Introduction to GORM Studio

GORM Studio is a powerful, browser-based visual database management tool designed specifically for Go developers who use GORM as their ORM. If you have ever used Prisma Studio in the JavaScript ecosystem, GORM Studio brings that same intuitive experience to the Go world — allowing you to visually browse, query, and manage your database without leaving your development workflow.

Why GORM Studio?

Working with databases during development often means switching between your editor, a terminal running raw SQL, and a separate database GUI. GORM Studio eliminates that friction by embedding a fully featured database browser directly into your Go application. It mounts as a route group on your existing Gin router, so there is nothing extra to deploy or configure.

Features

Schema Discovery

GORM Studio automatically introspects your database schema and combines it with GORM model reflection to build a complete picture of your data layer. Table names, column types, constraints, indexes, and relationships are all discovered and displayed without any manual configuration.

// GORM Studio reads your model tags to understand the schema
type Product struct {
    ID          uint    `gorm:"primarykey"`
    Name        string  `gorm:"size:255;not null"`
    Price       float64 `gorm:"type:decimal(10,2)"`
    Description string  `gorm:"type:text"`
    CategoryID  uint    `gorm:"index"`
    Category    Category
    CreatedAt   time.Time
    UpdatedAt   time.Time
}

When you register this model, GORM Studio will display every column, its type, whether it is nullable, its default value, and any indexes — all in a clean, browsable interface.

Browse and Filter

View your data in a paginated, sortable, and searchable table. Click any column header to sort ascending or descending. Use the search bar to filter rows across all text columns, or apply column-specific filters for precise queries.

• Pagination — Navigate large tables without loading everything into memory.
• Sorting — Click column headers to toggle sort direction.
• Search — Full-text search across string columns.
• Column Filters — Apply conditions like equals, contains, greater than, and more on individual columns.

CRUD Operations

Create, read, update, and delete records through auto-generated forms. GORM Studio inspects your model's field types and GORM tags to render the appropriate input controls — text fields, number inputs, date pickers, dropdowns for enums, and toggles for booleans. Delete operations show a themed confirmation modal instead of the browser's native popup, clearly warning that the action cannot be undone.

// Enum-like fields get rendered as dropdowns
type Order struct {
    ID     uint   `gorm:"primarykey"`
    Status string `gorm:"type:varchar(20);default:'pending'"`
    Total  float64
    UserID uint
    User   User
}

Relationship Navigation

GORM Studio understands all four GORM relationship types and lets you navigate between related records seamlessly:

Click on a related record to jump directly to it in the browser. Foreign key links are rendered as clickable references, making it easy to follow data relationships visually.

type User struct {
    ID      uint      `gorm:"primarykey"`
    Name    string    `gorm:"size:100"`
    Profile Profile   // has one
    Posts   []Post    // has many
}
 
type Post struct {
    ID     uint   `gorm:"primarykey"`
    Title  string `gorm:"size:255"`
    UserID uint   // belongs to
    User   User
    Tags   []Tag  `gorm:"many2many:post_tags;"` // many to many
}
 
type Tag struct {
    ID    uint   `gorm:"primarykey"`
    Name  string `gorm:"size:50;uniqueIndex"`
    Posts []Post `gorm:"many2many:post_tags;"`
}

Raw SQL Editor

For advanced queries that go beyond simple CRUD, GORM Studio includes a built-in SQL editor with syntax highlighting, auto-completion, and safety checks. The editor warns you before executing destructive statements like DROP, TRUNCATE, or DELETE without a WHERE clause, helping prevent accidental data loss.

• Syntax highlighting for SQL.
• Auto-completion for table and column names.
• Safety confirmation prompts for destructive operations.
• Results displayed in the same sortable, paginated table view.

Schema Export

Export your database schema in multiple formats for documentation, collaboration, or migration workflows:

Data Import and Export

Move data in and out of your database with support for common file formats:

• JSON — Import and export records as JSON arrays.
• CSV — Spreadsheet-compatible comma-separated values.
• SQL — INSERT statements for migrating data between databases.
• Excel — .xlsx files for sharing data with non-technical stakeholders.

Go Code Generation

GORM Studio can generate Go struct definitions from your existing database schema. This is especially useful when working with a database-first workflow or when onboarding onto a project with an existing database. The generated code includes proper GORM tags, field types, and relationship definitions.

// Example of generated code from a "products" table
type Product struct {
    ID          uint      `gorm:"column:id;primarykey;autoIncrement"`
    Name        string    `gorm:"column:name;type:varchar(255);not null"`
    Price       float64   `gorm:"column:price;type:decimal(10,2)"`
    Description string    `gorm:"column:description;type:text"`
    CategoryID  uint      `gorm:"column:category_id;index"`
    CreatedAt   time.Time `gorm:"column:created_at"`
    UpdatedAt   time.Time `gorm:"column:updated_at"`
}

Authentication and Login UI

When authentication middleware is configured, GORM Studio displays a custom-themed login page instead of the browser's native HTTP Basic Auth popup. The login page matches the studio's dark/light theme and provides a professional user experience with clear error messages for invalid credentials.

Supported Databases

GORM Studio works with the three most popular databases in the Go ecosystem:

All features — schema discovery, CRUD, relationship navigation, SQL editor, import/export, and code generation — work consistently across all three database backends.

Next Steps

Ready to get started? Head to the Installation guide to add GORM Studio to your project, then follow the Quick Start to have it running in under five minutes.