Databases

How to Change MySQL Data Directory in Linux

Change MySQL Data Directory
Change MySQL Data Directory

Change MySQL Data Directory in Linux

This post discussing how to change MySQL Data Directory. As everyone knows the default MySQL data directory is /var/lib/mysql. You can change it using the following steps.

1. Find out where the databases are

By default, the databases (as a file) are stored in “/var/lib/mysql/” on Linux. Verify the current data directory location using any one of the following commands.

mysqladmin var -u root -p | grep datadir

Sample Output:

root@server [~]# mysqladmin var -u root -p | grep datadir
Enter password:

| datadir | /var/lib/mysql/

OR login to interactive MySQL session with the below command:

mysql -u root -p

Once logged in, run the following command on MySQL interactive session.

select @@datadir;

Sample Output:

mysql> select @@datadir;
+-----------------+
| @@datadir |
+-----------------+
| /var/lib/mysql/ |
+-----------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql>

2. Stop MySQL Service

I am planning to move MySQL Data Directory to /home/mysql. Before making the changes, you need to make sure that the MySQL service is stopped.

service mysqld stop

3. Change MySQL Data Directory

Now move MySQL data directory to the desired location and make sure that the directory ownership is set to mysql.

cp -pr /var/lib/mysql /home/mysql
chown -R mysql.mysql /home/mysql

4. Edit MySQL Configuration

Once done, edit MySQL configuration file /etc/my.cnf using your favourite editor. I am using VIM here.

vim /etc/my.cnf

and update the following variables.

datadir=/home/mysql
socket=/home/mysql/mysql.sock

5. Start MySQL Service

service mysqld start

In this way, you can change MySQL data directory in Linux. Please check the MySQL error log if you encountered any problems.

That’s it!

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