MySQL is a famous open source relational database that is used widespread by websites to store data. For web development you may need a local instance of MySQL running. This article explains how to install MySQL on macOS with Homebrew.
Install MySQL
The MySQL database can be easily installed from the Terminal using the following Homebrew command:
$ brew install mysql
During the installation, Homebrew will output something like:
==> Summary
🍺 /opt/homebrew/Cellar/mysql/8.0.26: 304 files, 296.7MB
==> Caveats
==> mysql
We've installed your MySQL database without a root password. To secure it run:
mysql_secure_installation
MySQL is configured to only allow connections from localhost by default
To connect run:
mysql -uroot
To start mysql:
brew services start mysql
Or, if you don't want/need a background service you can just run:
/opt/homebrew/opt/mysql/bin/mysqld_safe --datadir=/opt/homebrew/var/mysql
So, we need to follow the instruction printed by Homebrew and execute the two commands:
$ brew services start mysql $ mysql_secure_installation
You are asked to enable the “validate password plugin” that ensures the password security:
$ mysql_secure_installation Securing the MySQL server deployment. Connecting to MySQL using a blank password. VALIDATE PASSWORD PLUGIN can be used to test passwords and improve security. It checks the strength of password and allows the users to set only those passwords which are secure enough. Would you like to setup VALIDATE PASSWORD plugin? Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No:
You can make your choice. The setup will then ask you two times for a new password:
Please set the password for root here. New password: Re-enter new password:
In the next steps, just pick yes by typing y and hitting Enter until the setup finished:
By default, a MySQL installation has an anonymous user, allowing anyone to log into MySQL without having to have a user account created for them. This is intended only for testing, and to make the installation go a bit smoother. You should remove them before moving into a production environment. Remove anonymous users? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) :
Success. Normally, root should only be allowed to connect from 'localhost'. This ensures that someone cannot guess at the root password from the network. Disallow root login remotely? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) :
Success. By default, MySQL comes with a database named 'test' that anyone can access. This is also intended only for testing, and should be removed before moving into a production environment. Remove test database and access to it? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) :
- Dropping test database... Success. - Removing privileges on test database... Success. Reloading the privilege tables will ensure that all changes made so far will take effect immediately. Reload privilege tables now? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) :
Success. All done!
Congratulations! The setup is done. If you want to stop or start the MySQL server just type one of the following commands:
$ brew services stop mysql $ brew services start mysql
Uninstall MySQL
If you want to remove MySQL check out my article on how to uninstall MySQL on macOS.