Magento 2 Database Overview

This documentation provides a comprehensive guide to the Magento 2 database structure, designed to help data analysts and developers understand the relationships between tables and their purposes. Magento 2 uses a complex database schema with over 300 tables organized into different modules.

Database Architecture

Magento 2 uses a modular architecture where each module has its own set of database tables. The database follows these key design patterns:

EAV (Entity-Attribute-Value) - A flexible schema that allows for dynamic attributes without changing database structure
Flat Tables - Denormalized tables for performance optimization in catalog and product queries
Relational Tables - Standard normalized database tables following relational database principles

Key Database Modules

Sales & Orders

sales_*

Tables related to orders, invoices, shipments, and payments

Catalog

catalog_*

Product, category, and attribute information

Customer

customer_*

Customer accounts, addresses, and groups

EAV

eav_*

Entity-Attribute-Value core tables

Inventory

inventory_*, cataloginventory_*

Stock management and inventory

CMS & Content

cms_*

Content management, pages, and blocks

Common ID Patterns

Understanding these common ID patterns will help you navigate the database:

entity_id - Primary key in most entity tables (products, customers, categories, etc.)
*_id - Foreign keys referencing other tables (e.g., customer_id, product_id)
increment_id - Human-readable IDs displayed to users (like order numbers: #000000001)
store_id - References to specific store views for multi-store setup
website_id - References to specific websites in multi-website installations

Table Naming Conventions

Magento 2 follows consistent naming patterns:

Pattern	Description	Example
`module_entity`	Main entity tables	`sales_order`, `catalog_product_entity`
`entity_type`	Related data tables	`sales_order_item`, `sales_order_address`
`entity_eav_attribute`	EAV attribute values	`catalog_product_entity_varchar`
`entity_grid`	Admin grid tables (denormalized)	`sales_order_grid`
`entity_entity`	Many-to-many relationship tables	`catalog_product_website`

Getting Started

For new data analysts, we recommend starting with these essential tables:

sales_order and sales_order_item - For order and revenue analysis
customer_entity - For customer demographics and segmentation
catalog_product_entity - For product catalog analysis
sales_order_grid - Denormalized view with most order information

Click on any module card above to explore detailed table structures, relationships, and common queries for that module.

Understanding the EAV System

The Entity-Attribute-Value (EAV) model is a key architectural pattern in Magento 2. Unlike traditional table columns, EAV stores attributes as rows, allowing for:

Dynamic Attributes - Add new product/customer attributes without database schema changes
Flexibility - Different products can have different sets of attributes
Scalability - Handle thousands of attributes efficiently

EAV Tables Structure

Each EAV entity type (product, customer, category) has multiple tables:

Table Type	Purpose	Example
`*_entity`	Main entity data	`catalog_product_entity`
`*_entity_varchar`	Text attribute values	`catalog_product_entity_varchar`
`*_entity_int`	Integer attribute values	`catalog_product_entity_int`
`*_entity_decimal`	Decimal attribute values (prices, weights)	`catalog_product_entity_decimal`
`*_entity_datetime`	Date/time attribute values	`catalog_product_entity_datetime`
`*_entity_text`	Long text attribute values	`catalog_product_entity_text`