How to manually create a new MySQL / MariaDB Database

This article outlines how to manually create a database from the command line.

If your server runs cPanel, follow our How to create a database in cPanel instead, otherwise carry on reading...

Note: Text in red below denotes details you may need to modify for your particular server setup.

Step 1: Login to your database server

$ mysql -u root

NOTE: If you're running MySQL on a Windows machine, you can skip this step and access the MySQL command line via the "MySQL Command Line Client" shortcut in your Start Menu → Programs → MySQL folder instead.

Step 2: Create a Database

mysql> CREATE DATABASE `MIDAS`;

NOTE: You will need the name of this database when installing MIDAS - also, please note that SQL queries outlined here may contain "backtick" characters ( ` ) which are not the same as regular apostrophes ( ' ).

Step 3: Create a datbase user

mysql> CREATE USER `username`@`localhost` IDENTIFIED BY 'password';

NOTE: You will need this username/password when installing MIDAS

If your database and web servers reside on different physical hardware to each other, you will need to substitute localhost in the above code to reflect the IP/domain of your web server.

If unsure of your web server's IP/domain, you can instead substitute `localhost` for `%`. This will allow the database server to accept incoming connections from any host. However for security this approach is not recommended, and you should always endeavor to use localhost or the exact IP/domain name of your web server instead.

Step 4: Assign the user to the database & set user privileges

mysql> GRANT ALTER, CREATE, DELETE, DROP, INSERT, LOCK TABLES, SELECT, UPDATE ON `MIDAS`.* TO `username`@`localhost`;

Step 5: Flush Privileges

mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Once you've set up your database, you're ready to install MIDAS