dbt Cloud Catalog
Great if you run dbt Cloud. Not available if you run dbt Core on premises. Taavik fills that gap with a tool that observes the actual database, not the dbt model.
Database documentation tool
A database documentation tool that does not go stale.
Most database wikis are wrong within a week. Taavik fixes that by making the documentation a function of the schema. The agent scans, the diff updates the doc, the change history records when it happened. Manual notes stay where you wrote them.
What teams need from a database documentation tool
Three jobs the wiki cannot do anymore.
Confluence, Notion, dbDocs, ER diagrams in Lucidchart. They all share one problem: you have to remember to update them. After the third missed migration the team stops trusting the doc, and the doc dies.
Auto-update from the schema
A scan detects a new column. The doc shows it. A column gets dropped. The doc removes it and the change history records when. No manual sync.
Preserve manual notes
The technical metadata is generated. The prose paragraphs are yours. Auto-updates touch the metadata only and never overwrite a description.
Built-in change history
Every scan produces a diff. The doc shows the most recent changes per object, so a new hire reads the present and the recent past in one place.
Works on private databases
An on-premise agent runs inside your network. The cloud receives metadata only. Compliance does not have to compromise.
Where Taavik fits
If you tried these and they did not work.
DataHub or OpenMetadata self-hosted
Powerful, but require half a person to operate. Taavik is a single agent and a hosted control plane that keeps documentation alive without dedicated operators.
dbDocs and ER diagram exports
Static snapshots. Useful for a one-shot deliverable, painful as living documentation. Taavik refreshes on every scan and never asks you to re-run the export.
Confluence and Notion pages
Easy to start, hard to keep current. Taavik moves the technical metadata to a tool that updates itself. Your wiki keeps the high-level prose; Taavik keeps the schema accurate.
What is supported
PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MySQL, Amazon Redshift.
One workspace, many connections, many engines. Provider quirks normalized at scan time, the documentation reads consistently across databases.
Guides
Build a documentation workflow that stays current.
Living database documentation
How generated metadata, manual notes, and schema changes become a documentation layer the team can trust.
Read the guidePrivate database documentation
Why private databases need an agent-based scan instead of direct cloud database access.
Read the guideKeep database docs up to date
A practical operating model for scans, change review, generated facts, and preserved manual notes.
Read the guideFAQ
Database documentation tool for private databases
Is the documentation hosted on Taavik or self-hosted? +
The documentation is rendered in the workspace, served by the cloud control plane. The data behind it (catalog metadata, manual notes, change history) is stored in the cloud database, encrypted at rest. Row data and credentials never reach the cloud.
Can I edit the documentation manually? +
Yes. Add descriptions to tables, paragraphs to columns, known-issue blocks to objects. Auto-updates touch only the technical metadata; your text stays untouched.
Does Taavik replace dbt docs? +
Taavik documents the database as it is. dbt docs documents the dbt models you wrote. They serve different audiences. Many teams use both.
Can I export the documentation? +
v1 keeps it internal on purpose. The point is one reliable place. Markdown export is on the roadmap.
Try it
Generate the first documentation in under ten minutes.
Free for one connection, forever. The agent is small. The first scan is fast.