MySQL Programs

1 Overview of MySQL Programs

[root@MaxwellDBA ~]# mysql --help
mysql  Ver 8.0.26 for Linux on x86_64 (Source distribution)
Copyright (c) 2000, 2021, Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its
affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective
owners.

Usage: mysql [OPTIONS] [database]
  -?, --help          Display this help and exit.
  -I, --help          Synonym for -?
  --auto-rehash       Enable automatic rehashing. One doesn't need to use
                      'rehash' to get table and field completion, but startup
                      and reconnecting may take a longer time. Disable with
                      --disable-auto-rehash.
                      (Defaults to on; use --skip-auto-rehash to disable.)
  -A, --no-auto-rehash 
                      No automatic rehashing. One has to use 'rehash' to get
                      table and field completion. This gives a quicker start of
                      mysql and disables rehashing on reconnect.
  --auto-vertical-output 
                      Automatically switch to vertical output mode if the
                      result is wider than the terminal width.
  -B, --batch         Don't use history file. Disable interactive behavior.
                      (Enables --silent.)
  --bind-address=name IP address to bind to.
  --binary-as-hex     Print binary data as hex. Enabled by default for
                      interactive terminals.
  --character-sets-dir=name 
                      Directory for character set files.
  --column-type-info  Display column type information.
  -c, --comments      Preserve comments. Send comments to the server. The
                      default is --skip-comments (discard comments), enable
                      with --comments.
  -C, --compress      Use compression in server/client protocol.
  -#, --debug[=#]     This is a non-debug version. Catch this and exit.
  --debug-check       This is a non-debug version. Catch this and exit.
  -T, --debug-info    This is a non-debug version. Catch this and exit.
  -D, --database=name Database to use.
  --default-character-set=name 
                      Set the default character set.
  --delimiter=name    Delimiter to be used.
  --enable-cleartext-plugin 
                      Enable/disable the clear text authentication plugin.
  -e, --execute=name  Execute command and quit. (Disables --force and history
                      file.)
  -E, --vertical      Print the output of a query (rows) vertically.
  -f, --force         Continue even if we get an SQL error.
  --histignore=name   A colon-separated list of patterns to keep statements
                      from getting logged into syslog and mysql history.
  -G, --named-commands 
                      Enable named commands. Named commands mean this program's
                      internal commands; see mysql> help . When enabled, the
                      named commands can be used from any line of the query,
                      otherwise only from the first line, before an enter.
                      Disable with --disable-named-commands. This option is
                      disabled by default.
  -i, --ignore-spaces Ignore space after function names.
  --init-command=name SQL Command to execute when connecting to MySQL server.
                      Will automatically be re-executed when reconnecting.
  --local-infile      Enable/disable LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE.
  -b, --no-beep       Turn off beep on error.
  -h, --host=name     Connect to host.
  --dns-srv-name=name Connect to a DNS SRV resource
  -H, --html          Produce HTML output.
  -X, --xml           Produce XML output.
  --line-numbers      Write line numbers for errors.
                      (Defaults to on; use --skip-line-numbers to disable.)
  -L, --skip-line-numbers 
                      Don't write line number for errors.
  -n, --unbuffered    Flush buffer after each query.
  --column-names      Write column names in results.
                      (Defaults to on; use --skip-column-names to disable.)
  -N, --skip-column-names 
                      Don't write column names in results.
  --sigint-ignore     Ignore SIGINT (CTRL-C).
  -o, --one-database  Ignore statements except those that occur while the
                      default database is the one named at the command line.
  --pager[=name]      Pager to use to display results. If you don't supply an
                      option, the default pager is taken from your ENV variable
                      PAGER. Valid pagers are less, more, cat [> filename],
                      etc. See interactive help (\h) also. This option does not
                      work in batch mode. Disable with --disable-pager. This
                      option is disabled by default.
  -p, --password[=name] 
                      Password to use when connecting to server. If password is
                      not given it's asked from the tty.
  -P, --port=#        Port number to use for connection or 0 for default to, in
                      order of preference, my.cnf, $MYSQL_TCP_PORT,
                      /etc/services, built-in default (3306).
  --prompt=name       Set the mysql prompt to this value.
  --protocol=name     The protocol to use for connection (tcp, socket, pipe,
                      memory).
  -q, --quick         Don't cache result, print it row by row. This may slow
                      down the server if the output is suspended. Doesn't use
                      history file.
  -r, --raw           Write fields without conversion. Used with --batch.
  --reconnect         Reconnect if the connection is lost. Disable with
                      --disable-reconnect. This option is enabled by default.
                      (Defaults to on; use --skip-reconnect to disable.)
  -s, --silent        Be more silent. Print results with a tab as separator,
                      each row on new line.
  -S, --socket=name   The socket file to use for connection.
  --server-public-key-path=name 
                      File path to the server public RSA key in PEM format.
  --get-server-public-key 
                      Get server public key
  --ssl-mode=name     SSL connection mode.
  --ssl-ca=name       CA file in PEM format.
  --ssl-capath=name   CA directory.
  --ssl-cert=name     X509 cert in PEM format.
  --ssl-cipher=name   SSL cipher to use.
  --ssl-key=name      X509 key in PEM format.
  --ssl-crl=name      Certificate revocation list.
  --ssl-crlpath=name  Certificate revocation list path.
  --tls-version=name  TLS version to use, permitted values are: TLSv1, TLSv1.1,
                      TLSv1.2, TLSv1.3
  --ssl-fips-mode=name 
                      SSL FIPS mode (applies only for OpenSSL); permitted
                      values are: OFF, ON, STRICT
  --tls-ciphersuites=name 
                      TLS v1.3 cipher to use.
  -t, --table         Output in table format.
  --tee=name          Append everything into outfile. See interactive help (\h)
                      also. Does not work in batch mode. Disable with
                      --disable-tee. This option is disabled by default.
  -u, --user=name     User for login if not current user.
  -U, --safe-updates  Only allow UPDATE and DELETE that uses keys.
  -U, --i-am-a-dummy  Synonym for option --safe-updates, -U.
  -v, --verbose       Write more. (-v -v -v gives the table output format).
  -V, --version       Output version information and exit.
  -w, --wait          Wait and retry if connection is down.
  --connect-timeout=# Number of seconds before connection timeout.
  --max-allowed-packet=# 
                      The maximum packet length to send to or receive from
                      server.
  --net-buffer-length=# 
                      The buffer size for TCP/IP and socket communication.
  --select-limit=#    Automatic limit for SELECT when using --safe-updates.
  --max-join-size=#   Automatic limit for rows in a join when using
                      --safe-updates.
  --show-warnings     Show warnings after every statement.
  -j, --syslog        Log filtered interactive commands to syslog. Filtering of
                      commands depends on the patterns supplied via histignore
                      option besides the default patterns.
  --plugin-dir=name   Directory for client-side plugins.
  --default-auth=name Default authentication client-side plugin to use.
  --binary-mode       By default, ASCII '\0' is disallowed and '\r\n' is
                      translated to '\n'. This switch turns off both features,
                      and also turns off parsing of all clientcommands except
                      \C and DELIMITER, in non-interactive mode (for input
                      piped to mysql or loaded using the 'source' command).
                      This is necessary when processing output from mysqlbinlog
                      that may contain blobs.
  --connect-expired-password 
                      Notify the server that this client is prepared to handle
                      expired password sandbox mode.
  --network-namespace=name 
                      Network namespace to use for connection via tcp with a
                      server.
  --compression-algorithms=name 
                      Use compression algorithm in server/client protocol.
                      Valid values are any combination of
                      'zstd','zlib','uncompressed'.
  --zstd-compression-level=# 
                      Use this compression level in the client/server protocol,
                      in case --compression-algorithms=zstd. Valid range is
                      between 1 and 22, inclusive. Default is 3.
  --load-data-local-dir=name 
                      Directory path safe for LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE to read
                      from.

Default options are read from the following files in the given order:
/etc/my.cnf /etc/mysql/my.cnf ~/.my.cnf 
The following groups are read: mysql client
The following options may be given as the first argument:
--print-defaults        Print the program argument list and exit.
--no-defaults           Don't read default options from any option file,
                        except for login file.
--defaults-file=#       Only read default options from the given file #.
--defaults-extra-file=# Read this file after the global files are read.
--defaults-group-suffix=#
                        Also read groups with concat(group, suffix)
--login-path=#          Read this path from the login file.

Variables (--variable-name=value)
and boolean options {FALSE|TRUE}  Value (after reading options)
--------------------------------- ----------------------------------------
auto-rehash                       TRUE
auto-vertical-output              FALSE
bind-address                      (No default value)
binary-as-hex                     FALSE
character-sets-dir                (No default value)
column-type-info                  FALSE
comments                          FALSE
compress                          FALSE
database                          (No default value)
default-character-set             auto
delimiter                         ;
enable-cleartext-plugin           FALSE
vertical                          FALSE
force                             FALSE
histignore                        (No default value)
named-commands                    FALSE
ignore-spaces                     FALSE
init-command                      (No default value)
local-infile                      FALSE
no-beep                           FALSE
host                              (No default value)
dns-srv-name                      (No default value)
html                              FALSE
xml                               FALSE
line-numbers                      TRUE
unbuffered                        FALSE
column-names                      TRUE
sigint-ignore                     FALSE
port                              0
prompt                            mysql> 
quick                             FALSE
raw                               FALSE
reconnect                         TRUE
socket                            (No default value)
server-public-key-path            (No default value)
get-server-public-key             FALSE
ssl-ca                            (No default value)
ssl-capath                        (No default value)
ssl-cert                          (No default value)
ssl-cipher                        (No default value)
ssl-key                           (No default value)
ssl-crl                           (No default value)
ssl-crlpath                       (No default value)
tls-version                       (No default value)
tls-ciphersuites                  (No default value)
table                             FALSE
user                              (No default value)
safe-updates                      FALSE
i-am-a-dummy                      FALSE
connect-timeout                   0
max-allowed-packet                16777216
net-buffer-length                 16384
select-limit                      1000
max-join-size                     1000000
show-warnings                     FALSE
plugin-dir                        (No default value)
default-auth                      (No default value)
binary-mode                       FALSE
connect-expired-password          FALSE
network-namespace                 (No default value)
compression-algorithms            (No default value)
zstd-compression-level            3
load-data-local-dir               (No default value)
[root@MaxwellDBA ~]# 

The MySQL server,mysqld, is the main program that does most of the work in a MySQL installation. The server is accompanied by several related scripts that assist you in starting and stopping the server.

• mysqld  (The SQL daemon(the MySQL server). To use client programs,mysqld must be running,because clients gains access to databases by connecting to the server.)
• mysqld_safe  (a server startup script.mysqld_safe attempts to start mysqld.)
• mysql.server (A server startup script)
• mysqld_multi (A server startup script that can start or stop multiple servers installed on the system)
• comp_err (This program is used during the MySQL build/installation process. It compiles error message files from the error source files.)
• mysql_secure_installation (This program enables you to improve the security of your MySQL installation.)
• mysql_ssl_rsa_setup  (This program creates the SSL certificate and key files and RSA key-pair files required to support secure connections, if those files are missing.)
• mysql_tzinfo_to_sql (This program loads the time zone tables in the mysql database using the contents of the host system zoneinfo database (the set of files describing time zones).)
• mysql_upgrade (Prior to MySQL 8.0.16, this program is used after a MySQL upgrade operation. It updates the grant tables with any changes that have been made in newer versions of MySQL, and checks tables for incompatibilities and repairs them if necessary.)

MySQL client programs that connect to the MySQL server.

• mysql  (The command-line tool for interactively entering SQL statements or executing them from a file in batch mode)
• mysqladmin  (A client that performs administrative operations, such as creating or dropping databases, reloading the grant tables, flushing tables to disk, and reopening log files.)
• mysqlcheck  (A table-maintenance client that checks, repairs, analyzes, and optimizes tables.)
• mysqldump  (A client that dumps a MySQL database into a file as SQL, text, or XML.)
• mysqlimport  (A client that imports text files into their respective tables using LOAD DATA )
• mysqlpump  (A client that dumps a MySQL database into a file as SQL.)
• mysqlsh  (MySQL Shell is an advanced client and code editor for MySQL Server.)
• mysqlshow  (A client that displays information about databases, tables, columns, and indexes.)
• mysqlslap  (A client that is designed to emulate client load for a MySQL server and report the timing of each stage.)

MySQL administrative and utility programs:

• innochecksum  (An offline InnoDB offline file checksum utility.)
• myisam_ftdump  (A utility that displays information about full-text indexes in MyISAM tables.)
• myisamchk  (A utility to describe, check, optimize, and repair MyISAM tables.)
• myisamlog  (A utility that processes the contents of a MyISAM log file. )
• myisampack  (A utility that compresses MyISAM tables to produce smaller read-only tables.)
• mysql_config_editor (A utility that enables you to store authentication credentials in a secure, encrypted login path file named .mylogin.cnf.)
• mysql_migrate_keying  (A utility for migrating keys between one keyring component and another.)
• mysqlbinlog  (A utility for reading statements from a binary log. The log of executed statements contained in the binary log files can be used to help recover from a crash.)
• mysqldumpslow  (A utility to read and summarize the contents of a slow query log.)

MySQL program-development utilities:

• mysql_config  (A shell script that produces the option values needed when compiling MySQL programs.)
• my_print_defaults  (A utility that shows which options are present in option groups of option files.)

Miscellaneous utilities:

• lz4_decompress  (A utility that decompresses mysqlpump output that was created using LZ4 compression.)
• perror  (A utility that displays the meaning of system or MySQL error codes.)
• zlib_decompress  (A utility that decompresses mysqlpump output that was created using ZLIB compression. )

MySQL client programs that communicate with the server using the MySQL client/server library use the following environment variables.

Environment Variable	Meaning
MYSQL_UNIX_PORT	The default Unix socket file; used for connections to localhost
MYSQL_TCP_PORT	The default port number; used for TCP/IP connections
MYSQL_DEBUG	Debug trace options when debugging
TMPDIR	The directory where temporary tables and files are created

 Specifying Program Options

 1.Using Options on the Command Line

[root@MaxwellDBA ~]# mysql -u root -p -e "SELECT VERSION();SELECT NOW()"
Enter password: 
+-----------+
| VERSION() |
+-----------+
| 8.0.26    |
+-----------+
+---------------------+
| NOW()               |
+---------------------+
| 2022-10-12 10:34:42 |
+---------------------+
[root@MaxwellDBA ~]# 

2 Using Option Files

On Unix and Unix-like systems, MySQL programs read startup options from the files shown in the following table, in the specified order (files listed first are read first, files read later take precedence).

Table 4.2 Option Files Read on Unix and Unix-Like Systems

File Name	Purpose
/etc/my.cnf	Global options
/etc/mysql/my.cnf	Global options
SYSCONFDIR/my.cnf	Global options
$MYSQL_HOME/my.cnf	Server-specific options (server only)
defaults-extra-file	The file specified with --defaults-extra-file, if any
~/.my.cnf	User-specific options
~/.mylogin.cnf	User-specific login path options (clients only)
DATADIR/mysqld-auto.cnf	System variables persisted with SET PERSIST or SET PERSIST_ONLY (server only)

mysqld — The MySQL Server

The mysqld program has many options that can be specified at startup.

mysqld --verbose --help

mysqld_safe — MySQL Server Startup Script

is the recommended way to start a mysqld server on Unix. mysqld_safe adds some safety features such as restarting the server when an error occurs and logging runtime information to an error log.

Table 4.6 mysqld_safe Options

Option Name	Description
--basedir	Path to MySQL installation directory
--core-file-size	Size of core file that mysqld should be able to create
--datadir	Path to data directory
--defaults-extra-file	Read named option file in addition to usual option files
--defaults-file	Read only named option file
--help	Display help message and exit
--ledir	Path to directory where server is located
--log-error	Write error log to named file
--malloc-lib	Alternative malloc library to use for mysqld
--mysqld	Name of server program to start (in ledir directory)
--mysqld-safe-log-timestamps	Timestamp format for logging
--mysqld-version	Suffix for server program name
--nice	Use nice program to set server scheduling priority
--no-defaults	Read no option files
--open-files-limit	Number of files that mysqld should be able to open
--pid-file	Path name of server process ID file
--plugin-dir	Directory where plugins are installed
--port	Port number on which to listen for TCP/IP connections
--skip-kill-mysqld	Do not try to kill stray mysqld processes
--skip-syslog	Do not write error messages to syslog; use error log file
--socket	Socket file on which to listen for Unix socket connections
--syslog	Write error messages to syslog
--syslog-tag	Tag suffix for messages written to syslog
--timezone	Set TZ time zone environment variable to named value
--user	Run mysqld as user having name user_name or numeric user ID user_id

 mysqld_safe --port=port_num --defaults-file=file_name

mysqld_safe --defaults-file=file_name --port=port_num

mysql.server — MySQL Server Startup Script

 mysql.server is the script name as used within the MySQL source tree. 

To start or stop the server manually using the mysql.server script, invoke it from the command line with start or stop arguments:

mysql.server start
mysql.server stop

You can add options for mysql.server in a global /etc/my.cnf file. A typical my.cnf file might look like this:

[mysqld]
datadir=/usr/local/mysql/var
socket=/var/tmp/mysql.sock
port=3306
user=mysql

[mysql.server]
basedir=/usr/local/mysql

Table 4.7 mysql.server Option-File Options

Option Name	Description	Type
basedir	Path to MySQL installation directory	Directory name
datadir	Path to MySQL data directory	Directory name
pid-file	File in which server should write its process ID	File name
service-startup-timeout	How long to wait for server startup

 mysqld_multi — Manage Multiple MySQL Servers

mysqld_multi is designed to manage several mysqld processes that listen for connections on different Unix socket files and TCP/IP ports. It can start or stop servers, or report their current status.

To invoke mysqld_multi, use the following syntax:

mysqld_multi [options] {start|stop|reload|report} [GNR[,GNR] ...]

This command starts a single server using option group [mysqld17]:

mysqld_multi start 17

This command stops several servers, using option groups [mysqld8] and [mysqld10] through [mysqld13]:

mysqld_multi stop 8,10-13

# This is an example of a my.cnf file for mysqld_multi.
# Usually this file is located in home dir ~/.my.cnf or /etc/my.cnf

[mysqld_multi]
mysqld     = /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqld_safe
mysqladmin = /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqladmin
user       = multi_admin
password   = my_password

[mysqld2]
socket     = /tmp/mysql.sock2
port       = 3307
pid-file   = /usr/local/mysql/data2/hostname.pid2
datadir    = /usr/local/mysql/data2
language   = /usr/local/mysql/share/mysql/english
user       = unix_user1

[mysqld3]
mysqld     = /path/to/mysqld_safe
ledir      = /path/to/mysqld-binary/
mysqladmin = /path/to/mysqladmin
socket     = /tmp/mysql.sock3
port       = 3308
pid-file   = /usr/local/mysql/data3/hostname.pid3
datadir    = /usr/local/mysql/data3
language   = /usr/local/mysql/share/mysql/swedish
user       = unix_user2

[mysqld4]
socket     = /tmp/mysql.sock4
port       = 3309
pid-file   = /usr/local/mysql/data4/hostname.pid4
datadir    = /usr/local/mysql/data4
language   = /usr/local/mysql/share/mysql/estonia
user       = unix_user3

[mysqld6]
socket     = /tmp/mysql.sock6
port       = 3311
pid-file   = /usr/local/mysql/data6/hostname.pid6
datadir    = /usr/local/mysql/data6
language   = /usr/local/mysql/share/mysql/japanese
user       = unix_user4

mysql Client Server-Side Help

mysql> 
mysql> use mysql
Reading table information for completion of table and column names
You can turn off this feature to get a quicker startup with -A

Database changed
mysql> 
mysql> 
mysql> help

For information about MySQL products and services, visit:
   http://www.mysql.com/
For developer information, including the MySQL Reference Manual, visit:
   http://dev.mysql.com/
To buy MySQL Enterprise support, training, or other products, visit:
   https://shop.mysql.com/

List of all MySQL commands:
Note that all text commands must be first on line and end with ';'
?         (\?) Synonym for `help'.
clear     (\c) Clear the current input statement.
connect   (\r) Reconnect to the server. Optional arguments are db and host.
delimiter (\d) Set statement delimiter.
edit      (\e) Edit command with $EDITOR.
ego       (\G) Send command to mysql server, display result vertically.
exit      (\q) Exit mysql. Same as quit.
go        (\g) Send command to mysql server.
help      (\h) Display this help.
nopager   (\n) Disable pager, print to stdout.
notee     (\t) Don't write into outfile.
pager     (\P) Set PAGER [to_pager]. Print the query results via PAGER.
print     (\p) Print current command.
prompt    (\R) Change your mysql prompt.
quit      (\q) Quit mysql.
rehash    (\#) Rebuild completion hash.
source    (\.) Execute an SQL script file. Takes a file name as an argument.
status    (\s) Get status information from the server.
system    (\!) Execute a system shell command.
tee       (\T) Set outfile [to_outfile]. Append everything into given outfile.
use       (\u) Use another database. Takes database name as argument.
charset   (\C) Switch to another charset. Might be needed for processing binlog with multi-byte charsets.
warnings  (\W) Show warnings after every statement.
nowarning (\w) Don't show warnings after every statement.
resetconnection(\x) Clean session context.
query_attributes Sets string parameters (name1 value1 name2 value2 ...) for the next query to pick up.

For server side help, type 'help contents'

mysql> \c
mysql> clear
mysql> SELECT LAST_INSERT_ID();
+------------------+
| LAST_INSERT_ID() |
+------------------+
|                0 |
+------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> SELECT LAST_INSERT_ID(3);
+-------------------+
| LAST_INSERT_ID(3) |
+-------------------+
|                 3 |
+-------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> SELECT LAST_INSERT_ID();
+------------------+
| LAST_INSERT_ID() |
+------------------+
|                3 |
+------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> resetconnection;
mysql> SELECT LAST_INSERT_ID();
+------------------+
| LAST_INSERT_ID() |
+------------------+
|                0 |
+------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> help contents
You asked for help about help category: "Contents"
For more information, type 'help <item>', where <item> is one of the following
categories:
   Account Management
   Administration
   Components
   Compound Statements
   Contents
   Data Definition
   Data Manipulation
   Data Types
   Functions
   Geographic Features
   Help Metadata
   Language Structure
   Loadable Functions
   Plugins
   Prepared Statements
   Replication Statements
   Storage Engines
   Table Maintenance
   Transactions
   Utility

mysql> help logs
Many help items for your request exist.
To make a more specific request, please type 'help <item>',
where <item> is one of the following
topics:
   FLUSH
   PURGE BINARY LOGS
   PURGE MASTER LOGS
   SHOW
   SHOW BINARY LOGS
   SHOW MASTER LOGS

mysql> help show binary logs
Name: 'SHOW BINARY LOGS'
Description:
Syntax:
SHOW BINARY LOGS
SHOW MASTER LOGS

Lists the binary log files on the server. This statement is used as
part of the procedure described in [HELP PURGE BINARY LOGS], that shows
how to determine which logs can be purged. SHOW BINARY LOGS requires
the REPLICATION CLIENT privilege (or the deprecated SUPER privilege).

Encrypted binary log files have a 512-byte file header that stores
information required for encryption and decryption of the file. This is
included in the file size displayed by SHOW BINARY LOGS. The Encrypted
column shows whether or not the binary log file is encrypted. Binary
log encryption is active if binlog_encryption=ON is set for the server.
Existing binary log files are not encrypted or decrypted if binary log
encryption is activated or deactivated while the server is running.

mysql> SHOW BINARY LOGS;
+---------------+-----------+-----------+
| Log_name      | File_size | Encrypted |
+---------------+-----------+-----------+
| binlog.000015 |    724935 |       Yes |
| binlog.000016 |    733481 |       Yes |
+---------------+-----------+-----------+

URL: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/show-binary-logs.html


mysql> HELP rep%
Many help items for your request exist.
To make a more specific request, please type 'help <item>',
where <item> is one of the following
topics:
   REPAIR TABLE
   REPEAT FUNCTION
   REPEAT LOOP
   REPLACE
   REPLACE FUNCTION
categories:
   Replication Statements

mysql>