DbSketch vs tbls

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.

tbls is a command-line tool for documenting databases and checking their schemas. It generates GitHub Flavored Markdown and can export schema information in formats including DOT, PlantUML, Mermaid, SVG, PNG, JPG, JSON, YAML, Excel, and configuration files. Its configurable lint rules can require column comments or set column-count limits. The `diff` command compares a database schema with generated documentation or another database, while `coverage` measures documentation for descriptions and comments. Documented data sources include PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, BigQuery, Cloud Spanner, Amazon Redshift, SQL Server, Azure SQL, Microsoft Fabric Warehouse, DynamoDB, Snowflake, MongoDB, ClickHouse, Databricks, JSON, HTTP, and GitHub. Docker and a GitHub Action are documented for CI use, and external drivers can extend database support. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, or in a self-hosted setup. The listed plan is free under the MIT License. SQL Server requires version 2017 or later and database compatibility level 110 or higher.