprehensive, professional requirements, software design documentation, and other types of reports in HTML, PDF, and RTF formats.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | HTML,PDF,RTF |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
Database Designer for PostgreSQL
The Microolap Database Designer for PostgreSQL is an comprehensive CASE tool with intuitive graphical interface allowing you to perform database structure modeling, generation and modification focused on PostgreSQL. It generates powerful reports that describe all the database objects within your diagram.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | JSON,PDF |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
SQL Manager
SQL Manager simplifies and automates your database development process and design, explore and maintain existing databases, build compound SQL query statements, manage database user rights, and manipulate data in different ways. The functionality of Create Report Wizard allows you to create simple database objects reports in a few clicks.
| 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: |
|
StarUML
StarUML enables to create Data Models, Entity-Relationship Diagrams (ERD), Data-flow Diagrams (DFD) and Flowchart Diagrams. It also allows documentation of data models in HTML.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | - |
| Export: | HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
Hackolade
Hackolade is a tool for Agile visual data modeling for JSON and NoSQL databases. It provides graphic visualization of complex data structures using Entity-Relationship diagrams and produces human-readable documentation in HTML or PDF format.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: | - |
| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | HTML,PDF |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
Apricot DB
Exports the detailed report in the Excel format.
Exports diagrams in PNG and PDF format.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Free |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | MS Excel,PDF,PNG |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
DrawSQL
DrawSQL helps dev teams create beautiful schema diagrams to document their database entity relationships. The app has a strong focus on crafting a delightful user experience, with keyboard shortcuts and a modern app design so you can create your document at the speed of thought. It currently supports MySQL, PostgresSQL and SQL server. It also has an extensive library of over 200+ database schemas of popular open-source packages, useful as inspiration when architecting a new app feature.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
Cloud Docs
The CloudDocs feature in Serverless360 helps you to generate extensive technical documentation on your Azure Subscription. Thus, CloudDocs provides documentation of your Microsoft Azure subscription usage to represent your subscription with deeper insights. The generated documentation includes an Executive Summary, Billing and Metrics Information, and technical information of each of the resources available in an Azure subscription.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | - |
| Export: | HTML,PDF |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
GenMyModel
With GenMyModel’s standard data modeling notation, data architects not only keep glossaries and data models under control, but they can design and reverse engineer data models and link them to other IT and business models, such as UML, Archimate and BPMN.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | - |
| Export: | HTML,MS Word,Online HTML,PDF,XML |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
dbForge Studio for MySQL
dbForge Studio for MySQL has a great built-in feature that automates documentation generation in many formats. MySQL database documentation generator allows for customization of generated documentation files to meet users' needs.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | - |
| Export: | - |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
Select Star
Select Star automatically loads and syncs table comments, column comments, documentation from BI tools and dbt, but you can also add or update documentation easily.
You can also add to and edit documentation easily in Select Star in a few different ways. Select Star also offers other documentation features like tagging and business metrics
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | - |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | CSV,JSON |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
SQLDoc Sharp (discontinued)
SQLDoc Sharp is a free and open-source tool designed to generate the SQL Server (2005, 2008) documentation.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Free |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,XML |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
Data Dictionary Generator
Data Dictionary Generator can be used to generate data dictionary, compare database schema and spell check schema.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Free |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | - |
| Export: | HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Dependencies: |
|
CSVReader SQL Server Data Dictionary
CSVReader SQL Server Data Dictionary is a SQL script that will generate a data dictionary for all tables in a SQL Server database. It includes schemas, foreign keys, primary keys, nulls, identities, data types, lengths, default values and descriptions.
| Data Lineage: | - |
|---|---|
| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Free |
| Free edition: |
|
| Allows editing: |
|
| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CSV,XML |
| 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).