Open files in VS Code and Cursor / Tables and data
See an ER diagram of your database in VS Code
VS Code has no ER diagram view of its own. To draw one from a live database, install Postgres & MySQL Query Client by Zovo, add a connection, right-click a schema and pick "ER Diagram (Pro)". It reads the tables, columns, keys and foreign keys and draws them with the links. Drag tables to arrange them and save the diagram as SVG. The client is free; the ER diagram is part of Zovo Pro (USD 19 once) and works 3 times without a key.
Free, MIT license. Extension ID zovo.zovo-sql-client, version 0.2.4. Needs VS Code 1.90.0 or newer.
Also free from Zovo: SQLite Editor & Viewer, VS Code Marketplace · Open VSX (Cursor, Windsurf).

Steps in VS Code
- Install Postgres & MySQL Query Client from the Marketplace, or press Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on macOS) and run
ext install zovo.zovo-sql-client. - Open the SQL Client view in the activity bar and click Add Connection. Paste a
postgres://ormysql://URL or fill in the form, then Save. - Expand the connection to the schema you want.
- Right-click the schema and pick "ER Diagram (Pro)", or run it from the Command Palette.
- Drag tables to arrange them, then save the diagram as an SVG file for docs or a pull request.
Steps in Cursor, Windsurf or VSCodium
- Open the Extensions view with Ctrl+Shift+X (Cmd+Shift+X on macOS).
- Search for
zovo.zovo-sql-clientand click Install. Cursor, Windsurf and VSCodium install from Open VSX, where it is published aszovo/zovo-sql-client. - If your editor has no gallery, download the .vsix from the Open VSX page and run "Extensions: Install from VSIX...".
- Then use it the same way as in VS Code.
What Postgres & MySQL Query Client handles
- PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and SQLite.
- Tables with their columns, types and primary keys, and a line for each foreign key.
- It reads the schema from the database, so the diagram matches what is deployed, not what a migration file says.
- The free client next to it: unlimited connections, SQL with Ctrl+Enter, row edits and streamed export.
What it does not do
- It draws an existing schema. It does not design a new one or write DDL from a drawing.
- No SQL Server, Oracle or MongoDB.
- The diagram is saved as SVG. There is no PNG or PDF export.
Free and Zovo Pro
Free, and staying free: unlimited connections to PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and SQLite, the Database Explorer, running SQL, the results grid, row edits, Cancel, and export to CSV, JSON or SQL INSERT.
Zovo Pro adds these tools to Postgres & MySQL Query Client. Each one works 3 times on your computer before it asks for a license. Nothing about Pro shows when you open a file: no popup, no countdown, no banner.
- Explain Plan: the plan of the statement at the cursor as a tree with cost bars, the slowest step marked, and plain hints (a full scan of a filtered table, a sort that spilled to disk, a step with no index, a row estimate 10 times off). Explain Analyze shows the real time and rows per step.
- Table data compare: two tables on any two connections, matched by primary key, with a report and a SQL script that makes the second table match the first. The script is opened, never run for you.
- ER diagram of a schema: tables, columns, keys and foreign-key links. Drag tables to arrange them, then save it as SVG.
- Schema compare: two schemas, from any two connections, side by side in VS Code's diff view.
- CSV import into a table: header names matched to columns, rows inserted in batches of 500.
- Query library: named queries saved on your computer that open on any connection.
Zovo Pro costs USD 19 once. It is not a subscription, and one purchase covers every Zovo VS Code extension. Today it also covers the Pro tools in Hex Viewer and DOCX Viewer, and Pro tools added to other Zovo extensions later.
Two ways to unlock it:
- GitHub Sponsors: pick the "$19 one time" tier. Then, in VS Code, click a Pro tool and pick "Unlock with GitHub Sponsors" (or type "GitHub Sponsors" in the Command Palette) and sign in with the same GitHub account. A monthly sponsorship of USD 10 or more that is still running counts too.
- PayPal, no GitHub account needed: send USD 19 by PayPal with "Zovo Pro" in the note, then post the transaction ID with the Zovo Pro key form (a public GitHub issue, so post only the ID). The license key goes to the email address of your PayPal account within a day. Click a Pro tool and pick "I have a license key" (or type "license key" in the Command Palette) and paste it. The key is checked on your computer, with no network call.
A team of 5: USD 59 once by PayPal, with "Zovo Pro Team" in the note. Every rule and every Pro tool is on the Zovo Pro page.
In JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, CLion and others)
- Database Tools and SQL. JetBrains' own database tools, in DataGrip and IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate (a paid IDE). They draw diagrams of a schema and compare two schemas. Zovo has no JetBrains database plugin.
- ERD Editor. Its listing: "Design a database schema visually, without leaving your IDE." 33,131 downloads.
Other options
- Draw me database (
GuillaumeCancalon.draw-me-database, 290 installs, on Open VSX). Its own description: "Draw ER diagrams (ERD) of your database from your code: Laravel migrations, Symfony Doctrine entities, Prisma and Drizzle ORM schemas, SQL migrations and dumps". Pick it if you want the diagram from code, with no database. - Prisma ER Diagram (
omni-kobo.prisma-er-diagram, 359 installs, on Open VSX). Its own description: "Visualize Prisma schema files as interactive ER diagrams". - Mermaid erDiagram. Write the diagram by hand in a Mermaid
erDiagramblock and preview it with a Mermaid extension. Free, but it does not read your database. - DBeaver or pgAdmin. Free desktop database tools. DBeaver draws ER diagrams of a connected database. pgAdmin has an ERD tool for PostgreSQL.
Install counts and Open VSX status were checked on 9 November 2026. Descriptions in quotes are the extensions' own.
Questions
Can VS Code draw an ER diagram from a database?
Not by itself. You need an extension that connects to the database, such as Postgres & MySQL Query Client, or one that reads your ORM or migration files.
Is the ER diagram free?
It is part of Zovo Pro, USD 19 once, and works 3 times on your computer before it asks. Connecting, querying, editing rows and exporting stay free.
Does it change my database?
No. It only reads the schema. Saving the SVG writes a file on your computer.
More about Postgres & MySQL Query Client
Read the Postgres & MySQL Query Client page for every feature and setting, or the source code on GitHub.
Related guides
- SQLite Editor & Viewer on the VS Code Marketplace (also on Open VSX). Opens .db and .sqlite files as tables, edits cells and runs SQL.
- Use a PostgreSQL client in VS Code
- Use a MySQL client in VS Code
- Compare two Postgres schemas
- See a Postgres EXPLAIN plan as a tree in VS Code
Zovo Pro and support
Zovo Pro: USD 19 once, every Zovo viewer. It turns on the Pro tools in this extension and in the other Zovo extensions you use. The free features stay free.
After a card payment your license key shows on the next page. Paste it with the command "Zovo Pro: Enter a key".
You can also support the work with no Pro:
Need your format supported?
Open a format request with a sample file, and I reply there whether it can be done. For USD 299 once, through this GitHub Sponsors tier, I add your file format or a missing feature to this extension, with tests, within 7 days.