drawDB Review

The README describes drawDB as a robust and user-friendly database entity relationship diagram editor right in your browser. You can build diagrams with a few clicks, export and import SQL scripts, generate migrations, customize your editor, and more, all without creating an account. A full feature list is on the project website. Local development is git clone, npm install, and npm run dev; a production build uses npm run build; and Docker builds an image that serves on port 80. Sharing is optional and needs a companion server and environment variables from .env.sample; with the published Docker image you pass the server URL as VITE_BACKEND_URL at start without rebuilding. The project is AGPL-3.0, and discussions happen on Discord.

Use the hosted web app, or clone the repository and run npm install and npm run dev, or build the Docker image with docker build -t drawdb . and run it with -p 3000:80. For sharing, set up the optional server and pass its URL to the container. We did not deploy it.

A canvas of tables and relationships with an editor panel for fields, types, and constraints, plus import and export of SQL. Because it needs no account and runs in the browser, you can start immediately. We did not test the editor.

• Browser-based ERD editor with no account
• Export and import SQL scripts
• Migration generation
• Customizable editor
• Docker image and static build
• Optional sharing server

• Zero-friction start with no signup
• Self-hostable as a static site or container
• Very popular for its niche, about 40,000 stars
• Simple to deploy

• Sharing requires running a separate server
• AGPL-3.0 applies if you modify and serve it
• Narrow scope: diagrams and schema scripts, not a database client
• The README is short, so detailed behavior sits on the website

drawDB is free and open source under AGPL-3.0. We found no paid plans in the README.

dbdiagram.io is a hosted diagramming service driven by a text DSL with paid tiers for larger teams. drawDB is an open-source, point-and-click editor that you can host yourself and use without an account.

• Developers sketching database schemas
• Teams wanting a self-hosted ERD tool
• Students and educators

• Teams needing real-time collaboration out of the box
• People who want live database introspection
• Anyone avoiding AGPL obligations