Altova DatabaseSpy vs DbSketch

Altova DatabaseSpy has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.

DbSketch is a command-line generator for turning live relational database schemas into version-controlled documentation. It reads tables, columns, primary keys, and foreign keys from SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite. Output choices are Graphviz DOT, Mermaid ER, or Markdown files with diagram text in a fenced code block. A YAML configuration holds one database connection and can define named diagram targets, allowing one setup to produce multiple focused diagrams with separate output and renderer settings. DbSketch can include native database comments where supported and apply YAML comment overrides. Its DOT renderer preserves foreign-key relationships down to the connected columns. The maker describes it as useful for repository documentation, CI, and compact schema snapshots for people and AI coding assistants. It is distributed as the.NET tool DimonSmart.DbSketch, which installs the dbsketch command; the getting-started guide requires the.NET 10 SDK. The software is MIT-licensed and costs nothing. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and is self-hosted.