Your database schema is the most honest documentation in your entire stack. Code can be refactored, APIs can be versioned, but your database tables reveal the actual data model your application operates on — no matter what the REST endpoints pretend.
The Schema Truth
Every ORM adds a layer of abstraction between your code and your data. Sequelize models, Prisma schemas, TypeORM entities — they describe the data the way developers wish it worked. The actual database often tells a different story.
That unused column? It's still being read by a cron job nobody remembers deploying. The JSONB column? It contains 47 distinct key patterns because 8 different features store unstructured data there. The foreign key from to ? It's missing — replaced by an application-level check that occasionally fails.