Files
relspecgo/pkg/readers/dbml/README.md
T
HeinandClaude Sonnet 5 ce3b615b0a feat(dbml): @postgres/@sqlite dialect directives (#19)
Add parseable `@<namespace>[(<target>)]: <args>` directives embedded in DBML.
They are stored losslessly on each object's Metadata, round-trip unchanged
through the DBML writer, and are translated to SQL only by the writer for the
matching dialect.

- models: Directive type + catalog; Metadata map added to Column and Index
- dbml reader: parse and attach directives at database/table/column/index
  level; line-numbered errors; repeatable by default with singleton duplicate
  detection. Fixes a preexisting bug where an `indexes {}` closing brace ended
  the table early, dropping trailing Note: and directive lines.
- dbml writer: re-emit directives at their location; idempotent output
- pgsql writer: PARTITION BY / INHERITS / WITH / TABLESPACE (table),
  STORAGE / COMPRESSION / identity (column), WITH / TABLESPACE (index)
- sqlite writer: WITHOUT ROWID / STRICT (table), COLLATE (column)
- --strict-directives flag on ReaderOptions and WriterOptions
- docs/DBML_DIRECTIVES.md + reader/writer READMEs

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01Ss2MY5J11cRGwEz86ZXk7d
2026-09-08 16:17:37 +02:00

3.6 KiB

DBML Reader

Reads Database Markup Language (DBML) files and extracts database schema information.

Overview

The DBML Reader parses .dbml files that define database schemas using the DBML syntax (used by dbdiagram.io) and converts them into RelSpec's internal database model representation.

Features

  • Parses DBML syntax
  • Extracts tables, columns, and relationships
  • Supports DBML-specific features:
    • Table groups and notes
    • Enum definitions
    • Indexes
    • Foreign key relationships

Usage

Basic Example

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "git.warky.dev/wdevs/relspecgo/pkg/readers"
    "git.warky.dev/wdevs/relspecgo/pkg/readers/dbml"
)

func main() {
    options := &readers.ReaderOptions{
        FilePath: "/path/to/schema.dbml",
    }

    reader := dbml.NewReader(options)
    db, err := reader.ReadDatabase()
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    fmt.Printf("Found %d schemas\n", len(db.Schemas))
}

CLI Example

# Read DBML file and convert to JSON
relspec --input dbml --in-file schema.dbml --output json --out-file schema.json

# Convert DBML to GORM models
relspec --input dbml --in-file database.dbml --output gorm --out-file models.go

Example DBML File

Table users {
  id bigserial [pk, increment]
  username varchar(50) [not null, unique]
  email varchar(100) [not null]
  created_at timestamp [not null, default: `now()`]

  Note: 'Users table'
}

Table posts {
  id bigserial [pk]
  user_id bigint [not null, ref: > users.id]
  title varchar(200) [not null]
  content text

  indexes {
    user_id
    (user_id, created_at) [name: 'idx_user_posts']
  }
}

Ref: posts.user_id > users.id [delete: cascade]

DBML Features Supported

  • Table definitions with columns
  • Primary keys (pk)
  • Not null constraints (not null)
  • Unique constraints (unique)
  • Default values (default)
  • Inline references (ref)
  • Standalone Ref blocks
  • Indexes and composite indexes
  • Table notes and column notes
  • Enums
  • Dialect directives (@postgres: / @sqlite: — see below)

Dialect directives

Lines of the form @<namespace>[(<column>)]: <args> embed database-specific features that plain DBML cannot express (partitioning, WITHOUT ROWID, tablespaces, index storage parameters, …). They are stored losslessly on the relevant object's Metadata and round-trip unchanged through the DBML writer; the PostgreSQL and SQLite writers translate the ones they understand to SQL.

@postgres: search_path myapp

Table myapp.events {
  id bigint [pk]
  created_at timestamp [not null]
  @postgres(id): identity always
  @postgres: partition by RANGE (created_at)
  @sqlite: without rowid

  indexes {
    (created_at) [name: 'idx_events_created']
    @postgres: with (fillfactor=90)
  }
}
Position Attaches to
Before the first Table { database
Table body, no (target) that table
Table body, (col) target column col (error if unknown)
Inside indexes { } the most recently listed index entry

args is preserved verbatim; the key (lowercased first token) drives duplicate detection. Repeated directives are kept in order; catalog "singleton" keys error on a second occurrence at the same location. All errors are line-numbered.

ReaderOptions.StrictDirectives (CLI --strict-directives) turns an unknown namespace or key into an error instead of preserving it silently.

See docs/DBML_DIRECTIVES.md for the full grammar and the supported-directive matrix.

Notes

  • DBML is designed for database documentation and diagramming
  • Schema name defaults to public
  • Relationship cardinality is preserved