I am looking for a simpler way to log in to MySQL through the terminal without having to input my username and password each time.
I am using MAMP and to access my databases, I just simply type mysql and it is accessed. To do that I just created a symbolic link ln -s /Applications/MAMP/Library/bin/mysql /bin but to be able to create databases and such I need to be logged in. I know I can do that by typing mysql -uroot -ppassword but that's a bit of a pain to type each time. Is their a way to use a symbolic link like to add attributes? Say like ln -s /Applications/MAMP/Library/bin/mysql -uroot -ppassword?
Symlinks cannot contain command-line options.
You could instead place your credentials in an option file. If stored in a default location (such as ~/.my.cnf), you won't even need to tell mysql to read it.
[client]
user=root
password=foobar
Beware, especially if doing this for the root user, that anyone with read access to your option file will be able to login as your user.
Related
You can avoid re-entering mysql command line password by putting the queries into a file.
In my case, the later queries are not determined until after the first queries have finished.
This happens in a non-interactive script so running a mysql console is not an option.
Is there any notion of a session for mysql command line interactions? Or can I set it up to listen for commands on a local unix socket (the output is required to be returned)? Or something like that?
User #smcjones mentions using the .my.cnf file or mysql_config_editor. Those are good suggestions, I give my +1 vote to him.
Another solution is to put the credentials in any file of your choosing and then specify that file when you invoke MySQL tools:
mysql --defaults-extra-file=my_special.cnf ...other arguments...
And finally, just for completeness, you can use environment variables for some options, like host and password. But strangely, not the user. See http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/environment-variables.html
export MYSQL_HOST="mydbserver"
export MYSQL_PWD="Xyzzy"
mysql ...other arguments...
I don't really recommend using an environment variable for the password, since anyone who can run ps on your client host can see the environment variables for the mysql client process.
There are a few ways to handle this in MySQL.
Put password in hidden .my.cnf in the home directory of the user the script is running as.
[client]
user=USER
password=PASSWORD
Use mysql_config_editor
mysql_config_editor set --login-path=client --host=localhost
--user=localuser --password
When prompted to enter your password, enter it like you otherwise would.
IMO this is the worst option, but I'll add it for the sake of completeness.
You could always create a function wrapper for MySQL that appends your set password.
#! /bin/bash
local_mysql_do_file() {
mysql -u localuser -h localhost -pPASSWORD_NO_SPACE < $1
}
# usage
local_mysql_do_file file.sql
I would like to connect to mysql database without interaction for the password (I need for using it during a batch script). I'm using this script, but before start the connection I must insert the password.
mysql -u username#databasename -p "Password" -h hostnamedatabase -P 3344
I have tried this other approach but I have no success
mysql -u username#databasename -pPassword -h hostnamedatabase -P 3344
Is there a way to enter the password directly without typing it in?
New answer
OP is on command line on a remote server (using SSH). From there, mysql needs to be used password-less - so to speak - to create user on INSTANCE1 and INSTANCE2.
That's doable also. You'd use --defaults-group-suffix switch.
~/.my.cnf
Let's start with creating a file called .my.cnf in your home directory (aka ~/.my.cnf). Put this in it.
[client1]
user=INSTANCE1-USERNAME
password=INSTANCE1-PASSWORD
database=INSTANCE1-DATABASE (this could be mysql)
host=INSTANCE1-HOSTNAME-OR-IP
[client2]
user=INSTANCE2-USERNAME
password=INSTANCE2-PASSWORD
database=INSTANCE2-DATABASE (this could be mysql)
host=INSTANCE2-HOSTNAME-OR-IP
Save the file. Do chmod 600 ~/.my.cnf to ensure only your username and root/root-like user can see it.
Now, type this to get to first server:
mysql --defaults-group-suffix=1
Then, use this to get to the second server:
mysql --defaults-group-suffix=2
Explanation
Typically ~/.my.cnf will have the following block
[client]
user=USERNAME
password=PASSWORD
database=DATABASE (this could be mysql)
host=localhost (or whatever hostname/IP)
That allows you to just type mysql and log on. MySQL looks for credentials, host, port etc. in ~/.my.cnf. If it gets that info, it'll use it to log in to MySQL. Cool. Easy enough.
--defaults-group-suffix=2 tells MySQL to look into ~/.my.cnf but not read the [client] block but instead read the [client2] block for credentials/information.
Similarly --defaults-group-suffix=1 tells MySQL to look into ~/.my.cnf and read the [client1] block for credentials/information.
That way, you can have credentials for multiple servers or databases within a single server and log on to MySQL without having to prompt/provide credentials through command line.
You can use this tool with scripts as long as the ~/.my.cnf file is in the username that is running those scripts.
Documentation
https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/option-file-options.html
https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/option-files.html#option-file-syntax
Another method using --login-path
See https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/mysql-config-editor.html. It shows you can log on to mysql using --login-path switch. Since the above method will work well for you, I am just adding this as a reference.
Old answer
You can actually do that. Assuming you are on Linux, create a .my.cnf file under your home directory. Type this in it:
[client]
user=username
password=yourpass
Then, you can do mysql -h host -P 3344 -D databasename
See documentation here: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/option-files.html
Also make sure that this file is adequately protected (do chmod 600 ~/.my.cnf).
I have installed mysql in /usr/local/ directory. But when I try to use the server by typing mysql -u root it says '/usr/local/bin/mysql: No such file or directory'. I could understand that it looks in a different directory. But how to change it? Or should I have to install mysql in that directory? In which case, mysql installer does not allow me to change the directory as well.
When you type a command name without a path on a Unix-like shell, the shell looks for something of that name in every directory listed in your $PATH environment variable, in order.
You can see the contents of that with
echo $PATH
They are colon-separated.
If you want to add another directory to it (such as /usr/local/bin, which you'd need in this case), have a look at this question or this one. You could also just run that binary directly by running /usr/local/bin/mysql -u root.
But this is nothing to do with the title of your question. To answer that, see the man page of mysql, which says:
ยท --user=user_name, -u user_name
The MySQL user name to use when connecting to the server
In other words, that is setting the user to be root, for purposes of authenticating with the database server. Note that this doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the root Unix user.
You can avoid re-entering mysql command line password by putting the queries into a file.
In my case, the later queries are not determined until after the first queries have finished.
This happens in a non-interactive script so running a mysql console is not an option.
Is there any notion of a session for mysql command line interactions? Or can I set it up to listen for commands on a local unix socket (the output is required to be returned)? Or something like that?
User #smcjones mentions using the .my.cnf file or mysql_config_editor. Those are good suggestions, I give my +1 vote to him.
Another solution is to put the credentials in any file of your choosing and then specify that file when you invoke MySQL tools:
mysql --defaults-extra-file=my_special.cnf ...other arguments...
And finally, just for completeness, you can use environment variables for some options, like host and password. But strangely, not the user. See http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/environment-variables.html
export MYSQL_HOST="mydbserver"
export MYSQL_PWD="Xyzzy"
mysql ...other arguments...
I don't really recommend using an environment variable for the password, since anyone who can run ps on your client host can see the environment variables for the mysql client process.
There are a few ways to handle this in MySQL.
Put password in hidden .my.cnf in the home directory of the user the script is running as.
[client]
user=USER
password=PASSWORD
Use mysql_config_editor
mysql_config_editor set --login-path=client --host=localhost
--user=localuser --password
When prompted to enter your password, enter it like you otherwise would.
IMO this is the worst option, but I'll add it for the sake of completeness.
You could always create a function wrapper for MySQL that appends your set password.
#! /bin/bash
local_mysql_do_file() {
mysql -u localuser -h localhost -pPASSWORD_NO_SPACE < $1
}
# usage
local_mysql_do_file file.sql
I've heard that directly inputting your password on the command line is a bad idea, because anyone could see the "secret" in
mysql -u root -psecret
by browsing history.
I have a password for my MySQL database stored in a text file with limited read permissions, and was wondering if it is safe to access it in the following way:
mysql -u root -p$(cat ~/.mysql_pass)
Browsing history, I see the command printed, not the literal value. So it seems like it's working the way I want it to.
I'm sure there are better ways of handling passwords, I would just like to know whether or not this one is leaving my password completely out in the open.
You've suggested using the following:
mysql -u root -p$(cat ~/.mysql_pass)
However, the subcommand will be expanded before mysql is executed and so even if this isn't available in the command history, it's entirely possible for someone to view the process list just after invocation and see your password.
I think a better approach is to use a mysql client options file and have the mysql command read the password from the options file.
Just type mysql -u root -p and you'll get a prompt to enter your password and it won't be stored in the history.