Discover chiner: A Modern Open‑Source Database Design Tool

When starting a project and needing to design many tables, using a database design tool can be very efficient. Today we recommend the Chinese open‑source tool chiner , which has a beautiful interface and powerful features.

聊聊PowerDesigner

In a previous

mall

project we used PowerDesigner to design the database, but its interface felt outdated and heavy.

Recently we tried chiner; it is convenient, modern, and lightweight.

chiner简介

chiner is a database relational model design tool that supports multiple databases and is independent of any specific database, implemented with React, Electron, and Java.

The project’s development history is documented prominently in its README, reflecting the challenges of creating a useful open‑source tool.

安装

chiner is a cross‑platform database design tool supporting Windows, macOS, and Linux.

When downloading the installer, right‑click and choose

链接另存为

to save the file from https://gitee.com/robergroup/chiner/releases/v3.5.5.

After download, unzip to a directory and double‑click the

exe

to launch.

The interface provides a

操作手册

and

参考模板

for guidance.

基本使用

Using the official e‑commerce reference template, we explore chiner’s core features.

基本概念

The concept of

数据类型

maps chiner’s data types to various databases and code, e.g., the

字串

type.

Setting a

数据域

automatically generates appropriate data types and lengths.

A

数据域

must be bound to a

数据类型

.

Enum‑like fields can use the data dictionary, e.g.,

0->冻结

,

1->正常

.

数据表管理

Common fields such as

创建时间

,

创建人

,

更新时间

,

更新人

can be added automatically via

设置->新建表默认字段

.

When adding a new table, these default fields appear.

Fields are initially uppercase; you can toggle case with the

大小写

button.

Selecting a

数据域

automatically sets the data type and length for typical columns like primary keys or names.

You can also choose a

数据字典

to view predefined dictionaries.

关系图管理

Create a new relationship diagram, select

字段

as the connection object, and drag tables onto the canvas.

Connect related fields to create lines; right‑click a line to edit the relationship.

Unlike PowerDesigner, chiner does not generate diagrams from foreign keys, aligning with Alibaba’s Java development guidelines that discourage foreign‑key usage.

导入导出使用

chiner also supports reverse engineering, importing PowerDesigner files, and exporting DDL scripts or Word documentation.

Configure database connection information before importing.

Select “Import from Database” and choose the tables to import.

PowerDesigner files can also be imported.

After designing, use the export DDL feature to synchronize tables to the database.

Export a Word document for database documentation without manual effort.

总结

chiner is a visually appealing, powerful, and lightweight database design tool compared with PowerDesigner, though it lacks foreign‑key‑based relationship diagram generation, which may be inconvenient for projects that rely on foreign keys.