Adding `sql_docs` library as a dependency

Run this command in a terminal, in your project's directory:

cargo add sql_docs

To add it manually, edit your project's Cargo.toml file and add to the [dependencies] section:

sql_docs = "1.0.2"

The sql_docs library will be automatically available globally. Read the sql_docs library documentation.

Back to the crate overview.

Readme

Sql File Comment and Statement Parsing for Documentation

This crate extracts documentation from SQL files by parsing:

SQL statements (via sqlparser)
Line and block comments
Table and column locations

Then comments are attached to the SQL structures they describe, producing a structured, queryable documentation model.

Example

With a directory structured like this:

sql_dir/
└── users.sql

and the content of users.sql being:

/* Table storing user accounts */
CREATE TABLE users (
    /* Primary key for each user */
    id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
    -- The user's login name
    username VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    /* User's email address */
    email VARCHAR(255) UNIQUE NOT NULL
);

A rudimentary implementation can be generated with:

use sql_docs::SqlDoc;
use sql_docs::error::DocError;
use std::{env, fs};

fn main() -> Result<(), DocError> {
    // Temporary directory and file created for demonstration purposes
    let base = env::temp_dir().join("tmp_dir");
    let _ = fs::remove_dir_all(&base);
    fs::create_dir_all(&base)?;
    let example = base.join("example.sql");

    fs::write(
        &example,
        r#"/* Table storing user accounts */
CREATE TABLE users (
    /* Primary key for each user */
    id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
    -- The user's login name
    username VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    /* User's email address */
    email VARCHAR(255) UNIQUE NOT NULL
);"#,
    )?;

    // Extract documentation from a single file
    let docs = SqlDoc::from_path(&example).build()?;
    // Or extract recursively from a directory
    // let docs = SqlDoc::from_dir(&base).build()?;

    // Retrieve a specific table
    let users = docs.table("users")?;

    // Table name
    assert_eq!(users.name(), "users");
    // Optional table-level documentation
    assert_eq!(users.doc(), Some("Table storing user accounts"));
    // Path to the source file
    assert_eq!(users.path(), Some(example.as_ref()));

    let _ = fs::remove_dir_all(&base);
    Ok(())
}

Primary Interface (Main API)

These are the primary entry points most users will interact with:

SqlDoc::from_path Build documentation from a single .sql file.
SqlDoc::from_dir Recursively scan a directory for .sql files and build documentation.
SqlDocBuilder::build Finalize the builder and produce a SqlDoc.
SqlDocBuilder::deny Exclude specific files by full path.
SqlDocBuilder::flatten_multiline Flatten multiline comments into a single line.

Use Cases

This crate is designed for generating documentation from SQL schemas by attaching comments to:

Tables
Columns

using only comments that immediately precede the items they describe.

This makes it well-suited for:

Auto-generating Markdown or HTML documentation
Building database schema explorers
Enforcing documentation rules in CI
Static analysis of SQL schemas

Design Notes

Inline and interstitial comments are intentionally ignored.
Comment attachment is line-based and deterministic.
One SQL file may define multiple tables.
No database connection is required.

Adding sql_docs library as a dependency

Adding `sql_docs` library as a dependency