No. 7 of 27 ·Database Documentation Tools

tbls

Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted

Freedom report

Three barsScore 6.5

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely3 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

tbls is ranked #7 of 27 in database documentation tools on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Windows. There is a free plan.

tbls plans and pricing

All plans

Open-source software Free MIT license · single-binary CLI github.com · 1 Oct 2026

Compared on database documentation tools

Free plan: Yes
Database coverage: multi_model
Data lineage: Yes
Data dictionary: Yes
Schema history: Yes
Deployment: self_hosted

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The record

Purpose: tbls is a CI-Friendly tool to document a database, written in Go.
Documentation: It automatically documents databases in GitHub Flavored Markdown and outputs schemas in many formats.
Linting: tbls works as a database linter with configurable rules such as required column comments and column-count limits.
Schema comparison: The tbls diff command compares database schemas with generated documents or other databases.
Coverage: The tbls coverage command measures documentation coverage for descriptions and comments.
Output formats: tbls can output Markdown, DOT, PlantUML, Mermaid, SVG, PNG, JPG, JSON, YAML, Excel, and configuration files.
CI integration: The project documents Docker usage and a GitHub Action named k1low/setup-tbls.
Extensibility: Executables named tbls-driver-* can provide external database drivers, receiving TBLS_DSN and emitting schema.json on standard output.
Transport security: For PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, and Microsoft SQL Server, the dsn tls section supports CA, client certificate, client key, and hostname verification settings.
SQL Server limit: Microsoft SQL Server 2017 or later with database compatibility level 110 or higher is required.
License: tbls is released under the MIT License, which permits use, copying, modification, publication, distribution, sublicensing, and sale subject to the license conditions.
Latest release: The repository's releases page lists v1.96.1, released on 28 September 2026.
Maker: The repository owner and copyright holder is Ken'ichiro Oyama.
Automatic documentation: It automatically documents databases in GitHub Flavored Markdown and outputs schemas in many formats.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Database Documentation Tools in 2026#7 of 27

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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