A Rails gem that tracks and visualizes database operations in your application. Built for developers who need to understand complex data flows and debug database interactions.

• Database Operation Tracking - Capture SQL operations (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE)
• Targeted Monitoring - Track specific code blocks or entire HTTP requests
• Interactive Dashboard - Clean web interface for exploring captured data
• Relationship Diagrams - Visualize database relationships and model associations
• Simple Setup - File-based storage with zero additional database requirements
• Development Ready - Designed specifically for development environments

View more screenshots in here →

Add to your Gemfile:

gem 'dbwatcher', group: :development

Install the gem:

bundle install

The dashboard automatically becomes available at /dbwatcher in your Rails application.

Monitor specific operations:

Dbwatcher.track(name: "User Registration") do
  user = User.create!(name: "John", email: "[email protected]")
  user.create_profile!(bio: "Developer")
  user.posts.create!(title: "Hello World")
end

Add ?dbwatch=true to any URL:

GET /users/123?dbwatch=true
POST /api/users?dbwatch=true

Visit /dbwatcher in your browser to explore tracked operations.

Optional configuration in config/initializers/dbwatcher.rb:

Dbwatcher.configure do |config|
  config.storage_path = Rails.root.join('tmp', 'dbwatcher')
  config.enabled = Rails.env.development?
  config.max_sessions = 100
  config.auto_clean_after_days = 7
end

Add context to your tracking:

Dbwatcher.track(
  name: "Order Processing",
  metadata: { user_id: current_user.id, order_type: "premium" }
) do
  # Database operations here
end

Use in your test suite:

it "creates user with associations" do
  Dbwatcher.track(name: "User Creation Test") do
    user = create(:user)
    expect(user.profile).to be_present
  end
end

bundle exec rake test        # All tests
bundle exec rake unit        # Unit tests only
bundle exec rake acceptance  # Feature tests only

cd spec/dummy
bundle exec rails server -p 3001
open http://localhost:3001/dbwatcher

bundle exec rubocop    # Linting
bundle exec brakeman   # Security analysis

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b my-feature
3. Make changes and add tests
4. Run tests: bundle exec rake test
5. Run linter: bundle exec rubocop
6. Commit changes: git commit -am 'Add feature'
7. Push branch: git push origin my-feature
8. Open a Pull Request

Contributing guidelines →

If you see undefined method 'dbwatcher_sessions_path':

1. Restart your Rails server after installing
2. Verify Rails 6.0+ compatibility
3. Check engine mounting in routes if needed

• Designed for development environments only
• Disable in production: config.enabled = false
• Use targeted tracking for performance-critical code
• Enable auto-cleanup to prevent storage bloat

Released under the MIT License.