How to Set Up MySQL Using Docker

Step-by-step Guide#

Prerequisites#

Before you start, make sure you have Docker installed on your system.

Step 1: Pull the MySQL Docker Image#

Open your terminal and run:

docker pull mysql:8.0

This command downloads the official MySQL 8.0 image. You can replace 8.0 with your preferred version.

Step 2: Create and Run a MySQL Container#

docker run --name mysql-container -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=your_password -p 3306:3306 -d mysql:8.0

This command:

• Creates a container named mysql-container
• Sets the root password to your_password (change this!)
• Maps MySQL default port 3306 from the container to your host
• Runs MySQL in detached mode

Step 3: Verify the Container is Running#

docker ps

You should see your MySQL container in the list of running containers.

Step 4: Connect to MySQL#

Connect directly through the container using Docker CLI:

docker exec -it mysql-container mysql -uroot -p

This command opens a MySQL shell inside the running container, giving you direct access to your database server.

Alternatively, if you have the MySQL client installed on your host machine:

mysql -h 127.0.0.1 -P 3306 -uroot -p

Step 5: Create a Database and User#

Once connected to MySQL, you can create a database and user:

CREATE DATABASE my_database;
CREATE USER 'my_user'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'my_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON my_database.* TO 'my_user'@'%';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

You can exit MySQL server by EXIT;.

Other Operations#

Persisting Data#

To persist your MySQL data beyond the container lifecycle, use a volume when creating the container:

docker run --name mysql-container -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=your_password -p 3306:3306 -v mysql-data:/var/lib/mysql -d mysql:8.0

This creates a Docker volume named mysql-data that persists your database files.

Common Docker MySQL Commands#

Stop the container:

docker stop mysql-container

Start an existing container:

docker start mysql-container

Remove the container:

docker rm mysql-container

Using Docker Compose (Recommended for Development)#

A bare minimum docker-compose.yml file with MySQL and an application:

version: '1'

services:
  mysql:
    image: mysql:8
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: rootpassword
      MYSQL_DATABASE: mydatabase
      MYSQL_USER: user
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: password
    volumes:
      - mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
    ports:
      - '3306:3306'

  app:
    image: my-application:latest
    depends_on:
      - mysql
    environment:
      DB_HOST: mysql
      DB_NAME: mydatabase
      DB_USER: user
      DB_PASSWORD: password
    ports:
      - '8080:8080'

volumes:
  mysql_data:

Run with:

docker-compose up -d