Today we’re releasing PgDesigner — a visual PostgreSQL schema designer built for teams that treat their database schema as seriously as their application code.

PgDesigner ERD canvas showing the AdventureWorks database with 68 tables and foreign key relationships

Why we built PgDesigner

Every PostgreSQL team faces the same challenges:

No single source of truth — the schema lives in migrations, developer heads, or an outdated wiki diagram
Migrations are scary — writing ALTER statements by hand means risking data loss, table rewrites, or exclusive locks in production
Existing tools are either generic or outdated — DrawDB supports 4 databases but none deeply. pgModeler is powerful but 19 years old with poor git integration

PgDesigner addresses all three: a visual ERD editor that generates production-ready SQL, compares schemas with hazard detection, and validates with 66 lint rules.

What makes PgDesigner different

We’re the only tool that combines all four:

PG-specialized — built exclusively for PostgreSQL 18. 70+ data types, partitions, temporal constraints, virtual generated columns, IDENTITY — all first-class
Git-friendly format — .pgd XML produces single-line diffs when you add a column. Split-model for 50+ table schemas
Diff/ALTER engine — two models in, safe migration out. 6 hazard codes warn about data loss, table rewrites, and exclusive locks
Modern visual UI — browser-based ERD canvas with auto-layout, minimap, and dark/light theme

No other tool has all four. pgModeler has 3/4 (no hazard detection, poor git diffs). DrawDB has 1/4 (visual only). Atlas has 2/4 (no visual editor, multi-database abstraction).

Key features at a glance

Visual ERD Canvas — drag tables, zoom, auto-arrange. Tested on 120+ tables. Click to edit columns, constraints, indexes. Create FK by clicking two tables.

DDL Generation — 15-phase topological sort. FK always after tables. Materialized views sorted by inter-dependencies. 99.7% round-trip fidelity on 630+ tables across 6 real databases.

Diff & ALTER Engine — compare old.pgd vs new.pgd → safe ALTER SQL. Hazard detection: DELETES_DATA, TABLE_REWRITE, TABLE_RECREATE, BACKFILL_REQUIRED, DETACH_PARTITION, REATTACH_PARTITION. Compatible cast detection (varchar widening, integer → bigint).

66 Lint Rules — 32 errors (structural integrity), 21 warnings (best practices), 13 info (antipatterns). 15 rules with one-click autofix. Missing FK index? Click fix. char(n) column? Auto-convert to text.

Sample Data Generator — FK-aware topological sort, 40+ name heuristics (email → realistic email, price → 29.99), seeded reproducibility. Circular FK handling via deferred UPDATE.

Import from anywhere — MicroOLAP .pdd, DbSchema .dbs, Toad .dm2, plain SQL, live PostgreSQL via pg_catalog introspection.

CLI for CI/CD — pgdesigner lint, diff, generate, testdata, convert. Single binary, zero dependencies. Exit code 1 on lint errors — block merges with broken schemas.

Pricing

Free for non-commercial use — forever. All features, no time limit, no feature gates.

Commercial licenses start at $19 one-time for individuals. That’s less than a lunch with your team, and less than half what pgModeler charges.

Try it now

You can try PgDesigner without installing — the live demo runs a read-only instance with the Chinook sample database. Explore the ERD canvas, check lint results, and preview diff output.

What’s next

Here’s what’s planned next:

Views and functions diff — currently tables, columns, indexes, FK, PK, constraints, enums, and partitions are diffed. Views and functions are next
More sample data heuristics — expanding beyond 40 name patterns
Collaboration features — shared schemas and team workflows

We’d love your feedback. Try it, break it, tell us what’s missing.

Introducing PgDesigner — A Modern Visual PostgreSQL Schema Designer