Fox Schema

Compare schemas · generate migrations · run SQL — across 14 SQL dialects.

Install once, then open the local web UI (foxschema) for Compare, the SQL Editor, Utils, Snapshots, and optional Workflow. Self-host with Docker when you need a server.

foxschema.com · Install · User guide · Workflow · Docs · 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 install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS
npm install -g foxschema

Full matrix: docs/install.md.

Update

npm install -g foxschema@latest          # npm
brew update && brew upgrade foxschema    # Homebrew
docker pull 5nickels/foxschema:latest    # Docker, then recreate the container

A running foxschema also tells you when a new version is out, links to What's new, and on a local install offers Update now. Release notes: 0.3.1 · all versions.

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

Headless / CI:

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

What's in 0.3

Area	What you get
Compare & deploy	Color-coded schema diff, cross-dialect readiness, an execute gate that reviews a missing foreign key or a narrowing type before it runs, streamed deploy progress
Snapshots	Capture a schema version, browse the timeline and graph, compare two versions, revert, or force-migrate a version to another database
Migrations in Git	Commit a migration to a repository, pull and push, track what was applied where
SQL Editor	Multi-destination run, notebook cells, FoxScript, Data Peek, Safe mode, one transaction where the engine can roll back (below)
Data compare & migrate	Compare 2,000 rows in key order between two databases, then apply up to 2,000 changes with a backup snapshot you can restore
Utilities	Rename Column (in place, or Large table mode with a batched copy, on every SQL engine), Index management, Backup & Restore commands, SQL Tracer, Server insights, Clone table
Access	Database accounts, a permission builder that writes GRANT / REVOKE, an inspector of who holds what, an access report
Workspaces & sign-in	Personal and team workspaces, invites, Google / Microsoft / GitHub sign-in, admin roles and a role → permission matrix
Workflow	Optional designer and engine for scheduled and triggered jobs (below)

Every feature, where it lives and how it is tested: docs/FEATURE_MAP.md.

SQL Editor

A full query workbench next to Schema Sync — not a thin prompt.

Feature	What you get
Multi-destination Run	Same SQL against every checked connection; By-cred or Side-by-side results
Notebook cells	SQL + -- @js / -- @ts / -- @node cells with per-cell ▶ and Out [n]
FoxScript	Monaco language, fences, markers, schema-aware tokens
Data Peek	Cmd/Ctrl-click a table in Schema, or click rust FK cells in results; edit rows when allowed
Peek tools	WHERE / ORDER BY / LIMIT, Prev/Next, drag ⋮⋮ to arrange, resize
Query files	CSV / JSON / fixed-width → temp Files: SQLite or bulk-load into a saved credential
Schema explorer	Insert names, autocomplete, edit table / view source
Variables & secrets	${{name}}, @set, session secrets, code-cell vars
Safe mode	Confirm writes; bookmarks & samples included
Access control	Sign-in on every install; admin / editor / viewer roles and per-workspace roles

Walkthrough: User guide → SQL Editor.

Workflow

Optional designer for scheduled and triggered jobs (SQL, HTTP, files, email/SMS). The UI lives in Fox Schema; a separate engine process (apps/workflow-server, port 8081) runs them. The published Docker image does not start that process.

export WORKFLOW_ENGINE_TOKEN="$(openssl rand -hex 32)"
export FOXFLOW_ENCRYPTION_KEY="$(openssl rand -hex 32)"
npm run dev:with-workflow

Then Workflow → Engine → Enabled. Runbook: docs/workflow.md. User steps: User guide → Workflow.

Schema Sync

Point Fox at a source and a target. It introspects both, shows a color-coded diff, then generates DDL to align the target (dry-run by default).

• Schema diff — tables, columns, keys, indexes, constraints, views, routines…
• Migration generation — reviewable target-dialect DDL
• Cross-dialect aware — fewer false positives (e.g. Postgres → MySQL)
• Safe apply — dry-run default; skip-on-error optional; history recorded
• Credentials encrypted at rest — passwords never returned to the browser

Cross-dialect demo:

Docker (self-host)

docker run -d --name foxschema \
  -p 3210:3210 \
  -v foxschema_data:/data \
  5nickels/foxschema:latest

Open http://localhost:3210. Guide: docs/DEPLOYMENT.md.

Supported dialects

PostgreSQL · CockroachDB · YugabyteDB · MySQL · MariaDB · TiDB · SQL Server · Azure SQL · Oracle · IBM Db2 · SQLite · DuckDB · ClickHouse · Amazon Redshift

MongoDB and Redis run a SQL subset in the editor (single-table SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE; Redis keys read as tables) — no schema compare. One product — Docker image includes Db2 on linux/amd64.

Package notes (npm)

The published foxschema CLI is built from TypeScript and ships as Node ESM ("type": "module") with a types entry for tooling. Native drivers may load as CommonJS at runtime. Requires Node ≥ 22.5.

How it's built

Workspace	Role
packages/sql	Dialect knowledge: SQL generation, compare, splitting, type mapping (pure, zero deps)
packages/db	Node runtime: drivers, pooling, migration execution (depends on packages/sql)
packages/server	Fastify HTTP API, feature modules, metadata store
packages/workflow-engine	Workflow runtime, stores, built-in pipes
apps/web	React UI + the entry point that serves it (CLI launcher + Docker)
apps/cli	foxschema CLI, desktop shortcut, TUI
apps/workflow-server	Workflow engine HTTP process (:8081)
apps/e2e	Playwright tests against dockerized databases

Maintainers: docs/publish.md · docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.

License

Copyright 2024–2026 Huy Phan <huyplb@gmail.com> and tedious-code contributors. See NOTICE and LICENSE (Apache-2.0).

Keep copyright / NOTICE / LICENSE when you fork or redistribute — stripping authorship notices is not allowed under the License.