Project Overview

01 — Project Overview

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Problem Statement

Database schema design is the most important foundation of any Laravel project. LaravelSD (laravelsd.com) was the go-to visual schema designer for Laravel developers, but it is now outdated and no longer functional.

There is currently no modern, Laravel-native visual schema designer available.

Existing alternatives like drawSQL and dbdiagram.io are generic SQL tools — they don't understand Laravel conventions like Eloquent relationships, migration syntax, factories, or model generation.

Solution

LaraSchema is a modern visual database schema designer built specifically for Laravel. It allows developers to:

  1. Design database schemas visually with drag-and-drop on an infinite canvas
  2. Define Eloquent relationships between tables with automatic FK creation
  3. Generate production-ready Laravel code — migrations, models, factories, and seeders
  4. Export a complete, ready-to-run Laravel + Filament project as a downloadable ZIP — includes a browser-based setup wizard so users are up and running with composer install && php artisan serve

Distribution Model

LaraSchema ships in two formats:

Format Description
Core Laravel Package Drop-in Laravel package — installable via Composer into any Laravel app (not yet publicly released).
Hosted SaaS Application Cloud-hosted version with premium features like collaboration, team workspaces, and cloud storage.

Package Installation (future — package is not yet publicly released)

When the package is released, installation will look like:

composer require laraschema/laraschema
php artisan laraschema:install

Then visit /laraschema in the browser to start designing. Until then, the hosted SaaS at laraschema.com is the only entry point.

SaaS

The hosted version wraps the same package with authentication, cloud storage, team collaboration, and billing on top.

Competitive Landscape

Tool Status Laravel-native Visual Editor Code Generation
LaravelSD Dead Yes Yes Migrations only
drawSQL Active No Yes Generic SQL
dbdiagram.io Active No Code-based Generic SQL
Laravel Blueprint Active Yes No (YAML) Full stack
LaraSchema Building Yes Yes Full stack

What Sets LaraSchema Apart

  • Laravel-native: Understands Eloquent relationships, migration syntax, and Laravel conventions
  • Visual + Code: Design visually, generate real Laravel code (not generic SQL)
  • Free to use: Hosted SaaS is free at laraschema.com
  • SaaS option: Cloud features for teams who want collaboration and persistence

Inspiration

  • LaravelSD — The original Laravel schema designer (no longer functional)
  • drawSQL — Generic visual database designer
  • dbdiagram.io — Code-based database diagramming tool

Success Metrics

Core Package (deferred — future public release)

  • GitHub stars and community engagement
  • Composer downloads
  • Community contributions (PRs, issues)
  • Positive reviews and mentions in Laravel community

SaaS Application

  • User registrations and activation rate
  • Schemas created per user
  • Free-to-paid conversion rate
  • Monthly recurring revenue (MRR)
  • Team adoption rate

Next: Architecture

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