Is dbcritic still being maintained?

No, the repository has been archived, so dbcritic is no longer actively maintained. Users are advised to consider alternative database schema linters for ongoing support and updates.

How do I configure dbcritic to skip checks for specific tables?

Use a .dbcriticrc file with silence directives. For example, 'silence index_fk_ref cache_log' silences issues from the index_fk_ref check for the cache_log table, as explained in the configuration section of the README.

What databases does dbcritic support?

dbcritic is specifically designed for PostgreSQL databases only. It relies on PostgreSQL-specific queries and checks, so it cannot be used with other database systems like MySQL or SQLite.

dbcritic vs. pgTAP: which is better for schema testing?

dbcritic is a lightweight linter focusing on a few key best practices, while pgTAP is a more comprehensive testing framework for PostgreSQL. If you need extensive, customizable tests, pgTAP is better; for quick, automated checks on common issues, dbcritic suffices but is archived and limited.

How to integrate dbcritic into a CI/CD pipeline?

Set the necessary libpq environment variables (e.g., PGHOST, PGDATABASE) in your CI environment, then run the dbcritic command. If any issues are found, it exits with status 1, which can fail the pipeline, ensuring automated schema quality checks.

dbcritic — PostgreSQL Schema Linter

What is dbcritic?

dbcritic is a PostgreSQL database schema linter that automatically identifies schema problems and configuration issues. It connects to a PostgreSQL database and runs a series of checks to detect missing primary keys, unindexed foreign keys, improper timestamp types, and other common anti-patterns that can compromise data integrity and performance.

Target Audience

Database administrators, backend developers, and DevOps engineers working with PostgreSQL databases who need to maintain schema quality and prevent performance issues.

Value Proposition

Developers choose dbcritic for its focused, rule-based approach to schema validation, providing automated checks for specific PostgreSQL best practices without requiring manual inspection of complex database schemas.

Overview

dbcritic is a command-line tool that analyzes PostgreSQL database schemas to detect potential problems and anti-patterns. It helps database administrators and developers maintain schema quality by automatically checking for common issues that can impact performance, data integrity, and maintainability.

Key Features

Missing Primary Key Detection — Identifies tables lacking primary key constraints, which are essential for data integrity and efficient queries.
Foreign Key Indexing — Checks that foreign key columns have appropriate indexes to prevent performance degradation during joins and updates.
Timestamp Type Validation — Ensures timestamp columns use timestamptz (timezone-aware) rather than plain timestamp to avoid timezone-related bugs.
Primary Key Type Checking — Verifies that integer primary keys use bigint type to prevent overflow issues as data grows.
TimeZone Configuration — Validates that the PostgreSQL TimeZone parameter is set to a sensible value for consistent time handling.

Philosophy

dbcritic takes a pragmatic, rule-based approach to database schema analysis, focusing on actionable issues that directly affect database reliability and performance.

dbcritic

What is dbcritic?

Overview

Key Features

Philosophy

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Pros & Cons

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Frequently Asked Questions