# Run a Development MySQL Server Using Docker Compose Running a development database directly on your machine can be messy. You'll end up with files and services you might not always need. Installation can be tricky, and removing the server once you're done can be trickier still. One solution is to run servers like this using containers that map volumes and ports to the host machine. In this tutorial you'll run MySQL in a Docker container, using Docker Compose to map the volumes and ports so you can persist data between runs and connect to the server as if it were installed directly on your machine. Then you can remove it all when you're finished. ## What You Need To complete this tutorial, you'll need the following things: * Docker and Docker Compose installed. * On macOS, you can use [Colima]({{< ref "use-colima-to-run-docker-containers-on-macos" >}}) or Docker Desktop for Mac. * On Windows, you'll use Docker Desktop for Windows, ## Creating a `docker-compose` File for MySQL Docker Compose lets you specify container configurations using YAML. While it's often used to set up multiple containers at once, it's also a handy way to manage a single container. Using Docker Compose, you can specify port mappings and volume mappings in addition to environment variables. Create a `docker-compose.yml` file in your project with the following settings to create a MySQL container: ```yaml version: "3.5" services: mysql: image: mysql:latest ports: - "3306:3306" environment: MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: roo: - /tmp/data:/var/lib/mysql ``` This configuration maps `/tmp/data/` to the `/var/lib/mysql` folder within the container so your data will persist between runs. You need to use a directory that your Docker daemon can access with write permissions, as MySQL will attempt to change ownership over this directory when starting. If you encounter errors with permissions, ensure your Docker daemon allows the directory you're trying to use. The `/tmp` directory is usually available to Docker daemons by default. This also sets the root password to `root`. You should change this to something more secure. Once you have the file configured, launch Docker Compose: ```command docker compose up ``` The images start downloading: ```output [+] Running 0/12 ⠏ mysql Pulling 18.0s ⠦ 7d4ed4ca78bc Downloading [====> ] 4MB/43.46MB 15.7s ⠦ 657a7ca448ac Download complete 15.7s ⠦ 53bd78ce95ca Download complete 15.7s ⠦ c0e937b70acc Download complete 15.7s ⠦ c2bf3d14eb5e Download complete 15.7s ⠦ 4f675b4a4ac0 Download complete 15.7s ⠦ 53482ccac7fa Downloading [> ] 539.9kB/55.6MB 15.7s ⠦ 828f28210871 Download complete 15.7s ⠦ 1db57577e20b Downloading [==> ] 1.904MB/47.17MB 15.7s ⠦ 314e3cb90a9a Waiting 15.7s ⠦ 408e09447dc6 Waiting ``` Once the downloads complete, the service starts: ```output [+] Running 2/0 ⠿ Network yourapp_default Created 0.0s ⠿ Container yourapp-mysql-1 Created 0.0s Attaching to yourapp-mysql-1 yourapp-mysql-1 | 2023-02-13 21:03:43+00:00 [Note] [Entrypoint]: Entrypoint script for MySQL Server 8.0.32-1.el8 started. yourapp-mysql-1 | 2023-02-13 21:03:43+00:00 [Note] [Entrypoint]: Switching to dedicated user 'mysql' yourapp-mysql-1 | 2023-02-13 21:03:43+00:00 [Note] [Entrypoint]: Entrypoint script for MySQL Server 8.0.32-1.el8 started. yourapp-mysql-1 | '/var/lib3mysql/mysql.sock' -> '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' yourapp-mysql-1 | 2023-02-13T21:03:43.711913Z 0 [Warning] [MY-011068] [Server] The syntax '--skip-host-cache' is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Please use SET GLOBAL host_cache_size=0 instead. yourapp-mysql-1 | 2023-02-13T21:03:43.712562Z 0 [System] [MY-010116] [Server] /usr/sbin/mysqld (mysqld 8.0.32) starting as process 1 yourapp-mysql-1 | 2023-02-13T21:03:43.719670Z 1 [System] [MY-013576] [InnoDB] InnoDB initialization has started. yourapp-mysql-1 | 2023-02-13T21:03:43.885533Z 1 [System] [MY-013577] [InnoDB] InnoDB initialization has ended. yourapp-mysql-1 | 2023-02-13T21:03:44.012373Z 0 [Warning] [MY-010068] [Server] CA certificate ca.pem is self signed. yourapp-mysql-1 | 2023-02-13T21:03:44.012408Z 0 [System] [MY-013602] [Server] Channel mysql_main configured to support TLS. Encrypted connections are now supported for this channel. yourapp-mysql-1 | 2023-02-13T21:03:44.013492Z 0 [Warning] [MY-011810] [Server] Insecure configuration for --pid-file: Location '/var/run/mysqld' in the path is accessible to all OS users. Consider choosing a different directory. yourapp-mysql-1 | 2023-02-13T21:03:44.025655Z 0 [System] [MY-011323] [Server] X Plugin ready for connections. Bind-address: '::' port: 33060, socket: /var/run/mysqld/mysqlx.sock yourapp-mysql-1 | 2023-02-13T21:03:44.025668Z 0 [System] [MY-010931] [Server] /usr/sbin/mysqld: ready for connections. Version: '8.0.32' socket: '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' port: 3306 MySQL Community Server - GPL. ``` Now that MySQL is running, you can connect to it from your application code or applications using `localhost` and port `3306` just as if MySQL was running natively. Press `CTRL+C` to stop the service. Now that you've confirmed MySQL starts without errors, start the service in the background with the `-d` switch: ```command docker compose up -d ``` ```output [+] Running 1/1 ⠿ Container yourapp-mysql-1 Start... ``` When `docker compose` is running containers in the background, you won't see anything in your Terminal, but you can peek at the processes with `docker compose top`: ```command docker compose top ``` You'll see the MySQL server running: ```output yourapp-mysql-1 PID USER TIME COMMAND 9078 999 0:00 mysqld ``` To stop your service, use `docker compose stop`. The server is running, but you'll also want to use the `mysql` client to connect to your instance. ## Using the MySQL Client tool You'll often want to connect to your MySQL instance to create databases and do other operations. Use `docker compose exec` for this to avoid installing tools locally. First, ensure your MySQL service is running under Docker Compose: ```command docker compose up -d ``` Now use the following command to connect: ```command docker compose exec mysql mysql -p ``` Enter the password you set in the `docker-compose.yml` file to connect. Once you enter the password, you see the `mysql` welcome message and prompt: ```output Welcome to the MySQL monitor. Commands end with ; or \g. Your MySQL connection id is 8 Server version: 8.0.32 MySQL Community Server - GPL Copyright (c) 2000, 2023, Oracle and/or its affiliates. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement. mysql> ``` Type `exit` to exit. After a while, you may want to update your MySQL server to a newer version. ## Updating MySQL To update MySQL running in a container, you'll pull down the new version and restart your service. The `docker-compose.yml` file lists the image you're using. In this tutorial, you're using the `latest` tag. If you want to use a specific version, use the tag for that version. Run the following command to pull down the updated image: ```command docker compose pull ``` The new images download: ```output [+] Running 0/12 ⠸ mysql Pulling 18.4s ⠼ 7d4ed4ca78bc Downloading [=======> ] 25.22MB/43.46MB 15.5s ⠼ 657a7ca448ac Download complete 15.5s ⠼ 53bd78ce95ca Download complete 15.5s ⠼ c0e937b70acc Download complete 15.5s ⠼ c2bf3d14eb5e Download complete 15.5s ⠼ 4f675b4a4ac0 Download complete 15.5s ⠼ 53482ccac7fa Downloading [====> ] 4.844MB/55.6MB 15.5s ⠼ 828f28210871 Download complete 15.5s ⠼ 1db57577e20b Downloading [=======> ] 14.76MB/47.17MB 15.5s ⠼ 314e3cb90a9a Waiting 15.5s ⠼ 408e09447dc6 Waiting ``` Once they're downloaded, stop your MySQL service if it's running and remove the container with the following command: ```command docker compose down ``` Then restart the MySQL service and remove any unused images: ```command docker compose up -d --remove-orphans ``` ```output [+] Running 2/2 ⠿ Network yourapp_default Created 0.0s ⠿ Container yourapp-mysql-1 Started ``` Repeat this process whenever you need to update your server. ## Removing the MySQL Container If you no longer need MySQL, you can clean everything up. Use `docker compose down` with the `--rmi` flag to stop the service and remove the associated images: ```command docker compose down --rmi all ``` The images are removed: ```output [+] Running 1/1 ⠿ Image mysql:latest Removed ``` You can reinstall everything again with `docker compose up`. ## Conclusion You now have a method for running MySQL within a container on your local machine so you don't need to install MySQL Server on your machine. You can use this approach for Redis, PostreSQL, and other services you want to run but don't want to configure. Set the volume and ports appropriately for that service.