Fox Schema

Compare two database schemas, see exactly what differs, and generate the migration SQL to make them match — across 10 SQL dialects.

Install the CLI, then open the local web UI in your browser (or double-click the Fox desktop shortcut). Self-host with Docker when you need a server.

foxschema.com · Install · Publish · User guide · Deploy · Contributing

Install

Requires Node.js ≥ 22.5 (npm / Homebrew). Docker needs no Node.

# npm — macOS, Windows, Linux (arm64 + x64)
npm install -g foxschema

# Homebrew — macOS (formula in this repo; Homebrew 6+ needs trust once)
brew tap tedious-code/foxschema https://github.com/tedious-code/foxschema
brew trust tedious-code/foxschema
brew install foxschema

# Docker — servers (linux/amd64, includes Db2)
docker pull 5nickels/foxschema:latest

Windows (Winget — after package merge):

winget install TediousCode.FoxSchema

Or Node + npm:

winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS
npm install -g foxschema

Full matrix (curl/wget, shortcut, troubleshooting): docs/INSTALL.md.

Use the app

foxschema                 # start UI on http://localhost:3210 and open the browser
foxschema shortcut        # put a Fox icon on your Desktop
foxschema stop            # stop the background server
foxschema doctor

Desktop shortcut: after install, run foxschema shortcut. Double-click Fox Schema anytime to open the UI. If you closed the browser without stop, the server is still running — the shortcut just reopens the browser.

Headless / CI:

foxschema compare --source a --target b
foxschema migrate --source a --target b
foxschema tui

Docker (self-host)

docker run -d --name foxschema \
  -p 3001:3001 \
  -v foxschema_data:/data \
  5nickels/foxschema:latest

Open http://localhost:3001. Guide: docs/DEPLOYMENT.md.

What it does

Point Fox at a source and a target database. It introspects both, shows a color-coded diff — tables, columns, keys, indexes, constraints, views, sequences, functions, procedures, triggers, roles — then generates DDL to align the target, with dry-run by default and optional apply + history.

• Schema diff — grouped, searchable; drill into column/index/FK changes.
• Migration generation — reviewable target-dialect DDL.
• SQL Editor — run queries against one or more saved connections; multi-tab, statement strip, schema explorer (see User guide).
• Cross-dialect aware — fewer false positives across e.g. Postgres → MySQL.
• Safe apply — dry-run by default; skip-on-error optional; history recorded.
• Credentials encrypted at rest — passwords never returned to the browser.

Demo

Supported dialects

PostgreSQL · MySQL · MariaDB · SQL Server · Azure SQL · Oracle · IBM Db2 · SQLite · ClickHouse · Amazon Redshift

One product — no separate “Db2 edition”. Docker image includes Db2 on linux/amd64.

How it's built

npm workspaces:

Workspace	Role
packages/core	Diff / migration engine and dialect providers
apps/web	Express API + React UI (CLI launcher + Docker)
apps/cli	foxschema CLI, desktop shortcut, TUI
apps/e2e	Playwright tests against dockerized databases

Maintainers: docs/PUBLISH.md · docs/ARCHITECTURE.md · packages/core/src/providers/DIALECTS.md.

License

Apache-2.0