Turning SailPoint ObjectConfig into Database Diagrams with DBML

SailPoint IdentityIQ is one of the most powerful identity governance platforms on the market. But anyone who has worked with it knows that its configuration files can be difficult to navigate. The ObjectConfig format may contain everything you need, but in practice it is verbose, XML-heavy, and nearly impossible to visualize at a glance.

This post explores the challenge of visualizing SailPoint ObjectConfigs and presents our lightweight, automated converter that translates them into DBML, a format that can instantly generate database diagrams. Even better, those DBML files can be opened in our custom DBML editor (more on that here) for enhanced collaboration.

The Case

Anyone who has worked with SailPoint’s ObjectConfig.xml files knows the struggle. While they provide all the details about objects, attributes, and relationships, they are:

• Verbose: Nested XML makes it hard to see the bigger picture.
• Hidden Relationships: References are buried inside type attributes.
• Limited Collaboration: Non-SailPoint colleagues struggle to understand the data model.

As a result, schema discussions are slowed down, and architecture diagrams must be drawn manually, a process that is both error-prone and time-consuming.

The Goal

Our goal was simple: convert SailPoint ObjectConfig files into DBML so they can be fed directly into visualization tools like dbdiagram.io, or even better, into our own DBML editor.

This enables teams to:

• Visualize IdentityIQ schemas instantly
• Share diagrams with non-SailPoint experts
• Accelerate design discussions with diagrams instead of XML.
• Reduce manual effort in documentation and schema analysis.

This means faster projects, better communication, and stronger alignment across technical and business teams.

The Preparation

Before we could deliver this solution, we had to address several limitations in SailPoint’s native format:

• No consistent primary key definitions.
• Relationships implied rather than explicitly defined.
• Nested collections that complicate parsing.

A robust converter needed to handle these things while staying simple and maintainable.

The Implementation

We built a lightweight CLI tool in TypeScript that handles the conversion end to end:

• Automatic Discovery: Recursively parses files and directories for ObjectConfig XML.
• Schema Extraction: Converts each ObjectConfig into a DBML Table with attributes as columns.
• Relationship Detection: Recognizes references like sailpoint.object.Identity and models them as foreign keys.
• Clean Output: Generates ready-to-use .dbml files in seconds.

Example Input (ObjectConfig XML):

<ObjectConfig name="Account">
  <ObjectAttribute name="owner" type="sailpoint.object.Identity"/>
  <ObjectAttribute name="status" type="string"/>
</ObjectConfig>

Resulting DBML:

Table Account {
  "id" string [primary key]
  "owner" Identity
  "status" string
}

Ref: Account.owner < Identity.id

With a single command, a wall of XML becomes a diagram-ready schema. Load that into a DBML viewer, and you instantly get a schema diagram.

The Conclusion

SailPoint ObjectConfigs hold all the data you need, but not in a form that’s easy to work with. By converting them to DBML, we’ve unlocked the ability to generate instant diagrams, communicate with non-IAM colleagues, and reduce manual documentation work.

Combined with our DBML editor, this creates a complete workflow for identity architects and engineers who want to move faster, collaborate better, and eliminate manual diagramming.

At WedaCon, we specialize in bridging gaps between platforms and making enterprise IAM not just functional, but also efficient. Get in touch with us and read our blog post on the WedaCon DBML Editor to see how your IdentityIQ schemas can become a living, editable asset for your organization.