Laravel Truss: Live Interactive Database ER Diagrams | Mohamed Said [ ![Mohamed Said](https://cdn.msaied.com/01KT78WE565VEMM3PSNQAAB0MH.png) Mohamed Said Laravel Backend Engineer ](https://msaied.com) [ Home ](https://msaied.com) [ Projects ](https://msaied.com/projects) [ Articles ](https://msaied.com/articles) [ Certificates ](https://msaied.com/certificates) [ Contact ](https://msaied.com#contact-section) [ ](https://github.com/EG-Mohamed) [ Home ](https://msaied.com) [ Projects ](https://msaied.com/projects) [ Articles ](https://msaied.com/articles) [ Certificates ](https://msaied.com/certificates) [ Contact ](https://msaied.com#contact-section) [ home ](https://msaied.com) [ articles ](https://msaied.com/articles) Laravel Truss: Live Interactive Database ER Diagrams in the Browser On this page 1. [ What Is Laravel Truss? ](#what-is-laravel-truss) 2. [ Interactive ER Diagram Dashboard ](#interactive-er-diagram-dashboard) 3. [ Multi-Connection Support ](#multi-connection-support) 4. [ Schema Diffing and Migration Tracking ](#schema-diffing-and-migration-tracking) 5. [ Schema Doctor Diagnostics ](#schema-doctor-diagnostics) 6. [ Command-Line Exports ](#command-line-exports) 7. [ Key Takeaways ](#key-takeaways) ![Laravel Truss: Live Interactive Database ER Diagrams in the Browser](https://cdn.msaied.com/535/ebe431c90e00cd4c8eeb10aafd42aebe.png) [ Laravel ](https://msaied.com/articles?category=laravel) [ Composer Pacakge ](https://msaied.com/articles?category=composer-pacakge) #Laravel #Database #ER Diagram #Schema #Developer Tools Laravel Truss: Live Interactive Database ER Diagrams in the Browser ===================================================================== 9 Aug 2026 3 min read ![Mohamed Said](https://cdn.msaied.com/01KT78WE565VEMM3PSNQAAB0MJ.jpg) Mohamed Said Table of contents 1. [ 01 What Is Laravel Truss? ](#what-is-laravel-truss) 2. [ 02 Interactive ER Diagram Dashboard ](#interactive-er-diagram-dashboard) 3. [ 03 Multi-Connection Support ](#multi-connection-support) 4. [ 04 Schema Diffing and Migration Tracking ](#schema-diffing-and-migration-tracking) 5. [ 05 Schema Doctor Diagnostics ](#schema-doctor-diagnostics) 6. [ 06 Command-Line Exports ](#command-line-exports) 7. [ 07 Key Takeaways ](#key-takeaways) What Is Laravel Truss? ---------------------- [Laravel Truss](https://github.com/albertoarena/laravel-truss) is a package by Alberto Arena that renders your database structure as a live, interactive entity-relationship diagram you can open at `/truss` in the browser. It reads schema metadata only — tables, columns, keys, and indexes — and never touches row data, so there is no risk of exposing sensitive records. The package requires **PHP 8.3+** and **Laravel 12+**. Install it as a dev dependency for local use: ```bash composer require albertoarena/laravel-truss --dev ``` By default the `/truss` route is active only in the `local` environment. Install it without `--dev` and configure an authorisation gate to expose it in staging or production. --- Interactive ER Diagram Dashboard -------------------------------- Visiting `/truss` opens a map-style canvas you can pan and zoom. Click any table to enter **Focus Mode**, which centres that table alongside its foreign-key neighbours and dims everything else. A Depth control widens the visible ring one hop at a time, so you can trace relationships without losing context. Additional controls let you: - Filter tables by name. - Toggle between native SQL types and Laravel-style column labels. - Switch between light and dark blueprint themes. ### Multi-Connection Support If your application uses more than one database, list each connection in `config/truss.php`: ```php // config/truss.php 'connections' => [ 'pgsql' => [], 'analytics' => ['excluded_tables' => ['page_views', 'raw_events']], ], ``` A toolbar picker appears when two or more connections are configured. Switching connections re-renders the schema and persists the selection in the URL so you can bookmark or share a specific view. Because fonts and Mermaid assets ship with the package, the dashboard works **offline** and under strict **Content Security Policy** rules without fetching anything from a CDN. --- Schema Diffing and Migration Tracking ------------------------------------- Truss caches a structural snapshot after migrations run and compares the live database against it. The diff surfaces in a **Changes** panel in the dashboard and via Artisan: ```bash php artisan truss:diff ``` The diff covers added or dropped tables, column type changes, index adjustments, and foreign key updates. --- Schema Doctor Diagnostics ------------------------- The **Schema Doctor** runs deterministic checks against your structure and flags: - Tables with no primary key. - Foreign key columns without an index. - Duplicate or redundant index definitions. - Risky data type choices. Results appear in the dashboard's **Health** panel and can be piped into a CI pipeline: ```bash php artisan truss:doctor ``` --- Command-Line Exports -------------------- Truss can export the full schema structure from the terminal in multiple formats: ```bash php artisan truss:export --format=dbml --output=docs/schema.dbml ``` Supported formats: **DBML, JSON, CSV, Mermaid, and Markdown** data dictionary. Output is deterministic — the same schema always produces the same bytes regardless of the order the database reports its tables. That makes the `--check` flag useful in CI: it regenerates the export, compares it against the committed file, and exits non-zero when they differ. The browser dashboard also lets you export the visual diagram as **PNG or SVG**, and individual tables as JSON, CSV, or Markdown. --- Key Takeaways ------------- - Live, zoomable ER diagrams rendered with vendored Mermaid assets — no external GUI needed. - Focus Mode isolates a table and its foreign-key neighbours with a configurable depth. - Schema diffing tracks structural changes since the last migration snapshot. - Schema Doctor catches missing primary keys, unindexed foreign keys, duplicate indexes, and risky column types. - Multi-connection support with per-connection table exclusions. - Fully offline and CSP-safe; no CDN requests. - Deterministic CLI exports enable schema drift detection in CI. --- Source: [Laravel News — Laravel Truss: Live Interactive Database ER Diagrams](https://laravel-news.com/laravel-truss-database-er-diagrams) Found this useful? [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsaied.com%2Farticles%2Flaravel-truss-live-interactive-database-er-diagrams-in-the-browser&text=Laravel+Truss%3A+Live+Interactive+Database+ER+Diagrams+in+the+Browser) [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsaied.com%2Farticles%2Flaravel-truss-live-interactive-database-er-diagrams-in-the-browser) Frequently Asked Questions ---------------------------- 3 questions Q01 Does Laravel Truss read actual row data from the database? No. Laravel Truss reads schema metadata only — tables, columns, keys, and indexes. It never queries row data, so no sensitive records are exposed. Q02 Can I use Laravel Truss with multiple database connections? Yes. List each connection in config/truss.php and a toolbar picker appears in the dashboard. Each connection is introspected independently, and you can exclude specific tables per connection. Q03 How can I use the schema export in a CI pipeline? Run `php artisan truss:export --format=dbml --check` to regenerate the export and compare it against a committed file. The command exits non-zero when the schema has changed without the file being updated, failing the build. Continue reading More Articles --------------- [ View all ](https://msaied.com/articles) [ ![Cursor Pagination and Lazy Collections at Scale in Laravel](https://cdn.msaied.com/536/3aab48ef4a4eaa26a3267637dc2ec8c7.png) laravel eloquent performance ### Cursor Pagination and Lazy Collections at Scale in Laravel Offset pagination breaks under large datasets. 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