tbls
- Android app
- Not listed
- Free plan
- Yes
- Runs on
- Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
Summary
tbls is a free, open-source tool for documenting and checking database schemas. It generates GitHub Flavored Markdown documentation and can produce schemas in formats including DOT, PlantUML, Mermaid, SVG, PNG, JPG, JSON, YAML, Excel, and configuration files. Its configurable lint rules can check for requirements such as column comments and 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, Redshift, SQL Server, DynamoDB, Snowflake, MongoDB, ClickHouse, and Databricks, among others. It can be used with Docker and a GitHub Action, and external drivers can extend its database support. tbls runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, or in a self-hosted setup. SQL Server use requires version 2017 or later and database compatibility level 110 or higher. It is available under the MIT License.
Who it is for
tbls suits developers and database teams that want generated schema documentation, configurable lint checks, or schema comparisons as part of their workflow. It is also relevant to teams needing multiple output formats or documented database sources.
What is good
- Free under the MIT License.
- Generates Markdown and many other schema formats.
- Lint rules can require column comments.
- Compares schemas with documentation or other databases.
- Supports Docker and a GitHub Action.
What to know first
- SQL Server requires version 2017 or later.
- SQL Server compatibility level 110 or higher is required.
- The repository reports no detected security policy.
Verdict
tbls combines database documentation, linting, schema comparison, and coverage measurement in one tool. Check its SQL Server requirements if that is your database.
tbls plans and pricing
All plansCompared on database documentation tools
- Free plan
- Yesgithub.com
- Database coverage
- multi_modelgithub.com
- Data lineage
- Yesgithub.com
- Data dictionary
- Yesgithub.com
- Schema history
- Yesgithub.com
- Deployment
- self_hostedgithub.com
Facts
- Purpose
- tbls is a CI-Friendly tool to document a database, written in Go.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Documentation
- It automatically documents databases in GitHub Flavored Markdown and outputs schemas in many formats.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Linting
- tbls works as a database linter with configurable rules such as required column comments and column-count limits.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Schema comparison
- The tbls diff command compares database schemas with generated documents or other databases.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Coverage
- The tbls coverage command measures documentation coverage for descriptions and comments.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Output formats
- tbls can output Markdown, DOT, PlantUML, Mermaid, SVG, PNG, JPG, JSON, YAML, Excel, and configuration files.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- CI integration
- The project documents Docker usage and a GitHub Action named k1low/setup-tbls.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Extensibility
- Executables named tbls-driver-* can provide external database drivers, receiving TBLS_DSN and emitting schema.json on standard output.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Transport security
- For PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, and Microsoft SQL Server, the dsn tls section supports CA, client certificate, client key, and hostname verification settings.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- SQL Server limit
- Microsoft SQL Server 2017 or later with database compatibility level 110 or higher is required.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- License
- tbls is released under the MIT License, which permits use, copying, modification, publication, distribution, sublicensing, and sale subject to the license conditions.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Latest release
- The repository's releases page lists v1.96.1, released on 28 September 2026.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Maker
- The repository owner and copyright holder is Ken'ichiro Oyama.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Automatic documentation
- It automatically documents databases in GitHub Flavored Markdown and outputs schemas in many formats.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Database linting
- It can lint databases using configurable rules such as required column comments and column-count limits.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Schema diffing
- The tbls diff command compares a database with generated documentation or another database.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Coverage measurement
- The tbls coverage command measures documentation coverage for tables and comments.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Container integration
- An official container image is published as ghcr.io/k1low/tbls.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Supported databases
- Documented data sources include PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, BigQuery, Cloud Spanner, Redshift, SQL Server, DynamoDB, Snowflake, MongoDB, ClickHouse and Databricks.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- External drivers
- Executables named tbls-driver-* on PATH can provide additional database schemes through TBLS_DSN and schema JSON on standard output.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Security policy
- The repository security page states that no security policy is detected.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- BigQuery permissions
- BigQuery use requires bigquery.datasets.get, bigquery.tables.get and bigquery.tables.list permissions.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Support channel
- The project provides GitHub Issues for reporting and discussing problems.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
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Sources
- github.com/k1LoW/tbls· checked 30 Sept 2026
- github.com/k1LoW/tbls/blob/main/README.md· checked 30 Sept 2026
- github.com/k1LoW/tbls/blob/main/LICENSE· checked 30 Sept 2026
- github.com/k1LoW/tbls/releases· checked 30 Sept 2026
- github.com/k1LoW/tbls/security· checked 1 Oct 2026
- github.com/k1LoW/tbls/issues· checked 1 Oct 2026