Section 27 · High Availability & DR
Database Tooling
Developer tools for database visibility - schema visualization and data exploration
2 items 2 recommended
This guide walks you through auditing a project's database tooling - specifically, whether developers have visibility into the database schema and the ability to explore data.
The Goal: Visible, Explorable Data
Developers should understand and explore data easily in non-production environments while production access remains controlled and auditable.
- Visual schema — ERD documentation that accurately reflects current table relationships, accessible to all developers
- Easy exploration — tools for browsing and querying data in dev/staging without friction
- Controlled production — production database access appropriately restricted with audit trails
- Standardized tooling — team uses consistent tools rather than ad-hoc individual setups
Before You Start
- Identify database type (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, etc.)
- Identify ORM/schema tool (Prisma, Drizzle, TypeORM, Django ORM, etc.)
- Check for existing admin panels (Django Admin, Rails Admin, custom)
- Understand environment access (who can access dev/staging/production)