# Getting Started

> Open Sqemo in your browser and design your first ERD — no account required. Sign in later for server sync, sharing, and team standards.

<iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/8YgCZooZrCA" title="Sqemo ERD Tutorial: From a Team Word List to a Physical Model in 4 Minutes" style="width:100%;aspect-ratio:16/9;border:0;border-radius:8px;margin:0.5rem 0 1rem;" loading="lazy" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Four minutes, start to finish: register the words your team uses, add domains,
draw two entities and a relationship, add an index, and group the result into a
subject area — without typing a physical name by hand. The rest of this page
covers the same ground in text.

## Start in the browser — no sign-up

[Open the app](https://app.sqemo.com) and start modeling right away. Sqemo
runs entirely in your browser: your work is autosaved locally (IndexedDB)
moments after every change, and you can keep several projects side by side.
Nothing leaves your machine until you sign in.

## Model in business terms

Sqemo keeps two linked views of the same model: a **logical model** in your
business language ("Customer", "Order Item") and a **physical model** with
the actual table and column names. They stay connected by stable IDs, so
renaming one side never orphans the other.

- **Add entities** from the toolbar and describe them with logical names.
- **Switch views** with the tabs above the canvas — logical and physical
  are two projections of one model, not two diagrams to keep in sync.
- **Draw relationships** between entities and set cardinality in the
  inspector.
- **Search everything** with <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>K</kbd> — entities,
  attributes, words.

## Physical names are generated, not typed

When you type a logical name, Sqemo generates the physical name from your
word list and naming rules. Overriding a generated name is allowed — the
override is marked and excluded from automatic regeneration. See
[Naming standards](/docs/naming-standards/) for how the generation works.
Every distinct term you type also shows up in the
[business glossary](/docs/business-glossary/), where you give it a
definition once and it applies everywhere the term is used.

## Work with files

Export the whole project as a `.erd.json` file — logical and physical
models, word list, and naming rules in one portable file you can commit to
a repo or send to a colleague. SQL DDL and DBML also round-trip; see
[Import & export](/docs/import-export/).

## Sign in when you need more

An account adds server-saved ERDs, snapshots, realtime co-editing, and
workspaces with a shared team standard. See
[Team collaboration](/docs/collaboration/) and [pricing](/pricing/) for
plan limits.

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Source: https://sqemo.com/docs/getting-started/ · Updated 2026-08-12