MYSQLD_SAFE(1) MySQL Database System MYSQLD_SAFE(1)
NAME
mysqld_safe - MySQL server startup script
safe_mysqld - MySQL server startup script
SYNOPSIS
mysqld_safe options
DESCRIPTION
mysqld_safe is the recommended way to start a mysqld server on Unix and NetWare. mysqld_safe adds
some safety features such as restarting the server when an error occurs and logging runtime
information to an error log file. NetWare-specific behaviors are listed later in this section.
Note: To preserve backward compatibility with older versions of MySQL, MySQL binary distributions
still include safe_mysqld as a symbolic link to mysqld_safe. However, you should not rely on this
because it is removed as of MySQL 5.1.
By default, mysqld_safe before MySQL 5.0.27 tries to start an executable named mysqld-max if it
exists, and mysqld otherwise. Be aware of the implications of this behavior:
On Linux, the MySQL-Max RPM relies on this mysqld_safe behavior. The RPM installs an executable
named mysqld-max, which causes mysqld_safe to automatically use that executable rather than mysqld
from that point on.
If you install a MySQL-Max distribution that includes a server named mysqld-max, and then upgrade
later to a non-Max version of MySQL, mysqld_safe will still attempt to run the old mysqld-max
server. If you perform such an upgrade, you should manually remove the old mysqld-max server to
ensure that mysqld_safe runs the new mysqld server.
To override the default behavior and specify explicitly the name of the server you want to run, specify a
--mysqld or --mysqld-version option to mysqld_safe. You can also use --ledir to indicate the directory where
mysqld_safe should look for the server.
Many of the options to mysqld_safe are the same as the options to mysqld. See the section called "COMMAND
OPTIONS".
All options specified to mysqld_safe on the command line are passed to mysqld. If 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 them in the [mysqld_safe] group of an option file. See Section 3.2, "Using Option
Files".
mysqld_safe reads all options from the [mysqld], [server], and [mysqld_safe] sections in option files. For
backward compatibility, it also reads [safe_mysqld] sections, although you should rename such sections to
[mysqld_safe] in MySQL 5.0 installations.
mysqld_safe supports the following options:
--help
Display a help message and exit. (Added in MySQL 5.0.3)
--autoclose
(NetWare only) On NetWare, mysqld_safe provides a screen presence. When you unload (shut down) the
mysqld_safe NLM, the screen does not by default go away. Instead, it prompts for user input:
*<NLM has terminated; Press any key to close the screen>*
If you want NetWare to close the screen automatically instead, use the --autoclose option to mysqld_safe.
--basedir=path
The path to the MySQL installation directory.
--core-file-size=size
The size of the core file that mysqld should be able to create. The option value is passed to ulimit -c.
--datadir=path
The path to the data directory.
--defaults-extra-file=path
The name of an option file to be read in addition to the usual option files. This must be the first
option on the command line if it is used. As of MySQL 5.0.6, if the file does not exist or is otherwise
inaccessible, the server will exit with an error.
--defaults-file=file_name
The name of an option file to be read instead of the usual option files. This must be the first option on
the command line if it is used.
--ledir=path
If mysqld_safe cannot find the server, use this option to indicate the pathname to the directory where
the server is located.
--log-error=file_name
Write the error log to the given file. See Section 9.1, "The Error Log".
--mysqld=prog_name
The name of the server program (in the ledir directory) that you want to start. This option is needed if
you use the MySQL binary distribution but have the data directory outside of the binary distribution. If
mysqld_safe cannot find the server, use the --ledir option to indicate the pathname to the directory
where the server is located.
--mysqld-version=suffix
This option is similar to the --mysqld option, but you specify only the suffix for the server program
name. The basename is assumed to be mysqld. For example, if you use --mysqld-version=debug, mysqld_safe
starts the mysqld-debug program in the ledir directory. If the argument to --mysqld-version is empty,
mysqld_safe uses mysqld in the ledir directory.
--nice=priority
Use the nice program to set the server's scheduling priority to the given value.
--no-defaults
Do not read any option files. This must be the first option on the command line if it is used.
--open-files-limit=count
The number of files that mysqld should be able to open. The option value is passed to ulimit -n. Note
that you need to start mysqld_safe as root for this to work properly!
--pid-file=file_name
The pathname of the process ID file.
--port=port_num
The port number that the server should use when listening for TCP/IP connections. The port number must be
1024 or higher unless the server is started by the root system user.
--socket=path
The Unix socket file that the server should use when listening for local connections.
--timezone=timezone
Set the TZ time zone environment variable to the given option value. Consult your operating system
documentation for legal time zone specification formats.
--user={user_name|user_id}
Run the mysqld server as the user having the name user_name or the numeric user ID user_id. ("User" in
this context refers to a system login account, not a MySQL user listed in the grant tables.)
If you execute mysqld_safe with the --defaults-file or --defaults-extra-option option to name an option
file, the option must be the first one given on the command line or the option file will not be used. For
example, this command will not use the named option file:
mysql> mysqld_safe --port=port_num --defaults-file=file_name
Instead, use the following command:
mysql> mysqld_safe --defaults-file=file_name --port=port_num
The mysqld_safe script is written so that it normally can start a server that was installed from either a
source or a binary distribution of MySQL, even though these types of distributions typically install the
server in slightly different locations. (See Section 4.6, "Installation Layouts".) mysqld_safe expects one
of the following conditions to be true:
The server and databases can be found relative to the working directory (the directory from which
mysqld_safe is invoked). For binary distributions, mysqld_safe looks under its working directory for bin
and data directories. For source distributions, it looks for libexec and var directories. This condition
should be met if you execute mysqld_safe from your MySQL installation directory (for example,
/usr/local/mysql for a binary distribution).
If the server and databases cannot be found relative to the working directory, mysqld_safe attempts to
locate them by absolute pathnames. Typical locations are /usr/local/libexec and /usr/local/var. The
actual locations are determined from the values configured into the distribution at the time it was
built. They should be correct if MySQL is installed in the location specified at configuration time.
Because mysqld_safe tries to find the server and databases relative to its own working directory, you can
install a binary distribution of MySQL anywhere, as long as you run mysqld_safe from the MySQL installation
directory:
shell> cd mysql_installation_directory
shell> bin/mysqld_safe &
If mysqld_safe fails, even when invoked from the MySQL installation directory, you can specify the --ledir
and --datadir options to indicate the directories in which the server and databases are located on your
system.
Normally, you should not edit the mysqld_safe script. Instead, configure mysqld_safe by using command-line
options or options in the [mysqld_safe] section 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, your modified
version of mysqld_safe might be overwritten if you upgrade MySQL in the future, so you should make a copy of
your edited version that you can reinstall.
On NetWare, mysqld_safe is a NetWare Loadable Module (NLM) that is ported from the original Unix shell
script. It starts the server as follows:
1. Runs a number of system and option checks.
2. Runs a check on MyISAM tables.
3. Provides a screen presence for the MySQL server.
4. Starts mysqld, monitors it, and restarts it if it terminates in error.
5. Sends error messages from mysqld to the host_name.err file in the data directory.
6. Sends mysqld_safe screen output to the host_name.safe file in the data directory.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 1997-2007 MySQL AB
This documentation is NOT distributed under a GPL license. Use of this documentation is subject to
the following terms: You may create a printed copy of this documentation solely for your own personal
use. Conversion to other formats is allowed as long as the actual content is not altered or edited in
any way. You shall not publish or distribute this documentation in any form or on any media, except
if you distribute the documentation in a manner similar to how MySQL disseminates it (that is,
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provided however that the documentation is disseminated together with the software on the same
medium. Any other use, such as any dissemination of printed copies or use of this documentation, in
whole or in part, in another publication, requires the prior written consent from an authorized
representative of MySQL AB. MySQL AB reserves any and all rights to this documentation not expressly
granted above.
Please email <docs@mysql.com> for more information.
SEE ALSO
For more information, please refer to the MySQL Reference Manual, which may already be installed
locally and which is also available online at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/
AUTHOR
MySQL AB (http://www.mysql.com/) This software comes with no warranty.
MySQL 5.0 07/04/2007 MYSQLD_SAFE(1)
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