How to Install MySQL (CentOS 7)

An open-source variation of the SQL database management system, MySQL is a very common system to find on a Linux-based server. MySQL is used by many large companies across the internet, such as Facebook and YouTube, to store various bits of pertinent data. MySQL can also be used in tandem with content management applications such as WordPress or Joomla to develop and display a fantastic-looking website. The focus of this article is to answer that question and help you get MySQL installed on a server running CentOS 7.

How To Install MySQL (CentOS 7)

Before we get started, there are two things that we need to cover.

1. You'll need to have access to your server, and you'll need to log in via SSH. If you're not certain how to access your server using SSH, please refer to the following article: Connecting to Your Server via SSH.
2. CentOS 7, by default, uses MariaDB, which is a fork of MySQL designed and managed by MySQL's original developers. MariaDB was designed as a replacement for MySQL and, in most instances, will work flawlessly in place of MySQL.

This is an important distinction so that you understand that unless your application or your specific situation requires that you use MySQL explicitly, you do not have to. You should be able to utilize MariaDB. If you'd like to install MariaDB, please check out: How to install MariaDB (CentOS 7). Now without further ado, let's proceed with our MySQL installation!

First, add the MySQL community Yum Repository

wget https://dev.mysql.com/get/mysql57-community-release-el7-9.noarch.rpm

rpm -ivh mysql57-community-release-el7-9.noarch.rpm

Then, install MySQL by using the newly installed Yum repositories

yum install mysql-server

If you completed both steps successfully without any errors, congratulations MySQL is now installed! You can start MySQL and make sure it stays started by checking its status using the following commands:

systemctl start mysqld

systemctl status mysqld

With MySQL now installed and started, you should run the MySQL security script that was installed with MySQL. This will allow you to change the default root password that was set during installation to a more secure password. Please note that you'll need the default root MySQL password that was set during the installation, which you can get by using the following command:

cat /var/log/mysqld.log | grep 'temporary password'

Copy or make a note of the default password, and execute this next:

mysql_secure_installation

Once you enter the default root MySQL password, you'll be asked to change this password to something more secure. Follow the on-screen instructions to change your password and complete the installation.