PgModeler – PostgreSQL Database Modeler | Hacker News Reader

PgModeler – PostgreSQL Database Modeler

pgmodeler.io

165 pointspera31 comments

We had a developer start using this quietly a few years ago. Rapidly discovered when the the build broke and a ticket to install pgmodeler on CI server popped into my queue. From memory it's, at least was, very opinionated or limited depending on how charitable you want to be.

Can anyone suggest any better alternatives, even paid ones?

I absolutely love PGSQL and it's a great software, but it severely lacks in good tools.

I have used DbSchema and it's worked great for me. Highly recommend.

I use DataGrip, part of the IntelliJ / Idea Suite. It’s a bit fiddly in terms of UI, but that’s a one time learning curve - everything else from there is a breeze. Also has excellent integration with the other Idea tools, if you use them.

> it severely lacks in good tools.

I'm happy with pgadmin4 3.1.

Liked and used pgModeler for a while now.

The pgwiki on tooling[0] contains thousands of tools. Effort is needed in cleaning it up. Also found a cleaner version on postgresql.org[1]

> even paid ones?

Heard good things about navicat.

[0]: https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Community_Guide_to_PostgreS... [1]: https://www.postgresql.org/download/products/1-administratio...

edit: what kind of db tools are you looking for?

pgadmin's UX is pretty bad though, definitely on macos - lots of default OS specific keybinds that don't work, basic editing features that are missing, etc.

dbeaver is great

seconded. very nice tool, actively developed.

It's ugly and dated but I still love SquirrelSQL. (It's not PGSQL specific, but that's part of why I love it ...)

I’m using TablePlus and it’s pretty good. https://tableplus.io/

If you're looking for db modeling tool try vertabelo.com (work here)

I use psql console for other tasks (db management/data access).

Postico is nice and simple if you're on OSX. Its very similar to Sequel Pro.

I like Datagrip as well but it has too many features for me since most of my queries are just SELECT's with maybe a JOIN.

Toad Modeler for modelling. Handles defered constraints, inheritance, keys etc. Very scriptable tho the scripting IDE isn't great.

I really like E/R Studio for modeling work. It is expensive, but I've not found a nicer tool to do it across multiple database platforms.

Their website shows they don't officially support the latest versions of PostgreSQL. It does work, but the menus haven't been updated for all the latest features. If you want to use syntax from a newer release, you'll need to do a SQL override until they update the tool.

Their team version keeps the metadata in a database, instead of a file. The locking/unlocking of individual tables is cumbersome. The metadata database doesn't support using PostgreSQL for storing the metadata. I tend to store the models in Git and use the built in model diff tool to do model merges.

ER Studio gets slow when you are north of 10k tables/views in a single model. As a work around, I use sub-models and do not touch the large master model. On a large main model, their visualization tool I believe tries to render all 10k tables. It starts taking 1-2 seconds between clicks. Smaller sub-models (1-2k) off that large main model do not have that issue.

The scripting extension for ER Studio is decent, not great, but significantly improved in the last few versions. It is close to being VBScript. Scripting makes updating really large models a breeze. I use it a lot for storage/index parameter parameter changes during hardware/software upgrades.

I use TeamSQL and have been finding it pretty good so far

I still don't get it why the actual database tables are so far down the tree.

I'm guessing its based on some pg internals but a tool doesn't has to follow it.

Saw this in multiply tools for pgsql

I have wondered the same thing while using pgAdmin. Every other DB GUI tool has your tables in the top 2-3 levels of of the tree.

suggestion: display the price prior to clicking, not just "low price"

It requires multiple clicks and seems to depend on JavaScript for showing the price. A simple price list, with platform wise variations, would've been "customer friendly".

It's also GPLv3

Is there any chance the Windows demo binaries can be made portable?

That would make it easier for users not having administrator access to evaluate if PgModeler fits their requirements. :)

I hardly ever use MySQL these days but MySQL Workbench is a tool I miss sorely when trying to quickly grok Postgres databases built by other teams.

Ever try DbVis? It's got a nice graphing feature for DBs with FK constraints.

Love it, specially given that it makes use of Qt.

I am reluctant to try because the last thing I want is another subscription. I am sorry.

Otherwise, I really could use great tool to model databases ie. Postgres.

? subscription ?

You can download the tool and run it locally.

No, you can't. You can download the source code and build it yourself, or you can download a binary demo, or you can pay for a binary.

I used this tool a lot on Arch which had PKGBUILD for it on AUR but I wasn't able to build it on MacOS.

But you don't have to pay for a subscription. You pay for a binary plus x months of updates up front--it's not subscription software.

To be fair, it is described as "Expires in 6 months" on the purchase page which makes it very unclear if the binary you downloaded is going to stop working. If it does stop working then it's not unlike subscription software.

I was actually vaguely contemplating purchasing it until that uncertainty made me think paying them might give me something worse than free (ie: something that would break at an inopportune moment in 6 months).

I can confirm that the binaries do not stop working after the 6 month.

Curious what are your existing subscriptions?

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