MySQL Workbench data modeling after 8.0: what changed and where to move your models

What exactly did MySQL announce?

MySQL’s Workbench product page now describes a new MySQL Workbench, “built on the MySQL Shell foundation”. The same page says it “replaces earlier MySQL Workbench releases, which have reached end of life and are no longer maintained”.

The new product page organizes features into four groups: Develop, Administer, Analyze Performance, and Backup and Migrate. Data modeling is not one of them. The 8.0 manual still documents the old modeling features: it says you can “forward engineer a model to a script or live database” and “reverse engineer a live database to a model”.

Does the new Workbench do EER diagrams?

Not as far as we can verify. An issue titled “DB Modeling for MySQL Workbench 10” in MySQL’s official mysql-community repository proposes to introduce “updated ER-Modeling capabilities to the new MySQL Workbench”. It was opened on June 4, 2026, and was still open when we checked on November 2, 2026.

That’s inference, and we label it as such: you don’t propose adding a feature a product already has. If the download page or a release note says otherwise by the time you read this, trust MySQL’s latest documentation over this page.

What should you do with existing models?

You have three realistic paths.

1. Keep 8.0 for now, read-only. It still runs where it’s installed. But “no longer maintained” means no fixes, so don’t build new work on it.
2. Export to SQL and import elsewhere. In 8.0, forward-engineer the model to a SQL script (the manual’s “forward engineer a model to a script”). Most tools below can import a SQL script or reverse-engineer a live database.
3. Reverse-engineer the live database. If production already matches your model, skip the file. Point a maintained tool at the database and rebuild the diagram from the real schema.

Which maintained tools name MySQL?

These records list MySQL on the vendor’s own pages. Desktop tools are the closest match to the Workbench EER workflow. Web editors trade sync features for zero installs.

For a shortlist grouped by why you’re switching, see MySQL Workbench alternatives. To compare any of them, use the side-by-side view.

How do the main options differ?

• Model and database kept in step: Luna Modeler describes comparing a model with a live schema and generating ALTER scripts. Navicat Data Modeler lists model-workspace compare and reverse engineering. Both are one-time purchases (Luna from $99, Navicat $749).
• Model as a file in Git: DbSchema keeps the design in a model file you commit and review in pull requests.
• Free and in the browser: drawDB (open source) imports and exports SQL; DrawSQL imports CREATE TABLE statements, but its free plan makes diagrams public and caps them at 15 tables.

Common questions

Can I still open my .mwb files?

In an existing 8.0 installation, yes. Nothing we read says the old app stops working. It is no longer maintained, so treat it as a short-term bridge, not a home for new work.

Will the new Workbench get modeling back?

There is an open proposal for it in MySQL's official community repository, created on June 4, 2026. A proposal is not a release date. We'll update this page when MySQL ships or closes it.

Sources

1. MySQL Workbench product page vendor product page · full page read Nov 2, 2026
2. MySQL Workbench 8.0 manual: Data Modeling vendor documentation · partial read Nov 2, 2026
3. mysql/mysql-community issue #10: DB Modeling for MySQL Workbench 10 official project issue · full page read Nov 2, 2026

Update history

• Nov 2, 2026Published.