r/DatabaseAdministators

So I've been using tools like claude code and cursor for the past 2 years, and one thing that has been a big challenge for me is designing databases in supabase. I've tried the claude code sql skills, or just gotten claude code to connect to supabase, but I have to spend too much time learning what it all means and I get no mental model of what is happening in the backend.

SO over the last few months I've been building a tool that helps you to deploy schemas to Supabase and ai designs the schema visually and not just through text. I've used my tool to build a llot of products that need good data architecture. I realised that none of the sql diagramming tools actually help you to build a implementable schema conveniently.

My tool can also import a live supabase project and let you improve the architecture and then sync it back to supabase. In addition, if you're more pro - you can directly edit the DDL and see the changes reflect back on the canvas.

I've been using from everything from building CRMs and dashboards to more innovative concepts like agentic workspaces with an ai workforce complete with personas, tool usage, skills and roles.

I'd love to get your feedback and suggestions on what extra features might be cool to add.

A few years ago I switched from Windows to Mac.

The thing I didn't expect to miss most was my database tool.

I grew up in the Microsoft ecosystem and spent a big part of my career working with SQL Server. If you've lived in that world, you probably know how hard it is to replace SQL Server Management Studio. Not because there aren't alternatives, but because after years of using a tool, it becomes part of how you think.

On Mac, I tried pretty much every database client I could find.

Some were great.
Some looked great.
None felt right.

Every time I needed to figure out why a query was slow, inspect a complex schema, or understand relationships inside a large database, I found myself missing the same capabilities over and over again.

So I stopped searching and started building.

I called it SPIRAL.

What started as a small side project quickly snowballed. The more I used it, the more ideas I had. Instead of trying to compete with every database tool on the market, I decided to focus on a handful of database engines that I personally use the most:

• SQL Server
• PostgreSQL
• MySQL
• SQLite
• MongoDB
• Redis

The funny part is that this is also the first project of my career where I didn't write most of the code myself.

I built it using a mix of:

• GitHub Copilot
• Claude Code
• OpenAI Codex
• Gemini CLI

The logo came from ChatGPT.
The initial design direction came from Google Stitch.
The website started in Claude Design and was refined afterward.

And honestly, that's probably the most interesting part of this whole project.

Five years ago, building something like this as a solo developer would have required a completely different level of time and effort.

In 2026, code has become incredibly cheap.

The bottleneck isn't typing anymore.
It's deciding what to build.

I originally planned to make this post about what it's actually like to build software this way—the good, the bad, the frustrating parts, what surprised me, what worked, what didn't.

But this post is already getting long, and I'd rather show the result first.

Today I released the first open-source version of SPIRAL.

It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

I'd genuinely love feedback from other developers, especially people who spend a lot of time working with databases. Bug reports, feature requests, criticism, ideas—everything is welcome.

Links to the website and repository are in the comments.

(And yes, for anyone wondering: I wrote this post myself. At least for now 😉)

Website: http://spiral.susita.com

Github: https://github.com/developer82/Spiral/