> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.syntho.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.syntho.ai/configure-a-data-generation-job/manage-foreign-keys/add-virtual-foreign-keys.md).

# Add virtual foreign keys

It is best practice to have foreign keys defined inside your database. However, there are cases when a database does not have any foreign key relationships explicitly defined in the database. For instance, it can be that those relationships are stored in an application layer that runs on top of the database. For these situations, Syntho enables you to add virtual foreign keys, possibly with the help of Syntho's foreign key scanner.


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