MySQL Workbench

Abstract

This is the MySQL Workbench Reference Manual. It documents the MySQL Workbench Community and MySQL Workbench Commercial releases for versions 8.0 through 8.0.45.

MySQL Workbench is developed and tested with MySQL Server 8.0. MySQL Workbench may connect to MySQL Server 8.4 and higher but some MySQL Workbench features may not function with those later server versions.

MySQL Workbench platform support evolves over time. For the latest platform support information, seehttps://www.mysql.com/support/supportedplatforms/workbench.html.

For notes detailing the changes in each release, see theMySQL Workbench Release Notes.

For legal information, including licensing information, see thePreface and Legal Notices.

If you have not yet installed the MySQL Workbench Community release, please download your free copy from thedownload site. The MySQL Workbench Community release is available for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux.

For help with using MySQL, please visit theMySQL Forums, where you can discuss your issues with other MySQL users.

Document generated on: 2025-12-09 (revision: 84099)

Table of Contents

Preface and Legal Notices
1 General Information
1.1 What Is New in MySQL Workbench
1.1.1 New in MySQL Workbench 8.0 Release Series
1.1.2 New in MySQL Workbench 6.0 Release Series
1.2 MySQL Workbench Editions
2 Installation
2.1 System Requirements
2.2 Command-Line Options
2.3 MySQL Workbench on Windows
2.3.1 Installing
2.3.2 Launching
2.3.3 Uninstalling
2.4 MySQL Workbench on Linux
2.4.1 Installing
2.4.2 Launching
2.4.3 Uninstalling
2.5 MySQL Workbench on macOS
2.5.1 Installing
2.5.2 Launching
2.5.3 Uninstalling
3 Configuration
3.1 User Accessibility Options
3.2 Workbench Preferences
3.2.1 General Editors Preferences
3.2.2 SQL Editor Preferences
3.2.3 Administration Preferences
3.2.4 Modeling Preferences
3.2.5 Fonts and Colors Preferences
3.2.6 SSH Preferences
3.2.7 Other Preferences
3.3 MySQL Workbench Settings and Log Files
3.4 Common Preferences and Configurations
4 Home Screen Tab
5 Connections in MySQL Workbench
5.1 Creating A New MySQL Connection (Simple)
5.2 Creating A New MySQL Connection (Tutorial)
5.3 Manage Server Connections
5.3.1 Standard TCP/IP Connection Method
5.3.2 Local Socket/Pipe Connection Method
5.3.3 Standard TCP/IP over SSH Connection Method
5.3.4 LDAP and Kerberos Connection Methods
5.3.5 SSL Wizard (Certificates)
5.3.6 Remote Management
5.3.7 System Profile
5.3.8 Configure Server Management Wizard
5.3.9 The Password Storage Vault
5.3.10 Updating Old Authentication Protocol Passwords
5.4 Client Connections
6 Administrative Tasks
6.1 Server Administration
6.1.1 Server Logs
6.1.2 Service Control
6.1.3 Configuration (Options File)
6.2 Users and Privileges
6.3 Server Status
6.4 Status and System Variables
6.5 Data Export and Import
6.5.1 Table Data Export and Import Wizard
6.5.2 SQL Data Export and Import Wizard
6.5.3 Result Data Export and Import
6.6 MySQL Audit Inspector Interface
6.7 MySQL Enterprise Backup Interface
6.7.1 General Requirements
6.7.2 Online Backup
6.7.3 Backup Recovery
6.8 MySQL Enterprise Firewall Interface
6.9 wbcopytables Utility
7 Performance Tools
7.1 Performance Dashboard
7.2 Performance Schema Reports
7.3 Query Statistics
7.4 Visual Explain Plan
7.5 Tutorial: Using Explain to Improve Query Performance
8 Database Development
8.1 Visual SQL Editor
8.1.1 SQL Query Tab
8.1.2 SQL Query Toolbar
8.1.3 Query and Edit Menus
8.1.4 Result Grid
8.1.5 SQL Additions - Snippets Tab
8.1.6 SQL Additions - Context Help Tab
8.1.7 Output Panel
8.1.8 Table Data Search Tab
8.1.9 Export or Import a Table
8.1.10 MySQL Table Editor
8.1.11 Code Generation Overview
8.2 Object Management
8.2.1 Object Browser and Editor Navigator
8.2.2 Session and Object Information Panel
8.2.3 Schema and Table Inspector
9 Database Design and Modeling
9.1 Modeling Interface
9.1.1 Model Editor
9.1.2 EER Diagram Editor
9.1.3 Creating Tables
9.1.4 Creating Foreign Key Relationships
9.1.5 Creating Views
9.1.6 Creating Routines and Routine Groups
9.1.7 Creating Layers
9.1.8 Creating Notes
9.1.9 Creating Text Objects
9.1.10 Creating Images
9.2 Additional Modeling Tools
9.2.1 Printing Diagrams
9.2.2 DBDoc Model Reporting
9.2.3 Schema Validation Plugins
9.3 Modeling Tutorials
9.3.1 Creating a Model
9.3.2 Basic Modeling
9.3.3 Importing a Data Definition SQL Script
9.3.4 Using the Default Schema
9.3.5 Documenting the sakila Database
9.4 Forward and Reverse Engineering
9.4.1 Forward Engineering
9.4.2 Reverse Engineering
9.5 Schema Synchronization and Comparison
9.5.1 Database Synchronization
9.5.2 Compare and Report Differences in Catalogs
9.6 Table Templates
9.7 Customizing DBDoc Model Reporting Templates
9.7.1 Supported Template Markers
9.7.2 Creating a Custom Template
10 Database Migration Wizard
10.1 General Installation Requirements
10.1.1 ODBC Libraries
10.1.2 ODBC Drivers
10.2 Migration Overview
10.2.1 A Visual Guide to Performing a Database Migration
10.2.2 Migrating from Supported Databases
10.2.3 Migrating from Unsupported (Generic) Databases
10.3 Conceptual DBMS Equivalents
10.4 Microsoft Access Migration
10.5 Microsoft SQL Server Migration
10.5.1 Preparations
10.5.2 Drivers
10.5.3 Connection Setup
10.5.4 Microsoft SQL Server Type Mapping
10.6 PostgreSQL migration
10.6.1 Preparations
10.6.2 Drivers
10.6.3 Connection Setup
10.6.4 PostgreSQL Type Mapping
10.7 MySQL Migration
10.8 Using the MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard
10.8.1 Connecting to the Databases
10.8.2 Schema Retrieval and Selection
10.8.3 Reverse Engineering
10.8.4 Object Selection
10.8.5 Migration
10.8.6 Manual Editing
10.8.7 Target Creation Options
10.8.8 Schema Creation
10.8.9 Create Target Results
10.8.10 Data Transfer and Migration Setup
10.8.11 Bulk Data Transfer
10.8.12 Migration Report
10.9 MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard FAQ
11 MySQL HeatWave Migration Assistant
A MySQL Workbench Frequently Asked Questions
B Keyboard Shortcuts
C Extending Workbench
C.1 GRT and Workbench Data Organization
C.2 Modules
C.3 Plugins and Tools
C.4 Adding a GUI to a Plugin Using MForms
C.5 The Workbench Scripting Shell
C.5.1 Exploring the Workbench Scripting Shell
C.5.2 The Shell Window
C.5.3 Files, Globals, Classes, Modules, and Notifications Tabs
C.6 Tutorial: Writing Plugins
C.6.1 Tutorial: Generate PHP Code to Create a Connection with PDO_MySQL
C.6.2 Tutorial: Generating Foreign Keys with MyISAM
D How To Report Bugs or Problems
E MySQL Enterprise Features
F MySQL Utilities