Installing MySQL Server

Before a library can lend books, someone has to build it and hire a librarian. This lesson builds yours.

In Coming from SQLite, you learned that MySQL is a server. Unlike SQLite, which is just a file, you have to install it, and it keeps running in the background. This lesson gets it onto your computer.

Follow the steps for your own system, and take it slowly. If something goes wrong, the troubleshooting section at the end covers the usual suspects.

Which version?

Install MySQL Community Server 9.7 LTS. At the time of writing (September 2026), that's 9.7.2. If a newer 9.7.x is available when you read this, use that. Everything in this track works with any 9.7.x, and nearly all of it with 8.4 LTS.

Be careful with the download page: it also offers an Innovation release, currently 26.7. That one is fine for trying new features, but it's supported only until the next release, so choose the 9.7 LTS unless you have a reason not to.

The Community Server is the free edition. You don't need an Oracle account to download it, even though the site may offer a login.

Installing on Windows

1. Go to dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql and choose MySQL 9.7 LTS as the version, and Microsoft Windows as the operating system.
2. Download the MSI Installer and run it. (There's also a ZIP archive for people who want to set everything up by hand. The installer is easier, and it's the recommended route in MySQL's own documentation.)
3. Follow the installer, and then the MySQL Configurator, which sets up the server for you. When it asks, choose these settings:
   • A development computer, since this is for learning.
   • The default port, 3306.
   • A root password. Choose one you'll remember, and write it down somewhere safe. The root account is the all-powerful administrator.
   • Run MySQL as a Windows service that starts automatically, so the server is there whenever you need it.

Once it's finished, MySQL is running in the background.

Installing on macOS

There are two easy ways.

• The installer from dev.mysql.com. Download the macOS DMG for MySQL 9.7 LTS, open it, and follow the steps. It will ask you to choose a root password.
• Homebrew, if you already use it. Be careful here: plain brew install mysql gives you the newest Innovation release (currently 26.7). To get the LTS, name it:

brew install mysql@9.7
brew services start mysql@9.7

brew services start runs the server in the background. Homebrew's MySQL starts with no root password, so run mysql_secure_installation afterward to set one. (mysql@9.7 is "keg-only", which means Homebrew doesn't add it to your PATH automatically. The command prints a line for you to add to your shell settings.)

Installing on Linux

MySQL recommends installing from its own repositories, since the packages built into most distributions are often several versions behind, and never include Innovation releases. On Ubuntu and Debian, that means the MySQL APT repository. Go to dev.mysql.com/downloads/repo/apt, download the small setup package, install it, and choose mysql-8.4-lts or the 9.7 LTS series in the menu it shows. Then:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mysql-server

On Fedora, Red Hat, and their relatives, use the Yum repository the same way. The exact steps change with each distribution version, so follow the guide for yours on the MySQL downloads page.

You can also install your distribution's own mysql-server package. It works fine for learning, but it may not be 9.7, so some things in this track could differ.

Checking that it worked

Open a new terminal window (one that was open during the install may not know about MySQL yet), and type:

mysql --version

You should see something like this, though your numbers may differ:

mysql  Ver 9.7.2 for Win64 on x86_64 (MySQL Community Server - GPL)

That's the client program, mysql. To check that the server is running and answering, connect to it:

mysql -u root -p

Type your root password when asked. If you see a welcome message and the prompt changes to mysql>, everything is working. Type EXIT to leave. The next lesson shows you around the client.

Once you're connected, this query shows which server you're talking to:

SELECT VERSION();

+-----------+
| VERSION() |
+-----------+
| 9.7.2     |
+-----------+

Starting and stopping the server

Because the server is a background service, you can start and stop it without uninstalling.

• Windows: open Services (search for it in the Start menu), find the service named MySQL followed by a version, and use Start or Stop. Or, in a terminal running as administrator, net stop and net start with the service's name.
• macOS with Homebrew: brew services stop mysql@9.7 and brew services start mysql@9.7.
• Linux: sudo systemctl stop mysql and sudo systemctl start mysql. On some systems, the service is called mysqld.

If the server isn't running, the client can't connect. That's the first thing to check when it complains.

When something goes wrong

"'mysql' is not recognized" or "command not found"

The installer may not have added MySQL's bin folder to your PATH. On Windows, look for the folder, typically inside C:\Program Files\MySQL\, and add its bin folder to your PATH. Then open a new terminal. You can also run the client by its full path.

ERROR 2003: Can't connect to MySQL server on 'localhost'

The server isn't running. Start it (see the section above). If it still doesn't start, check that something else isn't using port 3306, and read the server's error log, which is in its data folder.

ERROR 1045: Access denied for user 'root'

The password is wrong. Passwords are case-sensitive. If you've forgotten it, MySQL's documentation has a procedure for resetting the root password.

"Access denied" only when connecting from a program

The program is using the wrong username or password. Programs connect exactly like the client does.

Try it

This query asks the server about itself: its version, and the character set and collation it uses for text by default. (You'll learn what those are in Character Sets and utf8mb4.) Predict what it prints.

Running MySQL here

Running MySQL right in the browser isn't possible yet, because MySQL needs a real server. Once yours is installed, run this in the mysql client.

Check your prediction

Your version may be a different 9.7.x, and if you used a different port, that will show too:

+---------+---------+--------------------+------+
| version | charset | collation          | port |
+---------+---------+--------------------+------+
| 9.7.2   | utf8mb4 | utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci | 3306 |
+---------+---------+--------------------+------+

utf8mb4 is MySQL's full Unicode character set, and utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci is its default way of comparing text: "ai" means accent-insensitive, and "ci" means case-insensitive, which is why 'jose rizal' matched 'Jose Rizal' in the last lesson.

Try it yourself

1. Run mysql --version in a new terminal, and write down your version.
2. Connect with mysql -u root -p, run SELECT VERSION();, then type EXIT.
3. Find out how to stop and start the MySQL server on your computer, and try it. What error does the client show while the server is stopped?

Check your understanding

Which MySQL release does this track recommend installing, and why?

MySQL 9.7 LTS, since it is supported for years

The newest Innovation release, since it has the most features

MySQL 5.7, since it is the most familiar

Whichever one your computer suggests

The client says ERROR 2003: Can't connect to MySQL server. What should you check first?

Whether the table exists

Whether your SQL has a typo

Whether the server is running

Whether the password contains numbers

What is the root account?

A table

A folder on your computer

A Linux-only feature

The all-powerful administrator account, which needs a strong password

Up next

The server is running. Now let's meet it properly, with the mysql command-line client and MySQL Workbench, in Connecting with the mysql Client and Workbench.