skill-access-explorer

A Claude Code skill for extracting and analyzing Microsoft Access databases — schema, forms, reports, VBA code, queries, and ribbons. Built from production experience migrating a real business system (13+ years on Access) to PostgreSQL/Supabase.

Problem

Working with Access databases in 2025 means dealing with:

• No standard way to extract schema programmatically
• Forms and reports locked inside proprietary binary format
• VBA code scattered across modules with undocumented dependencies
• No straightforward migration path to modern databases
• COM/ODBC quirks that aren't documented anywhere

Solution

access-explorer gives Claude structured extraction patterns for every layer of an Access database, with real-world pitfalls from production use.

Layer	Engine	What you get
Schema	ODBC	Tables, columns, types, PKs, FKs, indexes, row counts
Forms	COM	Controls, layout, events, subforms, ribbon links
Reports	COM	Sections, group levels, typography, VBA code
VBA	COM/VBE	All modules, dependencies, import/export
Queries	DAO	SQL, query types
Ribbons	DAO	XML definitions linked to forms

Requirements

• Windows only
• Python: pyodbc, pywin32
• Microsoft Access ODBC Driver (*.mdb, *.accdb)
• Microsoft Access installed (for COM/forms/VBA extraction)

ODBC-only mode works without Access installed — covers schema and data.

Installation

Global (all projects)

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/skill-access-explorer
cp -r SKILL.md references ~/.claude/skills/skill-access-explorer/

Per-project

mkdir -p .claude/skills/skill-access-explorer
cp -r SKILL.md references .claude/skills/skill-access-explorer/

Usage

Once installed, Claude Code automatically loads this skill when you mention .accdb, .mdb, or Access database tasks:

Extract the schema from our production database
Analyze all forms in PRINTAGRAM_DB.accdb
Export VBA modules from the database
Migrate Access table structure to Supabase

Output

All extraction outputs to structured JSON:

{
  "database": "PRINTAGRAM_DB.accdb",
  "tables": {
    "Orders": {
      "columns": ["..."],
      "primary_keys": ["..."],
      "foreign_keys": ["..."],
      "row_count": 24510
    }
  },
  "forms": { },
  "reports": { },
  "queries": { },
  "ribbons": { }
}

Key pitfalls covered

• MSysObjects permission denied — use ODBC metadata instead
• PrimaryKeys() returns empty — fallback to index scan
• COM dates carry tzinfo — strip before comparison
• Calculated fields fail on INSERT — exclude from column lists
• VBA compile errors break component iteration — wrap in try/except
• .mde/.accde files — VBA not extractable
• DB locked by another process — COM fails, ODBC-only fallback

File structure

skill-access-explorer/
├── SKILL.md              <- main skill file
└── references/
    ├── schema.md         <- ODBC extraction patterns + type mapping
    ├── forms.md          <- COM forms, reports, queries, ribbons
    └── vba.md            <- VBA extraction, sync patterns, UUID generation

Access to PostgreSQL type mapping

Access	PostgreSQL
COUNTER	serial
VARCHAR/CHAR	varchar(N) / text
LONGCHAR/MEMO	text
CURRENCY	numeric(19,4)
DATETIME	timestamp
BIT/YESNO	boolean
GUID	uuid

Background

Built while migrating Printagram — a print and advertising company operating on Access since 2012 — to a modern Python + Supabase stack. The patterns here come from extracting 40+ tables, 30+ forms, and years of VBA business logic from a live production database.

License

MIT