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Linux MySQL MariaDB Guide

Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 2 revisions

Linux MySQL/MariaDB Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to MySQL and MariaDB on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including installation, configuration, and database management.


Table of Contents

  1. MySQL/MariaDB Installation
  2. Initial Configuration
  3. Database Management
  4. Troubleshooting

MySQL/MariaDB Installation

Install MariaDB

Arch/CachyOS:

# Install MariaDB
sudo pacman -S mariadb

# Initialize database
sudo mariadb-install-db --user=mysql --basedir=/usr --datadir=/var/lib/mysql

# Enable service
sudo systemctl enable --now mariadb

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install mariadb-server

Fedora:

sudo dnf install mariadb-server

Secure Installation

Secure MariaDB:

# Run security script
sudo mysql_secure_installation

# Follow prompts

Initial Configuration

Connect to Database

Connect:

# Connect as root
sudo mysql

# Or
mysql -u root -p

Create User

Create database user:

-- Create user
CREATE USER 'myuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'mypassword';

-- Grant privileges
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON mydb.* TO 'myuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Database Management

Create Database

Database operations:

-- Create database
CREATE DATABASE mydb;

-- Use database
USE mydb;

-- Create table
CREATE TABLE users (id INT PRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR(100));

-- Insert data
INSERT INTO users VALUES (1, 'John');

-- Query
SELECT * FROM users;

Troubleshooting

MySQL Not Starting

Check service:

# Check status
systemctl status mariadb

# Check logs
journalctl -u mariadb

# Check data directory
ls -la /var/lib/mysql

Summary

This guide covered MySQL/MariaDB installation, configuration, and database management for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions.


Next Steps


This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.

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