Reverse Engineering

Reverse Engineering allows Qubase to analyze an existing database and automatically generate a visual database model.

Instead of manually recreating tables and relationships, Qubase reads the database structure and converts it into an interactive ERD Canvas.

This feature is useful when working with legacy databases, production systems, or existing applications.

Before you begin

Before starting Reverse Engineering, ensure that you have:

Created a database connection
Connected to a supported database
Read access to the database schema

[!NOTE] Reverse Engineering reads database metadata only. It does not modify your database.

What can be imported?

Qubase can import database objects including:

Tables
Columns
Primary Keys
Foreign Keys
Relationships
Indexes
Constraints
Schemas

Imported objects are converted into a visual database model.

Reverse Engineering workflow

The typical workflow is:


Connect Database
        │
        ▼
Read Database Metadata
        │
        ▼
Analyze Database Structure
        │
        ▼
Generate ERD
        │
        ▼
Review Imported Objects
        │
        ▼
Save Database Model

Perform Reverse Engineering

To reverse engineer an existing database:

Open Database Engineering.
Select Reverse Engineering.
Choose an existing database connection.
Select the database or schema.
Start the analysis.
Review the imported objects.
Generate the ERD.

After the process completes, the imported schema is displayed on the ERD Canvas.

Imported database objects

Depending on the selected database, Qubase may import:

Object	Description
Tables	Database tables
Columns	Table fields
Primary Keys	Unique identifiers
Foreign Keys	Table relationships
Constraints	Validation rules
Indexes	Database indexes
Views	Database views (when supported)

Schema validation

Before generating the ERD, Qubase validates the imported structure.

Validation checks may include:

Missing Primary Keys
Broken Foreign Keys
Duplicate object names
Unsupported data types
Invalid relationships

Any detected issues are reported before the ERD is created.

Benefits

Reverse Engineering helps you:

Understand legacy databases
Document existing systems
Create visual database diagrams
Analyze complex schemas
Continue database development visually

Limitations

Depending on the database system, some database-specific features may not be imported.

Examples include:

Stored procedures
Functions
Triggers
Database-specific extensions

Support for these objects depends on the selected database system.

Best practices

Reverse engineer development databases whenever possible.
Review the generated ERD before making changes.
Validate imported relationships.
Save the generated database model before editing.

[!TIP] After generating the ERD, use Visual Modeling to reorganize tables and improve the readability of large database diagrams.

Last updated on August 5, 2026

Database Connection Forward Engineering