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liam-hq

liam-hq/liam

Generates interactive, easy-to-read ER diagrams from your database schema, with zero-config setup via a web URL or CLI.

Open-source alternative to:dbdiagram.io

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Last commit
3 days ago

What is it?

Liam ERD turns an existing database schema into an entity-relationship diagram that you can pan, zoom and filter. It is aimed at developers who need to understand a large or unfamiliar schema without writing diagram code by hand.

For public repositories, you can prefix a GitHub file URL pointing to a schema file (such as a Rails schema.rb) with the Liam ERD domain and get a diagram without installing anything. For private repositories, the npm package @liam-hq/cli provides an interactive setup command.

The project is written in TypeScript and is released under the Apache-2.0 license. The README states it is optimized for projects with 100+ tables.

Key features

  • 01Generates ER diagrams directly from schema files with no configuration needed
  • 02Interactive view with panning, zooming and filtering
  • 03Works with public GitHub schema files via URL and private repositories via CLI
  • 04Designed to handle projects with 100+ tables

Use cases

  • Getting a quick visual overview of an unfamiliar Rails or PostgreSQL schema
  • Documenting database relationships for a team
  • Reviewing complex schema structures in a private repository via the CLI

Quick start

  1. 1

    For a public repository, insert liambx.com/erd/p/ into your schema file's URL

  2. 2

    For a private repository, run the interactive setup

    npx @liam-hq/cli init

Things to know

  • Private repository use requires running the CLI setup, which needs Node.js tooling.
  • Full documentation is hosted on an external website rather than in the repository.

Topics

#database-schema#er-diagram#data-visualization#postgresql#documentation-tool#typescript#database#documentation#entity-relationship-diagram#erd

FAQ

What is liam?
Generates interactive, easy-to-read ER diagrams from your database schema, with zero-config setup via a web URL or CLI. Liam ERD turns an existing database schema into an entity-relationship diagram that you can pan, zoom and filter. It is aimed at developers who need to understand a large or unfamiliar schema without writing diagram code by hand.
Is liam free to use? What license does it have?
liam is open source under the Apache-2.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is liam still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to liam was on Oct 16, 2026.
What can I use liam for?
Getting a quick visual overview of an unfamiliar Rails or PostgreSQL schema Documenting database relationships for a team Reviewing complex schema structures in a private repository via the CLI
How do I install liam?
For a public repository, insert liambx.com/erd/p/ into your schema file's URL For a private repository, run the interactive setup: npx @liam-hq/cli init
Where can I get liam?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/liam-hq/liam

Summary generated by AI from the project's README. GitHub stats refresh daily.

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