diff --git a/qqq-backend-module-rdbms/src/main/java/com/kingsrook/qqq/backend/module/rdbms/model/metadata/RDBMSTableMetaDataBuilder.java b/qqq-backend-module-rdbms/src/main/java/com/kingsrook/qqq/backend/module/rdbms/model/metadata/RDBMSTableMetaDataBuilder.java
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+++ b/qqq-backend-module-rdbms/src/main/java/com/kingsrook/qqq/backend/module/rdbms/model/metadata/RDBMSTableMetaDataBuilder.java
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+/*
+ * QQQ - Low-code Application Framework for Engineers.
+ * Copyright (C) 2021-2023.  Kingsrook, LLC
+ * 651 N Broad St Ste 205 # 6917 | Middletown DE 19709 | United States
+ * contact@kingsrook.com
+ * https://github.com/Kingsrook/
+ *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
+ * License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+package com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.module.rdbms.model.metadata;
+
+
+import java.sql.Connection;
+import java.sql.DatabaseMetaData;
+import java.sql.ResultSet;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.exceptions.QException;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.logging.QLogger;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.metadata.fields.QFieldMetaData;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.metadata.fields.QFieldType;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.metadata.tables.QTableMetaData;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.module.rdbms.jdbc.ConnectionManager;
+
+
+/*******************************************************************************
+ ** note - this class is pretty mysql-specific
+ *******************************************************************************/
+public class RDBMSTableMetaDataBuilder
+{
+   private static final QLogger LOG = QLogger.getLogger(RDBMSTableMetaDataBuilder.class);
+
+   private static Map<String, QFieldType> typeMap = new HashMap<>();
+
+   static
+   {
+      ////////////////////////////////////////////////
+      // these are types as returned by mysql       //
+      // let null in here mean unsupported QQQ type //
+      ////////////////////////////////////////////////
+      typeMap.put("TEXT", QFieldType.TEXT);
+      typeMap.put("BINARY", QFieldType.BLOB);
+      typeMap.put("SET", null);
+      typeMap.put("VARBINARY", QFieldType.BLOB);
+      typeMap.put("MEDIUMBLOB", QFieldType.BLOB);
+      typeMap.put("NUMERIC", QFieldType.INTEGER);
+      typeMap.put("BIGINT UNSIGNED", QFieldType.LONG);
+      typeMap.put("MEDIUMINT UNSIGNED", QFieldType.INTEGER);
+      typeMap.put("SMALLINT UNSIGNED", QFieldType.INTEGER);
+      typeMap.put("TINYINT UNSIGNED", QFieldType.INTEGER);
+      typeMap.put("BIT", null);
+      typeMap.put("FLOAT", null);
+      typeMap.put("REAL", null);
+      typeMap.put("VARCHAR", QFieldType.STRING);
+      typeMap.put("BOOL", QFieldType.BOOLEAN);
+      typeMap.put("YEAR", null);
+      typeMap.put("TIME", QFieldType.TIME);
+      typeMap.put("TIMESTAMP", QFieldType.DATE_TIME);
+   }
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    **
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   public QTableMetaData buildTableMetaData(RDBMSBackendMetaData backendMetaData, String tableName) throws QException
+   {
+      try(Connection connection = new ConnectionManager().getConnection(backendMetaData))
+      {
+         List<QFieldMetaData> fieldMetaDataList = new ArrayList<>();
+         String               primaryKey        = null;
+
+         DatabaseMetaData     databaseMetaData  = connection.getMetaData();
+         Map<Integer, String> dataTypeMap       = new HashMap<>();
+         ResultSet            typeInfoResultSet = databaseMetaData.getTypeInfo();
+         while(typeInfoResultSet.next())
+         {
+            String  name = typeInfoResultSet.getString("TYPE_NAME");
+            Integer id   = typeInfoResultSet.getInt("DATA_TYPE");
+            dataTypeMap.put(id, name);
+         }
+
+         String databaseName = backendMetaData.getDatabaseName(); // these work for mysql - unclear about other vendors.
+         String schemaName   = null;
+         try(ResultSet tableResultSet = databaseMetaData.getTables(databaseName, schemaName, tableName, null))
+         {
+            if(!tableResultSet.next())
+            {
+               throw (new QException("Table: " + tableName + " was not found in backend: " + backendMetaData.getName()));
+            }
+         }
+
+         try(ResultSet columnsResultSet = databaseMetaData.getColumns(databaseName, schemaName, tableName, null))
+         {
+            while(columnsResultSet.next())
+            {
+               String  columnName      = columnsResultSet.getString("COLUMN_NAME");
+               String  columnSize      = columnsResultSet.getString("COLUMN_SIZE");
+               Integer dataTypeId      = columnsResultSet.getInt("DATA_TYPE");
+               String  isNullable      = columnsResultSet.getString("IS_NULLABLE");
+               String  isAutoIncrement = columnsResultSet.getString("IS_AUTOINCREMENT");
+
+               String     dataTypeName = dataTypeMap.get(dataTypeId);
+               QFieldType type         = typeMap.get(dataTypeName);
+               if(type == null)
+               {
+                  LOG.info("Table " + tableName + " column " + columnName + " has an unampped type: " + dataTypeId + ".  Field will not be added to QTableMetaData");
+                  continue;
+               }
+
+               QFieldMetaData fieldMetaData = new QFieldMetaData(columnName, type)
+                  // todo - what string? .withIsRequired(!isNullable)
+                  .withLabel(columnName);
+
+               fieldMetaDataList.add(fieldMetaData);
+
+               if("YES".equals(isAutoIncrement))
+               {
+                  primaryKey = columnName;
+               }
+            }
+         }
+
+         if(fieldMetaDataList.isEmpty())
+         {
+            throw (new QException("Could not find any usable fields in table: " + tableName));
+         }
+
+         if(primaryKey == null)
+         {
+            throw (new QException("Could not find primary key in table: " + tableName));
+         }
+
+         QTableMetaData tableMetaData = new QTableMetaData()
+            .withBackendName(backendMetaData.getName())
+            .withName(tableName)
+            .withLabel(tableName)
+            .withBackendDetails(new RDBMSTableBackendDetails().withTableName(tableName))
+            .withFields(fieldMetaDataList)
+            .withPrimaryKeyField(primaryKey);
+
+         return (tableMetaData);
+      }
+      catch(Exception e)
+      {
+         throw (new QException("Error automatically building table meta data for table: " + tableName, e));
+      }
+   }
+
+}