Oracle provides a set of binary distributions of MySQL. These include generic binary distributions in the form of compressedtar files (files with a.tar.xz extension) for a number of platforms, and binaries in platform-specific package formats for selected platforms.

This section covers the installation of MySQL from a compressedtar file binary distribution on Unix/Linux platforms. For Linux-generic binary distribution installation instructions with a focus on MySQL security features, refer to theSecure Deployment Guide. For other platform-specific binary package formats, see the other platform-specific sections in this manual. For example, for Windows distributions, seeChapter 5,Installing MySQL on Microsoft Windows. SeeSection 2.3, “How to Get MySQL” on how to obtain MySQL in different distribution formats.

MySQL compressedtar file binary distributions have names of the formmysql-VERSION-OS.tar.xz, whereVERSION is a number (for example,8.0.44), andOS indicates the type of operating system for which the distribution is intended (for example,pc-linux-i686 orwinx64).

There is also a“minimal install” version of the MySQL compressedtar file for the Linux generic binary distribution, which has a name of the formmysql-VERSION-OS-GLIBCVER-ARCH-minimal.tar.xz. The minimal install distribution excludes debug binaries and is stripped of debug symbols, making it significantly smaller than the regular binary distribution. If you choose to install the minimal install distribution, remember to adjust for the difference in file name format in the instructions that follow.

To install a compressedtar file binary distribution, unpack it at the installation location you choose (typically/usr/local/mysql). This creates the directories shown in the following table.

Debug versions of themysqld binary are available asmysqld-debug. To compile your own debug version of MySQL from a source distribution, use the appropriate configuration options to enable debugging support. SeeChapter 4,Installing MySQL from Source.

To install and use a MySQL binary distribution, the command sequence looks like this:

$> groupadd mysql$> useradd -r -g mysql -s /bin/false mysql$> cd /usr/local$> tar xvf/path/to/mysql-VERSION-OS.tar.xz$> ln -sfull-path-to-mysql-VERSION-OS mysql$> cd mysql$> mkdir mysql-files$> chown mysql:mysql mysql-files$> chmod 750 mysql-files$> bin/mysqld --initialize --user=mysql$> bin/mysql_ssl_rsa_setup$> bin/mysqld_safe --user=mysql &# Next command is optional$> cp support-files/mysql.server /etc/init.d/mysql.server

Themysql-files directory provides a convenient location to use as the value for thesecure_file_priv system variable, which limits import and export operations to a specific directory. SeeServer System Variables.

A more detailed version of the preceding description for installing a binary distribution follows.

Create a mysql User and Group

If your system does not already have a user and group to use for runningmysqld, you may need to create them. The following commands add themysql group and themysql user. You might want to call the user and group something else instead ofmysql. If so, substitute the appropriate name in the following instructions. The syntax foruseradd andgroupadd may differ slightly on different versions of Unix/Linux, or they may have different names such asadduser andaddgroup.

$> groupadd mysql$> useradd -r -g mysql -s /bin/false mysql

Obtain and Unpack the Distribution

Pick the directory under which you want to unpack the distribution and change location into it. The example here unpacks the distribution under/usr/local. The instructions, therefore, assume that you have permission to create files and directories in/usr/local. If that directory is protected, you must perform the installation asroot.

$> cd /usr/local

Obtain a distribution file using the instructions inSection 2.3, “How to Get MySQL”. For a given release, binary distributions for all platforms are built from the same MySQL source distribution.

Unpack the distribution, which creates the installation directory.tar can uncompress and unpack the distribution if it hasz option support:

$> tar xvf/path/to/mysql-VERSION-OS.tar.xz

Thetar command creates a directory namedmysql-VERSION-OS.

To install MySQL from a compressedtar file binary distribution, your system must have GNUXZ Utils to uncompress the distribution and a reasonabletar to unpack it.

GNUtar is known to work. The standardtar provided with some operating systems is not able to unpack the long file names in the MySQL distribution. You should download and install GNUtar, or if available, use a preinstalled version of GNU tar. Usually this is available asgnutar,gtar, or astar within a GNU or Free Software directory, such as/usr/sfw/bin or/usr/local/bin. GNUtar is available fromhttp://www.gnu.org/software/tar/.

If yourtar does not support thexz format then use thexz command to unpack the distribution andtar to unpack it. Replace the precedingtar command with the following alternative command to uncompress and extract the distribution:

$> xz -dc/path/to/mysql-VERSION-OS.tar.xz | tar x

Next, create a symbolic link to the installation directory created bytar:

$> ln -sfull-path-to-mysql-VERSION-OS mysql

Theln command makes a symbolic link to the installation directory. This enables you to refer more easily to it as/usr/local/mysql. To avoid having to type the path name of client programs always when you are working with MySQL, you can add the/usr/local/mysql/bin directory to yourPATH variable:

$> export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/mysql/bin

Perform Postinstallation Setup

The remainder of the installation process involves setting distribution ownership and access permissions, initializing the data directory, starting the MySQL server, and setting up the configuration file. For instructions, seeChapter 9,Postinstallation Setup and Testing.