Setting up MySQL on a Mac can appear to be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. In this blog post, we’re going to walk you through the steps on how to install MySQL on your Mac, and how to get it running.
Step 1: Download MySQL
The first step is to download MySQL. Head over to the official MySQL website and click on “Downloads” then “Community (GPL) Downloads”. Select the “MySQL Community Server” which is a free version of the database suite. Make sure to select the DMG Archive suitable for your Mac’s operating system version.
Step 2: Install MySQL
Once the download is complete, open the installer to start the setup process. Follow the instructions on the screen to install MySQL. The installer will also automatically install MySQL Workbench, which is a GUI tool for managing your MySQL databases.
Step 3: Set up MySQL
After installation, it’s time to set up MySQL. Open your Terminal and begin by checking if MySQL was installed correctly by typing the following command:
mysql –version
You should see your MySQL version displayed if the installation was successful. Now to start MySQL, use this command:
sudo /usr/local/mysql/support-files/mysql.server start
Step 4: Secure your MySQL Installation
By default, MySQL comes with a ‘root’ user with no password. To secure your installation, you need to set up a password for the ‘root’ user. MySQL provides a script that can assist with this. Run the following command:
sudo /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql_secure_installation
The script will prompt you to determine a password policy level, set root password and remove anonymous users. Answer each prompt appropriately to secure your MySQL installation.
Step 5: Accessing MySQL
You can access MySQL using the command-line client by typing the following command in Terminal:
mysql -u root -p
You will be asked to provide the password for the ‘root’ user you set in the previous step. Once you enter the password, you will be granted access to the MySQL monitor where you can execute SQL commands.
Conclusion
And that’s how you install and set up MySQL on a Mac! You’re now equipped to start creating and managing databases on your local system. Happy database managing!
