Features

Get started fast

When you create a new model with the NHibernate Designer you will be stepped through the setup of your model so you can work the way your want. 

After just a few questions you'll be ready to create your NHibernate model with ease.

Fluent? XML? Your choice!

The NHibernate Designer supports generating mappings the way you want - be it with Fluent NHibernate or with standard XML mapping configuration.

You can easily swap between the two to decide your preference.

Database first development

If you prefer database first development then you're in good hands with the NHibernate Designer! Drag and drop tables from your database from the Server Explorer and we'll do the rest!

Model first development

If you prefer model first development then the NHibernate Designer is a great choice! Create your model and then generate the database from the model you created! Easy!

360 degree model updates

Right Click - update the model from the database, or update the database from the model! It really is that easy!

If you like model first development, or database first, or work in a large team where different developers have different preferences then this feature really is magic. 

Visual Studio integrated migrations

Create migrations directly from within Visual Studio. The snapshots are easy to take and are code based so creating the migrations is super easy!

Being code based, developers can extend migrations to include custom logic if required.

The most amazing migrations framework

Beyond just creating migrations in Visual Studio, developers can view, execute and generate scripts for all the supported databases!

A beautiful and integrated UI gives a quick view of what migrations exist, what version your database is at and provides the tools you need to manage your schema.

No more hunting for required assemblies!

When you create your model for the first time you will be asked if you would like the NHibernate Designer to save copies of the required assemblies for you.

By choosing to do so the NHibernate Designer saves them in a location of your choice and automatically adds the assemblies as references to your project!

All development should be so easy!

Ready to code?

Finished modelling and ready to actually write code against your model? The NHibernate Designer includes dedicated guidence based on your configurationc choices on how to setup the configuration for your solution!

Beyond just code, you will get a small snippet demonstrating how to query data from your model!

Save the configuration

From the Getting Started dialog you can choose to save your configuration. As NHibernate supports several configuration mechanisms the NHibernate Designer provides the options you need to get started fast. 

Integrated support for NHibernate Validator

Entities can be setup so that properties have associated validation generated for the NHibernate Validator library.

Even smarter - if you model Database First then the NHibernate Designer will intelligently infer validations for you to save you even more time!

See your data in Visual Studio

Curious what data is in an entities associated table? Right click -> View Data will bring up the table contents within Visual Studio for you to view and edit!

Work more efficiently without needing to jump between Visual Studio and SQL Management Studio.

Integrated Refactoring

The NHibernate Designer includes several refactorings to make common tasks easier. For example, when renaming an entity the NHibernate Designer will make sure that it renames any references to that class across your solution.