Draw the schema of an existing Neo4j database

Maowl is built for table databases, but many teams run Neo4j alongside them. Run two queries in Neo4j Browser, paste the results, and we'll draw the Neo4j schema for you, laid out and ready to edit. Maowl never connects to your database and never reads your data.

Step by step

Go to File › Import… and choose Neo4j database.
Click Copy on the first query, run it in Neo4j Browser, and paste the result into the box at the bottom of the dialog. Then copy and run the second query, and paste its result into the same box.
Choose Open as a new model or Add to the open model, then click Import.

Instead of pasting, you can pick your exported files with Choose file…, or drop them anywhere in Maowl. We read results copied or exported from Neo4j Browser, cypher-shell output, and HTTP API responses. The import needs both results: if you drop just one, the Import dialog opens so you can add the other.

What the queries read

Both queries are read-only. The first uses the db.schema.* procedures to read your node labels and the property keys and types on nodes and relationships, then works out which labels each relationship type connects. The second reads your constraints with SHOW CONSTRAINTS. Because you run the queries yourself, the import works with any Neo4j installation, even one that can't be reached from outside your network.

What gets drawn

Each node label, or combination of labels, becomes one of Maowl's tables, its properties become columns, and each relationship type becomes a line between them.

A separate table for :Person and :Person:Employee, and for every other label combination in your database.
Labels, relationship types, and property keys spelled exactly as they are in your database.
Property types as data types, matched to the options in the Data type dropdown. A property stored with more than one type in the database gets no type.
Relationships only where your data has them, not between every pair of labels that db.schema.visualization() reports.
Unique and Required from your constraints: a property uniqueness constraint marks the column Unique, an existence or key constraint marks it Required, and a key constraint on a single property marks it both. A constraint on :Person applies to every table with that label, :Person:Employee included. A composite uniqueness constraint doesn't make any single column unique.
Unique columns first in each table, then the rest in alphabetical order.
Tables without relationships in a row below the connected ones.

Everything else works like any other import: the schema goes into a new layer, and if you add it to a model that already has tables with the same name, we'll ask whether to merge them. We've tested the import with real results from Neo4j 5.26 and 2026.09.

Going the other way

When you're done editing, click Export and open the Cypher tab. For a database that's already running, choose Constraints only: it adds your constraints and nothing else. Full script also creates sample data from your example values. Or choose SQL to get the same model as CREATE TABLE statements for a table database.

Questions

Does Maowl connect to my Neo4j database?

No. You run two read-only queries yourself in Neo4j Browser and paste the results into Maowl. We never open a connection to your database.

Does Maowl see the data in my Neo4j database?

No. The queries return only labels, relationship types, property keys and types, and constraints, never property values.