Hi all, I’m one of the creators of ChartDB.
A few months ago, I introduced ChartDB to this community and received an amazing response - tons of positive feedback and feature requests. Thank you for the incredible support!
Recap: For those new to ChartDB, it simplifies database design and visualization, similar to tools like DBeaver, dbdiagram, and DrawSQL, but is completely open-source and self-hosted.
https://github.com/chartdb/chartdb
Key features
- Instant Schema Import - Import your database schema with just one query.
- AI-Powered DDL Export - Generate scripts for easy database migration.
- Broad Databases - Works with PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MSSQL, ClickHouse, and more.
- Customizable ER Diagrams - Visualize your database structure as needed.
- Open-Source & Self-Hostable - Free, flexible, and transparent.
What’s New in v1.7.0 (2025-02-03)
🚀 New Features
- CockroachDB Support - Now fully supports CockroachDB.
- ClickHouse Enhancements - Improved ClickHouse integration.
- DBML Editor - Added a built-in DBML editor in the side panel.
- Import DBML - Now you can import DBML files directly into ChartDB.
- Drag & Drop Table Ordering - Easily reorder tables in the side panel.
- Mini Map Toggle - Added a toggle option for mini-map visibility.
🛠 Bug Fixes & Improvements
- Docker Build -
OPENAI_API_KEYis now optional when using Docker. - Canvas Editing - You can now edit table names directly on the canvas.
- Dark Mode Fixes - Improved UI for the empty state in dark mode.
- Power User Shortcuts - Added new keyboard shortcuts and key bindings.
- Performance Boost - Optimized bundle size for faster loading.
What’s Next?
- AI - Tables Relationships finder - AI-powered tool to detect table relationships.
- CLI/API Diagram Updates - Option to update diagrams via CLI, API, or a JSON input file.
- Git Integration for Versioning - Manage and track diagram changes with Git version control.
- More database support & DBML improvements.
- Enhanced collaboration & sharing features.
- Additional performance optimizations.
We’re building ChartDB hand-in-hand with this community and contributors. Your feedback drives our progress, and we’d love to hear more!
Thank you to everybody who contributed! ❤️
I have some critical comments not about the tool, but about another related stuff. Please look at the next section for doubts and suggestions.
The tool need to be more clear and less annoying about ChartDB v2.0.
So this is shown as some big rework, so I signed up. Only then it said only MacOS would support it initially. This was a huge disappointment and I felt kind of deceived into giving my email id I don’t remember seeing it’s only mac at the beginning on the sign up page. May be I missed.
Another thing is it looks like a different product altogether with the name ‘Buckle’. Again I didn’t see it in the sign up section. Why a new product name? Are you switching to freemium model?
Last but most importantly, why does a third party sign up for it? If you just want to inform the user when things are ready, just take the email and use it. No need to have access to my Google or GitHub account.
Apart from this terrible experience, I love the tool and how it visualises it.
I have a doubt. When I visualised my postgres db it also showed the views I had, apart from the tables. But I could not find an option to add a new view from the interface, so that I can use it as a more capable design tool. Is it a feature in the pipeline?
Also I could not find an option to set the length of Type: varchar. I remember seeing this feature in other design tools.