MySQL Workbench ER Diagrams: 8.0 Tutorial and What Changed in 26.7

Does MySQL Workbench 26 have ER diagrams?

Not according to Oracle's current pages. The MySQL Workbench 26.7 features page describes Database Design as exploring and working with schemas and objects, and the design page talks about browsing schemas and database objects from a connected server. Neither mentions EER diagrams, models or forward engineering. Oracle's blog says Workbench 26 is a ground-up rebuild and that not every capability from Workbench 8 is available yet.

So a MySQL Workbench ER diagram today means one of two things:

• Use Workbench 8.0.47 from Oracle's download archives for modelling only. It is end of life and will get no fixes, and the manual says it is developed for MySQL Server 8.0; with 8.4 and later it may connect but some features may not work.
• Use another tool with a supported ER diagram feature. Our ER diagram tools guide and the DBeaver review cover current options.

The rest of this page follows the 8.0 manual.

Create an ER diagram from an existing database (Reverse Engineer)

Reverse engineering reads the tables, views and routines of a live database and places them on an EER diagram. The manual documents these steps:

1. From the menu choose Database, then Reverse Engineer (Ctrl+R, Cmd+R on macOS).
2. Choose a stored connection or enter host name, user name and password, then click Next. Review the connection result and click Next again.
3. Select the check box of each schema you want and click Next.
4. On Select Objects to Reverse Engineer, all object types are selected and Place imported objects on a diagram is on by default. Use Show Filter to import only some tables.
5. Click Execute, then Next to see a summary, then Finish.
6. Save the model with File, Save; it is stored as a .mwb file.

Relationships appear on the diagram from the foreign keys in the database. The manual points out that foreign keys are supported for the InnoDB storage engine only, so tables using other engines show no relationship lines. For very large schemas it warns that importing 250 or more objects could fail to create the diagram; in that case run the wizard without auto placement and add the objects to a diagram yourself.

Create the diagram from a SQL script

If you do not want to connect to a server, reverse engineer a CREATE script instead. With a model open, choose File, Import, Reverse Engineer MySQL Create Script, select the .sql file, keep Place imported objects on a diagram ticked and click Execute. The manual notes that data modelling does not need a server connection, and suggests creating a schema-only script with mysqldump --no-data.

The sample schema below (MySQL, InnoDB) has four tables and three foreign keys, enough to produce a diagram with one-to-many relationships between customers and orders and a junction table between orders and products.

CREATE DATABASE shop;
USE shop;

CREATE TABLE customers (
  customer_id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
  full_name   VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
  email       VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
  PRIMARY KEY (customer_id),
  UNIQUE KEY uq_customers_email (email)
) ENGINE=InnoDB;

CREATE TABLE products (
  product_id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
  name       VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
  price      DECIMAL(10,2) NOT NULL,
  PRIMARY KEY (product_id)
) ENGINE=InnoDB;

CREATE TABLE orders (
  order_id    INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
  customer_id INT NOT NULL,
  order_date  DATE NOT NULL,
  PRIMARY KEY (order_id),
  CONSTRAINT fk_orders_customer FOREIGN KEY (customer_id) REFERENCES customers (customer_id)
) ENGINE=InnoDB;

CREATE TABLE order_items (
  order_id   INT NOT NULL,
  product_id INT NOT NULL,
  quantity   INT NOT NULL,
  PRIMARY KEY (order_id, product_id),
  CONSTRAINT fk_items_order   FOREIGN KEY (order_id)   REFERENCES orders (order_id),
  CONSTRAINT fk_items_product FOREIGN KEY (product_id) REFERENCES products (product_id)
) ENGINE=InnoDB;

mysqldump --no-data --databases shop > shop_schema.sql

Design a new model and forward engineer it

The manual's modelling tutorial starts from File, New Model. A new model contains a default schema called mydb, which you can rename. Double-click Add Table under Physical Schemas to open the table editor, add columns and tick PK, NN or AI as needed. To see the diagram, choose Model, Create Diagram from Catalog Objects; the diagram updates when you edit tables.

Relationships can be drawn with the relationship tools on the diagram's vertical toolbar (keys 1 to 6 select them), or defined in the table editor's Foreign Keys tab. When the design is ready, Database, Forward Engineer connects to a server, lets you choose objects, shows the generated SQL on a Review Script page and runs it. The catalog validation step in that wizard is available only in the Commercial edition.

Export or print the EER diagram

According to the manual's File menu reference, the Export submenu saves an EER diagram as a PNG, SVG, PDF or PostScript file, and printing options are also on the File menu (Ctrl+P in diagram mode). Model documentation reports through the DBDoc dialog were a MySQL Workbench Commercial feature. Keep the .mwb file as well, because it is the only format Workbench can reopen and edit.

For the concepts behind the diagram (entities, cardinality, identifying and non-identifying relationships), read ER diagrams explained and database normalisation explained.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• MySQL Workbench features (Oracle)
• MySQL Workbench: Database Design (Oracle)
• Five Things to Try in MySQL Workbench 26.7 (Oracle MySQL blog)
• MySQL Workbench Manual (8.0 through 8.0.47)
• MySQL Workbench Manual: Reverse Engineering a Live Database
• MySQL Workbench Manual: Reverse Engineering Using a Create Script
• MySQL Workbench Manual: Creating a Model
• MySQL Workbench Manual: Creating Foreign Key Relationships
• MySQL Workbench Manual: Forward Engineering to a Live Server
• MySQL Workbench Manual: Modeling Menus
• MySQL Workbench Manual: Printing Diagrams
• MySQL Workbench Manual: System Requirements
• MySQL Workbench Manual: Keyboard Shortcuts

Checked 8 October 2026.

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