MySQL and OS X

Abstract

This is the MySQL OS X extract from the MySQL 5.7 Reference Manual.

For legal information, see the Legal Notices.

For help with using MySQL, please visit either the MySQL Forums or MySQL Mailing Lists, where you can discuss your issues with other MySQL users.

For additional documentation on MySQL products, including translations of the documentation into other languages, and downloadable versions in variety of formats, including HTML and PDF formats, see the MySQL Documentation Library.

Licensing information—MySQL 5.7.  This product may include third-party software, used under license. If you are using a Commercial release of MySQL 5.7, see this document for licensing information, including licensing information relating to third-party software that may be included in this Commercial release. If you are using a Community release of MySQL 5.7, see this document for licensing information, including licensing information relating to third-party software that may be included in this Community release.

Licensing information—MySQL Cluster.  This product may include third-party software, used under license. If you are using a Community release of MySQL Cluster NDB 7.5, see this document for licensing information, including licensing information relating to third-party software that may be included in this Community release.

Document generated on: 2016-08-04 (revision: 48440)

Preface and Legal Notices

This is the MySQL OS X extract from the MySQL 5.7 Reference Manual.

Legal Notices

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Chapter 1 Installing MySQL on OS X

For a list of OS X versions that the MySQL server supports, see http://www.mysql.com/support/supportedplatforms/database.html.

MySQL for OS X is available in a number of different forms:

Native Package Installer, which uses the native OS X installer (DMG) to walk you through the installation of MySQL. For more information, see Chapter 2, Installing MySQL on OS X Using Native Packages. You can use the package installer with OS X. The user you use to perform the installation must have administrator privileges.

Compressed TAR archive, which uses a file packaged using the Unix tar and gzip commands. To use this method, you will need to open a Terminal window. You do not need administrator privileges using this method, as you can install the MySQL server anywhere using this method. For more information on using this method, you can use the generic instructions for using a tarball, Installing MySQL on Unix/Linux Using Generic Binaries.

In addition to the core installation, the Package Installer also includes Chapter 3, Installing a MySQL Launch Daemon and Chapter 4, Installing and Using the MySQL Preference Pane, both of which simplify the management of your installation.

For additional information on using MySQL on OS X, see Chapter 5, General Notes on Installing MySQL on OS X.

Chapter 2 Installing MySQL on OS X Using Native Packages

Note

Before proceeding with the installation, be sure to stop all running MySQL server instances by using either the MySQL Manager Application (on OS X Server), the preference pane, or mysqladmin shutdown on the command line.

To install MySQL using the package installer:

Download the disk image (.dmg) file (the community version is available here) that contains the MySQL package installer. Double-click the file to mount the disk image and see its contents.

Figure 2.1 MySQL Package Installer: DMG Contents

Double-click the MySQL installer package. It will be named according to the version of MySQL you have downloaded. For example, if you have downloaded MySQL server 5.7.15, double-click mysql-5.7.15-osx-10.9-x86_64.pkg.

You will be presented with the opening installer dialog. Click Continue to begin installation.

Figure 2.2 MySQL Package Installer: Introduction

If you have downloaded the community version of MySQL, you will be shown a copy of the relevant GNU General Public License. Click Continue and then Agree to continue.

From the Installation Type page you can either click Install to execute the installation wizard using all defaults, click Customize to alter which components to install (MySQL server, Preference Pane, Launchd Support -- all enabled by default), or click Change Installation Location to change the type of installation, if available.

Figure 2.3 MySQL Package Installer: Installation Type

Figure 2.4 MySQL Package Installer: Destination Select (Change Installation Location)

Figure 2.5 MySQL Package Installer: Customize

Click Install to begin the installation process.

Once the installation has been completed successfully, you will be provided with your temporary root password. This cannot be recovered, so you must save this password. For example:

Figure 2.6 MySQL Package Installer: Temporary Root Password

Note

After logging into MySQL using this temporary password, MySQL will expire this password and require you to create a new password.

Next is an Install Succeeded message with a short summary. Close the wizard.

Figure 2.7 MySQL Package Installer: Summary

MySQL server is now installed, but it is not loaded (or started) by default. Use either launchctl from the command line, or start MySQL by clicking "Start" using the MySQL preference pane. For additional information, see Chapter 3, Installing a MySQL Launch Daemon, and Chapter 4, Installing and Using the MySQL Preference Pane. Use the MySQL Preference Pane or launchd to configure MySQL to automatically start at bootup.

When installing using the package installer, the files are installed into a directory within /usr/local matching the name of the installation version and platform. For example, the installer file mysql-5.7.15-osx10.9-x86_64.dmg installs MySQL into /usr/local/mysql-5.7.15-osx10.9-x86_64/ . The following table shows the layout of the installation directory.

Table 2.1 MySQL Installation Layout on OS X

Directory | Contents of Directory
bin, scripts | mysqld server, client and utility programs
data | Log files, databases
docs | Helper documents, like the Release Notes and build information
include | Include (header) files
lib | Libraries
man | Unix manual pages
mysql-test | MySQL test suite
share | Miscellaneous support files, including error messages, sample configuration files, SQL for database installation
support-files | Scripts and sample configuration files
/tmp/mysql.sock | Location of the MySQL Unix socket

During the package installer process, a symbolic link from /usr/local/mysql to the version/platform specific directory created during installation will be created automatically.

Chapter 3 Installing a MySQL Launch Daemon

OS X uses launch daemons to automatically start, stop, and manage processes and applications such as MySQL.

Note

Before MySQL 5.7.8, the OS X builds installed startup items instead of launchd daemons. However, startup items do not function as of OS X 10.10 (Yosemite). The OS X builds now install launchd daemons.

By default, the installation package (DMG) on OS X installs a launchd file named /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.oracle.oss.mysql.mysqld.plist that contains a plist definition similar to:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>             <string>com.oracle.oss.mysql.mysqld</string>
    <key>ProcessType</key>       <string>Interactive</string>
    <key>Disabled</key>          <false/>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>         <true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>         <true/>
    <key>SessionCreate</key>     <true/>
    <key>LaunchOnlyOnce</key>    <false/>
    <key>UserName</key>          <string>_mysql</string>
    <key>GroupName</key>         <string>_mysql</string>
    <key>ExitTimeOut</key>       <integer>600</integer>
    <key>Program</key>           <string>/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqld</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
        <array>
            <string>/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqld</string>
            <string>--user=_mysql</string>
            <string>--basedir=/usr/local/mysql</string>
            <string>--datadir=/usr/local/mysql/data</string>
            <string>--plugin-dir=/usr/local/mysql/lib/plugin</string>
            <string>--log-error=/usr/local/mysql/data/mysqld.local.err</string>
            <string>--pid-file=/usr/local/mysql/data/mysqld.local.pid</string>
        </array>
    <key>WorkingDirectory</key>  <string>/usr/local/mysql</string>
</dict>
</plist>

Note

Some users report that adding a plist DOCTYPE declaration causes the launchd operation to fail, despite it passing the lint check. We suspect it's a copy-n-paste error. The md5 checksum of a file containing the above snippet is 24710a27dc7a28fb7ee6d825129cd3cf.

To enable the launchd service, you can either:

Click Start MySQL Server from the MySQL preference pane.

Figure 3.1 MySQL Preference Pane: Location

Figure 3.2 MySQL Preference Pane: Usage

Or, manually load the launchd file.

shell> cd /Library/LaunchDaemons
shell> sudo launchctl load -F com.oracle.oss.mysql.mysqld.plist

To configure MySQL to automatically start at bootup, you can:

shell> sudo launchctl load -w com.oracle.oss.mysql.mysqld.plist

Note

When upgrading MySQL server, the launchd installation process will remove the old startup items that were installed with MySQL server 5.7.7 and below.

Chapter 4 Installing and Using the MySQL Preference Pane

The MySQL Installation Package includes a MySQL preference pane that enables you to start, stop, and control automated startup during boot of your MySQL installation.

This preference pane is installed by default, and is listed under your system's System Preferences window.

Figure 4.1 MySQL Preference Pane: Location

To install the MySQL Preference Pane:

Download the disk image (.dmg) file (the community version is available here) that contains the MySQL package installer. Double-click the file to mount the disk image and see its contents.

Figure 4.2 MySQL Package Installer: DMG Contents

Note

Before MySQL 5.7.8, OS X packages included the deprecated startup items instead of launchd daemons, and the preference pane managed that intstead of launchd.

Go through the process of installing the MySQL server, as described in the documentation at Chapter 2, Installing MySQL on OS X Using Native Packages.

Click Customize at the Installation Type step. The "Preference Pane" option is listed there and enabled by default; make sure it is not deselected.

Figure 4.3 MySQL Installer on OS X: Customize

Complete the MySQL server installation process.

Note

The MySQL preference pane only starts and stops MySQL installation installed from the MySQL package installation that have been installed in the default location.

Once the MySQL preference pane has been installed, you can control your MySQL server instance using the preference pane. To use the preference pane, open the System Preferences... from the Apple menu. Select the MySQL preference pane by clicking the MySQL logo within the bottom section of the preference panes list.

Figure 4.4 MySQL Preference Pane: Location

Figure 4.5 MySQL Preference Pane: Usage

The MySQL Preference Pane shows the current status of the MySQL server, showing stopped (in red) if the server is not running and running (in green) if the server has already been started. The preference pane also shows the current setting for whether the MySQL server has been set to start automatically.

To start the MySQL server using the preference pane:

Click Start MySQL Server. You may be prompted for the username and password of a user with administrator privileges to start the MySQL server.

To stop the MySQL server using the preference pane:

Click Stop MySQL Server. You may be prompted for the username and password of a user with administrator privileges to stop the MySQL server.

To automatically start the MySQL server when the system boots:

Check the check box next to Automatically Start MySQL Server on Startup.

To disable automatic MySQL server startup when the system boots:

Uncheck the check box next to Automatically Start MySQL Server on Startup.

You can close the System Preferences... window once you have completed your settings.

Chapter 5 General Notes on Installing MySQL on OS X

You should keep the following issues and notes in mind:

As of MySQL server 5.7.8, the DMG bundles a launchd daemon instead of the deprecated startup item. Startup items do not function as of OS X 10.10 (Yosemite), so using launchd is preferred. The available MySQL preference pane under OS X System Preferences was also updated to use launchd.

You may need (or want) to create a specific mysql user to own the MySQL directory and data. You can do this through the Directory Utility, and the mysql user should already exist. For use in single user mode, an entry for _mysql (note the underscore prefix) should already exist within the system /etc/passwd file.

Because the MySQL package installer installs the MySQL contents into a version and platform specific directory, you can use this to upgrade and migrate your database between versions. You will need to either copy the data directory from the old version to the new version, or alternatively specify an alternative datadir value to set location of the data directory. By default, the MySQL directories are installed under /usr/local/.

You might want to add aliases to your shell's resource file to make it easier to access commonly used programs such as mysql and mysqladmin from the command line. The syntax for bash is:

alias mysql=/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql
alias mysqladmin=/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqladmin

For tcsh, use:

alias mysql /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql
alias mysqladmin /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqladmin

Even better, add /usr/local/mysql/bin to your PATH environment variable. You can do this by modifying the appropriate startup file for your shell. For more information, see Invoking MySQL Programs.

After you have copied over the MySQL database files from the previous installation and have successfully started the new server, you should consider removing the old installation files to save disk space. Additionally, you should also remove older versions of the Package Receipt directories located in /Library/Receipts/mysql-VERSION.pkg.

Prior to OS X 10.7, MySQL server was bundled with OS X Server.