safe_mysqld(1)

MYSQLD_SAFE(1) MySQL Database System MYSQLD_SAFE(1)

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NAME

6       mysqld_safe - MySQL server startup script
7       safe_mysqld - MySQL server startup script
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SYNOPSIS

10       mysqld_safe options
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DESCRIPTION

13       mysqld_safe is the recommended way to start a mysqld server on Unix and
14       NetWare.  mysqld_safe adds some safety features such as restarting the
15       server when an error occurs and logging runtime information to an error
16       log file. NetWare-specific behaviors are listed later in this section.
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18       Note: To preserve backward compatibility with older versions of MySQL,
19       MySQL binary distributions still include safe_mysqld as a symbolic link
20       to mysqld_safe. However, you should not rely on this because it is
21       removed as of MySQL 5.1.
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23       By default, mysqld_safe before MySQL 5.0.27 tries to start an
24       executable named mysqld-max if it exists, and mysqld otherwise. Be
25       aware of the implications of this behavior:
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27       ·  On Linux, the MySQL-Max RPM relies on this mysqld_safe behavior. The
28          RPM installs an executable named mysqld-max, which causes
29          mysqld_safe to automatically use that executable rather than mysqld
30          from that point on.
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32       ·  If you install a MySQL-Max distribution that includes a server named
33          mysqld-max, and then upgrade later to a non-Max version of MySQL,
34          mysqld_safe will still attempt to run the old mysqld-max server. If
35          you perform such an upgrade, you should manually remove the old
36          mysqld-max server to ensure that mysqld_safe runs the new mysqld
37          server.
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39
40To override the default behavior and specify explicitly the name of the server
41you want to run, specify a --mysqld or --mysqld-version option to mysqld_safe.
42You can also use --ledir to indicate the directory where mysqld_safe should
43look for the server.
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45Many of the options to mysqld_safe are the same as the options to mysqld. See
46the section called “COMMAND OPTIONS”.
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48All options specified to mysqld_safe on the command line are passed to mysqld.
49If you want to use any options that are specific to mysqld_safe and that

mysqld doesn't support, do not specify them on the command line. Instead, list

51them in the [mysqld_safe] group of an option file. See Section 3.2, “Using
52Option Files”.
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mysqld_safe reads all options from the [mysqld], [server], and [mysqld_safe]

55sections in option files. For backward compatibility, it also reads
56[safe_mysqld] sections, although you should rename such sections to
57[mysqld_safe] in MySQL 5.0 installations.
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mysqld_safe supports the following options:

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61·  --help
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63   Display a help message and exit. (Added in MySQL 5.0.3)
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65·  --autoclose
66
67   (NetWare only) On NetWare, mysqld_safe provides a screen presence. When you
68   unload (shut down) the mysqld_safe NLM, the screen does not by default go
69   away. Instead, it prompts for user input:
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71   *<NLM has terminated; Press any key to close the screen>*
72If you want NetWare to close the screen automatically instead, use the

--autoclose option to mysqld_safe.

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75·  --basedir=path
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77   The path to the MySQL installation directory.
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79·  --core-file-size=size
80
81   The size of the core file that mysqld should be able to create. The option
82   value is passed to ulimit -c.
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84·  --datadir=path
85
86   The path to the data directory.
87
88·  --defaults-extra-file=path
89
90   The name of an option file to be read in addition to the usual option
91   files. This must be the first option on the command line if it is used. As
92   of MySQL 5.0.6, if the file does not exist or is otherwise inaccessible,
93   the server will exit with an error.
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95·  --defaults-file=file_name
96
97   The name of an option file to be read instead of the usual option files.
98   This must be the first option on the command line if it is used.
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100·  --ledir=path
101
102   If mysqld_safe cannot find the server, use this option to indicate the
103   pathname to the directory where the server is located.
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105·  --log-error=file_name
106
107   Write the error log to the given file. See Section 9.1, “The Error Log”.
108
109·  --mysqld=prog_name
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111   The name of the server program (in the ledir directory) that you want to
112   start. This option is needed if you use the MySQL binary distribution but
113   have the data directory outside of the binary distribution. If mysqld_safe
114   cannot find the server, use the --ledir option to indicate the pathname to
115   the directory where the server is located.
116
117·  --mysqld-version=suffix
118
119   This option is similar to the --mysqld option, but you specify only the
120   suffix for the server program name. The basename is assumed to be mysqld.
121   For example, if you use --mysqld-version=debug, mysqld_safe starts the
122   mysqld-debug program in the ledir directory. If the argument to
123   --mysqld-version is empty, mysqld_safe uses mysqld in the ledir directory.
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125·  --nice=priority
126
127   Use the nice program to set the server's scheduling priority to the given
128   value.
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130·  --no-defaults
131
132   Do not read any option files. This must be the first option on the command
133   line if it is used.
134
135·  --open-files-limit=count
136
137   The number of files that mysqld should be able to open. The option value is
138   passed to ulimit -n. Note that you need to start mysqld_safe as root for
139   this to work properly!
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141·  --pid-file=file_name
142
143   The pathname of the process ID file.
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145·  --port=port_num
146
147   The port number that the server should use when listening for TCP/IP
148   connections. The port number must be 1024 or higher unless the server is
149   started by the root system user.
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151·  --socket=path
152
153   The Unix socket file that the server should use when listening for local
154   connections.
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156·  --timezone=timezone
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158   Set the TZ time zone environment variable to the given option value.
159   Consult your operating system documentation for legal time zone
160   specification formats.
161
162·  --user={user_name|user_id}
163
164   Run the mysqld server as the user having the name user_name or the numeric
165   user ID user_id. (“User” in this context refers to a system login account,
166   not a MySQL user listed in the grant tables.)
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168
169If you execute mysqld_safe with the --defaults-file or --defaults-extra-option
170option to name an option file, the option must be the first one given on the
171command line or the option file will not be used. For example, this command
172will not use the named option file:
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174   mysql> mysqld_safe --port=port_num --defaults-file=file_name
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176Instead, use the following command:
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178   mysql> mysqld_safe --defaults-file=file_name --port=port_num
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180The mysqld_safe script is written so that it normally can start a server that
181was installed from either a source or a binary distribution of MySQL, even
182though these types of distributions typically install the server in slightly
183different locations. (See Section 4.6, “Installation Layouts”.)  mysqld_safe
184expects one of the following conditions to be true:
185
186·  The server and databases can be found relative to the working directory
187   (the directory from which mysqld_safe is invoked). For binary
188   distributions, mysqld_safe looks under its working directory for bin and
189   data directories. For source distributions, it looks for libexec and var
190   directories. This condition should be met if you execute mysqld_safe from
191   your MySQL installation directory (for example, /usr/local/mysql for a
192   binary distribution).
193
194·  If the server and databases cannot be found relative to the working
195   directory, mysqld_safe attempts to locate them by absolute pathnames.
196   Typical locations are /usr/local/libexec and /usr/local/var. The actual
197   locations are determined from the values configured into the distribution
198   at the time it was built. They should be correct if MySQL is installed in
199   the location specified at configuration time.
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201
202Because mysqld_safe tries to find the server and databases relative to its own
203working directory, you can install a binary distribution of MySQL anywhere, as
204long as you run mysqld_safe from the MySQL installation directory:
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206   shell> cd mysql_installation_directory
207   shell> bin/mysqld_safe &
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209If mysqld_safe fails, even when invoked from the MySQL installation directory,
210you can specify the --ledir and --datadir options to indicate the directories
211in which the server and databases are located on your system.
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213Normally, you should not edit the mysqld_safe script. Instead, configure

mysqld_safe by using command-line options or options in the [mysqld_safe]

215section of a my.cnf option file. In rare cases, it might be necessary to edit

mysqld_safe to get it to start the server properly. However, if you do this,

217your modified version of mysqld_safe might be overwritten if you upgrade MySQL
218in the future, so you should make a copy of your edited version that you can
219reinstall.
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221On NetWare, mysqld_safe is a NetWare Loadable Module (NLM) that is ported from
222the original Unix shell script. It starts the server as follows:
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2241. Runs a number of system and option checks.
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2262. Runs a check on MyISAM tables.
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2283. Provides a screen presence for the MySQL server.
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2304. Starts mysqld, monitors it, and restarts it if it terminates in error.
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2325. Sends error messages from mysqld to the host_name.err file in the data
233   directory.
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2356. Sends mysqld_safe screen output to the host_name.safe file in the data
236   directory.
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COPYRIGHT

239       Copyright 1997-2007 MySQL AB
240
241       This documentation is NOT distributed under a GPL license. Use of this
242       documentation is subject to the following terms: You may create a
243       printed copy of this documentation solely for your own personal use.
244       Conversion to other formats is allowed as long as the actual content is
245       not altered or edited in any way. You shall not publish or distribute
246       this documentation in any form or on any media, except if you
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249       with the software) or on a CD-ROM or similar medium, provided however
250       that the documentation is disseminated together with the software on
251       the same medium. Any other use, such as any dissemination of printed
252       copies or use of this documentation, in whole or in part, in another
253       publication, requires the prior written consent from an authorized
254       representative of MySQL AB. MySQL AB reserves any and all rights to
255       this documentation not expressly granted above.
256
257       Please email <docs@mysql.com> for more information.
258

AUTHOR

265       MySQL AB (http://www.mysql.com/).  This software comes with no
266       warranty.
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270MySQL 5.0                         07/04/2007                    MYSQLD_SAFE(1)