mysql Command-line Client

About the mysql command-line client

mysql is a simple SQL shell (with GNU readline capabilities). It supports interactive and non-interactive use. When used interactively, query results are presented in an ASCII-table format. When used non-interactively (for example, as a filter), the result is presented in tab-separated format. The output format can be changed using command options.

If you have problems due to insufficient memory for large result sets, use the --quick option. This forces mysql to retrieve results from the server a row at a time rather than retrieving the entire result set and buffering it in memory before displaying it. This is done by returning the result set using the mysql_use_result() C API function in the client/server library rather than mysql_store_result().

Using mysql is very easy. Invoke it from the prompt of your command interpreter as follows:

mysql db_name

Or:

mysql --user=user_name --password=your_password db_name

Then type an SQL statement, end it with “;”, \g, or \G and press Enter.

Typing Control-C causes mysql to attempt to kill the current statement. If this cannot be done, or Control-C is typed again before the statement is killed, mysql exits.

You can execute SQL statements in a script file (batch file) like this:

mysql db_name < script.sql > output.tab

mysql options

Options can be specified on the command line or in the [mysql], [client], [client-server] or [client-mariadb] option file groups of a my.cnf file. The full list of supported options can be obtained with:

mysql --verbose --help

The following options are available:

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 client-server client-mariadb

The output you get when running the above may differ depending on any customizations you may have in your local my.cnf file. See Configuring MariaDB with my.cnf.

How to specify which protocol to use when connecting to the mysqld server

The following is true for all MySQL and MariaDB command line clients:

You can force which protocol to be used to connect to the mysqld server by giving the protocol option one of the following values: tcp, socket, pipe or memory.

If protocol is not specified, then the following happens:

Linux/Unix

• If hostname is not specified or hostname is localhost, then Unix sockets are used.
• In other cases (hostname is given and it's not localhost) then a tcpip connection trough the port option is used.

Note that localhost is a special value. Using 127.0.0.1 is not the same thing. The later will connect to the mysqld server trough tcpip.

Windows

• If shared-memory-base-name is specified and hostname is not specified or hostname is localhost, then the connection will happen trough shared memory.
• If shared-memory-base-name is not specified and hostname is not specified or hostname is localhost, then the connection will happen trough windows named pipes.
• Named pipes will also be used if the libmysql / libmariadb client library detects that the client doesn't support tcpip.
• In other cases then a tcpip connection trough the port option is used.

How to test which protocol is used

The status command shows you informaiton of which protocol is used:

shell> mysql test

Welcome to the MariaDB monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MariaDB connection id is 10
Server version: 10.2.2-MariaDB-valgrind-max-debug Source distribution

Copyright (c) 2000, 2016, Oracle, MariaDB Corporation Ab and others.

Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.

MariaDB [test]> status;
--------------
mysql  Ver 15.1 Distrib 10.0.25-MariaDB, for Linux (x86_64) using readline 5.2

Connection id:          10
Current database:       test
Current user:           monty@localhost
...
Connection:             Localhost via UNIX socket
...
UNIX socket:            /tmp/mysql-dbug.sock

mysql commands

There are also a number of commands that can be run inside the client. Note that all text commands must be first on line and end with ';'

The mysql_history file

On Unix, the mysql client writes a record of executed statements to a history file. By default, this file is named .mysql_history and is created in your home directory. To specify a different file, set the value of the MYSQL_HISTFILE environment variable.

The .mysql_history file should be protected with a restrictive access mode because sensitive information might be written to it, such as the text of SQL statements that contain passwords.

If you do not want to maintain a history file, first remove .mysql_history if it exists, and then use either of the following techniques:

• Set the MYSQL_HISTFILE variable to /dev/null. To cause this setting to take effect each time you log in, put the setting in one of your shell's startup files.
• Create .mysql_history as a symbolic link to /dev/null:

shell> ln -s /dev/null $HOME/.mysql_history

You need do this only once.

prompt command

The prompt command reconfigures the default prompt \N [\d]>. The string for defining the prompt can contain the following special sequences.

mysql tips

This section describes some techniques that can help you use mysql more effectively.

Displaying query results vertically

Some query results are much more readable when displayed vertically, instead of in the usual horizontal table format. Queries can be displayed vertically by terminating the query with \G instead of a semicolon. For example, longer text values that include newlines often are much easier to read with vertical output:

mysql> SELECT * FROM mails WHERE LENGTH(txt) < 300 LIMIT 300,1\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
  msg_nro: 3068
    date: 2000-03-01 23:29:50
time_zone: +0200
mail_from: Monty
    reply: [email protected]
  mail_to: "Thimble Smith" <[email protected]>
      sbj: UTF-8
      txt: >>>>> "Thimble" == Thimble Smith writes:
Thimble> Hi.  I think this is a good idea.  Is anyone familiar
Thimble> with UTF-8 or Unicode? Otherwise, I´ll put this on my
Thimble> TODO list and see what happens.
Yes, please do that.
Regards,
Monty
    file: inbox-jani-1
    hash: 190402944
1 row in set (0.09 sec)

Using the --safe-updates option

For beginners, a useful startup option is --safe-updates (or --i-am-a-dummy, which has the same effect). It is helpful for cases when you might have issued a DELETE FROM tbl_name statement but forgotten the WHERE clause. Normally, such a statement deletes all rows from the table. With --safe-updates, you can delete rows only by specifying the key values that identify them. This helps prevent accidents.

When you use the --safe-updates option, mysql issues the following statement when it connects to the MariaDB server:

SET sql_safe_updates=1, sql_select_limit=1000, sql_max_join_size=1000000;

The SET statement has the following effects:

• You are not allowed to execute an UPDATE or DELETE statement unless you specify a key constraint in the WHERE clause or provide a LIMIT clause (or both). For example:

UPDATE tbl_name SET not_key_column=val WHERE key_column=val;
UPDATE tbl_name SET not_key_column=val LIMIT 1;

• The server limits all largeSELECT results to 1,000 rows unless the statement includes a LIMIT clause.
• The server aborts multiple-table SELECT statements that probably need to examine more than 1,000,000 row combinations.

To specify limits different from 1,000 and 1,000,000, you can override the defaults by using the --select_limit and --max_join_size options:

mysql --safe-updates --select_limit=500 --max_join_size=10000

Disabling mysql auto-reconnect

If the mysql client loses its connection to the server while sending a statement, it immediately and automatically tries to reconnect once to the server and send the statement again. However, even if mysql succeeds in reconnecting, your first connection has ended and all your previous session objects and settings are lost: temporary tables, the autocommit mode, and user-defined and session variables. Also, any current transaction rolls back. This behavior may be dangerous for you, as in the following example where the server was shut down and restarted between the first and second statements without you knowing it:

mysql> SET @a=1;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.05 sec)
mysql> INSERT INTO t VALUES(@a);
ERROR 2006: MySQL server has gone away
No connection. Trying to reconnect...
Connection id:    1
Current database: test
Query OK, 1 row affected (1.30 sec)
mysql> SELECT * FROM t;
+------+
| a    |
+------+
| NULL |
+------+

The @a user variable has been lost with the connection, and after the reconnection it is undefined. If it is important to have mysql terminate with an error if the connection has been lost, you can start the mysql client with the --skip-reconnect option.

See also

• Readline commands and configuration