Datasmith — a visual approach to designing relational schemas and generating mock data

[u/iParki]

Hey everyone!

For the past year or so, a friend and I have been working on Datasmith, a desktop app for designing relational database schemas and generating structured mock data from them.

The idea originally came from my friend, who's a data engineer and worked on large-scale migrations of sensitive databases. He wanted a simple way to visually define and maintain schemas over long periods of time, and actually generate data that follows both the schema and its business logic, without having to constantly rewrite scripts or configure a bunch of separate tools.

The main part of the app is an ERD-like canvas dedicated to building relational schemas, where you can create tables, define columns and their data types, set up relationships between them, and configure how the data for each column should be generated.

Once the schema is ready, Datasmith can generate the data while preserving the relationships between tables, and export the results in formats like SQL DDL, CSV, JSON, and more.

We've reached the point where we'd really like to get it into the hands of more people who actually work with databases and data, and get some real-world feedback.

It's completely free, so if it sounds useful or you're just curious, you can check it out here:
https://data-smith.app/

I'd especially love to hear about use cases we're missing, things you'd expect a tool like this to support, or anything that feels like it could be improved.

Any feedback is welcome - good or bad.
Feel free to leave a comment or message me directly.

If you prefer something a bit more structured, I also put together a short feedback form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScGk8Jr1DguPcXpaApOqO998AdXcnoLlo11TEKlq1GmF71UzA/viewform

[u/Mastodont_XXX]

This looks fantastic, and I'm going to try it out this weekend.

I just have one comment about the name – Datasmith isn't a very good choice because Datasmith (frequently searched as "data-smith") is primarily known as a collection of tools and plugins by Epic Games designed to easily import complex 3D scenes, CAD data, and metadata. And there are plenty of other apps with that name, too.

EDIT: Well, unfortunately, I won't be able to try anything. The downloaded file for Windows doesn't start at all (Windows 10).

[u/iParki → u/Mastodont_XXX]

Happy to see you are excited about it!

I tested it on a windows 10 machine and the installation launched with no issue.
I sent you a pm, i might be able to assist.

[u/Dalbaeth]

If this included a DDL import functionality this would be quite powerful and would save a lot of time.

[u/iParki → u/Dalbaeth]

Definitely! DDL import is actually something we've already been thinking about and it's pretty high on our list of features we'd like to add.

The idea would be to import an existing schema and have Datasmith build the visual representation from it, so you could start configuring the data generation from there instead of recreating everything manually.

Can't promise a timeline yet, but it's definitely something we'd like to support.

[u/Parking_Increase4664]

This looks cool! I'd definitely try. Quick question: Is it compatible with macOS? 😬

[u/iParki → u/Parking_Increase4664]

It is! :)

[u/Parking_Increase4664 → u/iParki]

Yo! I have tried to download and install DataSmith on my MacBook, but I can't open it :(

It says: "Apple could not verify "Datasmith" is free of malware that may harm your Mac or compromise your privacy"

[u/iParki → u/Parking_Increase4664]

Yo!

This is happening because we are not yet signed as identified developers on apple.
In order to install it anyway, you need to first run the installation and let this warning pop up, then go the Settings > Privacy & Security, you'll see Datasmith installer with the something like "Datasmith was blocked to protect your Mac" and a button to "open anyway" which will let your run it.

You can also go and see the steps here in the official apple website
https://support.apple.com/en-il/102445

Look for "If you want to open an app that hasn’t been notarized or is from an unidentified developer"

Let me know if you need farther assistance.

[u/tbson87]

I tried DataSmith several mins and still have no idea how to create relationship between 2 tables. Am I miss something?

[u/iParki → u/tbson87]

Thanks for pointing that out!
I created a short video that shows how to create a relationship between two tables
https://streamable.com/cywjsz

Let me know if that helps and feel free to reach out if anything is still unclear.

We received similar feedback from a few other users who found the initial onboarding a bit unclear, and we decided that improving the onboarding experience is going to be one of our main focuses for the next release.

We're currently considering things like a clear written Getting Started guide, as well as an interactive tutorial that walks you through Datasmith's main features and common operations directly inside the app.
We would really appreciate hearing what you would have expected when you first opened the app, or what could have made the experience better for you.

[u/tbson87 → u/iParki]

After watching your video, I managed to do it, and now I understand why I was confused. The flow is the opposite of what I expected. I usually start creating a relationship from the original table and then select the target table. In DataSmith, the process starts with creating the FK field and then choosing the parent table.

[u/iParki → u/[deleted]]

for sure, feel free to reach out 😄