Compose Room Inspector: In-App SQLite & Room DB Browser with Jetpack Compose Overlay

Debugging local database state on Android often requires tethering the device to Android Studio to use the App Inspection tab. However, when QA engineers or developers are testing in the field, verifying whether an offline sync job or local caching mutation wrote the correct database records is impossible without desktop access.

compose-room-inspector is an on-device SQLite & Room database inspector featuring live table browsing, schema introspection, and an interactive raw SQL console with query timing.

🏗️ Architecture & Security Model

Zero Schema Boilerplate: Automatically introspects all tables, column types, and primary key (🔑) constraints at runtime using SQLite pragmas.
2D Virtualized Grid: Horizontally and vertically scrollable table viewer with sticky column headers and real-time column search.
SQL Console with Execution Profiling: Execute ad-hoc queries with an execution time badge (e.g. ⚡ 14 ms) to verify query efficiency.
1-Tap Export: Copy table records as structured CSV or JSON to the clipboard for bug reports.

🛠️ Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

1. Add Gradle Dependency

dependencies {
    // Debug builds: in-app SQLite & Room inspector overlay
    debugImplementation("io.github.zakayothuku:compose-room-inspector:1.0.0")

    // Release builds: zero-overhead no-op artifact
    releaseImplementation("io.github.zakayothuku:compose-room-inspector-noop:1.0.0")
}

2. Register Your Database Instance

In your Application class or Dependency Injection module:

@Provides
@Singleton
fun provideAppDatabase(@ApplicationContext context: Context): AppDatabase {
    val database = Room.databaseBuilder(
        context,
        AppDatabase::class.java,
        "app_commerce.db"
    ).build()

    // Register database with the inspector in debug builds
    if (BuildConfig.DEBUG) {
        ComposeRoomInspector.register(
            name = "Commerce DB",
            database = database.openHelper.writableDatabase
        )
    }

    return database
}

3. Display the Inspector Overlay

@Composable
fun AppRoot() {
    Box(modifier = Modifier.fillMaxSize()) {
        MainNavigation()

        if (BuildConfig.DEBUG) {
            ComposeRoomInspectorOverlay()
        }
    }
}