SupaForge vs. DBDiff

What Is DBDiff?

DBDiff is an open source database schema and data diff tool that supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite. It compares two databases and generates UP and DOWN SQL migration files — handling tables, columns, indexes, constraints, views, triggers, functions, sequences, and row-level data differences.

DBDiff is a general-purpose tool. It works with any Postgres database, not just Supabase. It is the foundation that SupaForge builds on.

How SupaForge Extends DBDiff

SupaForge uses DBDiff as its engine for schema and data diffing, then adds additional Supabase-specific checks on top:

• RLS policies — Row Level Security policies that exist in one environment but not the other.
• Auth settings — OAuth providers, MFA, JWT expiry, CAPTCHA, and 20+ configuration values.
• Storage buckets — Bucket metadata, policies, and CORS settings.
• Cron jobs — pg_cron schedules that differ or are missing between environments.
• Database webhooks — pg_net hooks and supabase_functions.hooks configuration.
• Edge Functions — Deployed function versions that don't match across environments.
• Realtime publications — Postgres publication configuration drift.
• Vault secrets — Missing or mismatched entries in vault.secrets.
• Extensions — Postgres extensions enabled in one environment but not the other.

SupaForge Uses DBDiff Under the Hood

This is not a competing tool — SupaForge is built on top of DBDiff. The schema and data checks invoke DBDiff directly. SupaForge is essentially "DBDiff + everything else Supabase needs".

npm i -g @akalforge/supaforge

{
  "environments": {
    "staging": {
      "dbUrl": "postgresql://user:pass@db.STAGING_REF.supabase.co:5432/postgres",
      "projectRef": "STAGING_REF",
      "apiKey": "your-staging-service-role-key"
    },
    "production": {
      "dbUrl": "postgresql://user:pass@db.PROD_REF.supabase.co:5432/postgres",
      "projectRef": "PROD_REF",
      "apiKey": "your-production-service-role-key"
    }
  },
  "source": "staging",
  "target": "production"
}

supaforge scan

supaforge scan --check rls

supaforge scan --check auth

When to Use DBDiff Directly

If you are working with MySQL, SQLite, or non-Supabase PostgreSQL databases, DBDiff is the right tool. It supports cross-database comparison (e.g. MySQL 8 → MySQL 9) and generates SQL migrations with a built-in migration runner.

If you are working with Supabase specifically, SupaForge gives you everything DBDiff offers for schema/data plus the full Supabase configuration surface.

Summary

DBDiff is the battle-tested schema and data diff engine. SupaForge wraps it and adds Supabase-native checks for RLS, auth, storage, cron, webhooks, and Edge Functions — providing a single tool that covers the full Supabase environment surface.