mysql_install_db (1)

mysql_install_db [options]

mysql_install_db initializes the MySQL data directory and creates the system tables that it contains, if they do not exist. mysql_install_db is a shell script and is available only on Unix platforms. (As of MySQL 5.6, mysql_install_db is a Perl script and can be used on any system with Perl installed.)

To invoke mysql_install_db, use the following syntax:

shell> mysql_install_db [options]

Because the MySQL server, mysqld, must access the data directory when it runs later, you should either run mysql_install_db from the same system account that will be used for running mysqld, or run it as root and specify the --user option to indicate the user name that mysqld will run as. It might be necessary to specify other options such as --basedir or --datadir if mysql_install_db does not use the correct locations for the installation directory or data directory. For example:

shell> scripts/mysql_install_db --user=mysql \
         --basedir=/opt/mysql/mysql \
         --datadir=/opt/mysql/mysql/data

Note

If you have set a custom TMPDIR environment variable when performing the installation, and the specified directory is not accessible, mysql_install_db may fail. If so, unset TMPDIR or set TMPDIR to point to the system temporary directory (usually /tmp).

mysql_install_db supports the following options, which can be specified on the command line or in the [mysql_install_db] group of an option file. (Options that are common to mysqld can also be specified in the [mysqld] group.) Other options are passed to mysqld. For information about option files used by MySQL programs, see Section 4.2.6, “Using Option Files”.

--help

Display a help message and exit.

--basedir=dir_name

The path to the MySQL installation directory.

--builddir=dir_name

For use with --srcdir and out-of-source builds. Set this to the location of the directory where the built files reside.

--cross-bootstrap

For internal use. This option is used for building system tables on one host intended for another.

--datadir=dir_name

The path to the MySQL data directory.

--defaults-extra-file=file_name

Read this option file after the global option file but (on Unix) before the user option file. If the file does not exist or is otherwise inaccessible, an error occurs. file_name is interpreted relative to the current directory if given as a relative path name rather than a full path name.

--defaults-file=file_name

Use only the given option file. If the file does not exist or is otherwise inaccessible, an error occurs. file_name is interpreted relative to the current directory if given as a relative path name rather than a full path name.

--force

Cause mysql_install_db to run even if DNS does not work. Grant table entries normally created using host names will use IP addresses instead.

--ldata=dir_name

A synonym for --datadir.

--no-defaults

Do not read any option files. If program startup fails due to reading unknown options from an option file, --no-defaults can be used to prevent them from being read.

--rpm

For internal use. This option is used during the MySQL installation process for install operations performed using RPM packages.

--skip-name-resolve

Use IP addresses rather than host names when creating grant table entries. This option can be useful if your DNS does not work.

--srcdir=dir_name

For internal use. This option specifies the directory under which mysql_install_db looks for support files such as the error message file and the file for populating the help tables.

--user=user_name

The system (login) user name to use for running mysqld. Files and directories created by mysqld will be owned by this user. You must be the system root user to use this option. By default, mysqld runs using your current login name and files and directories that it creates will be owned by you.

--verbose

Verbose mode. Print more information about what the program does.

--windows

For internal use. This option is used for creating Windows distributions.

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This documentation is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it only under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; version 2 of the License.

This documentation 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 General Public License for more details.

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For more information, please refer to the MySQL Reference Manual, which may already be installed locally and which is also available online at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/.

Oracle Corporation (http://dev.mysql.com/).