Install MySQL on Fedora / RHEL

Popular open source SQL relational database.

Databasesqlrdbmsrelationaldatabaseacid

Installation

Server (Fedora repositories) · dnf

$ sudo dnf install -y community-mysql-server

Fedora packages Oracle MySQL as community-mysql; mariadb is a separate package.

Verify the installation

Verify

$ mysql --version

Service

Start

$ sudo systemctl start mysqld

Stop

$ sudo systemctl stop mysqld

Status

$ sudo systemctl status mysqld

Restart

$ sudo systemctl restart mysqld

On boot

$ sudo systemctl enable mysqld

Important files

Type	Path	Description
config	/etc/my.cnf	Main configuration file (includes /etc/my.cnf.d).
data	/var/lib/mysql	Data directory.
log	/var/log/mysql/mysqld.log	Server log.

Default ports

3306

Command-line tools

mysqlInteractive SQL client.
mysqladminAdministrative client.
mysql_secure_installationHardening script for the installation.

Uninstall

sudo systemctl stop mysqld
sudo dnf remove -y community-mysql-server

The /var/lib/mysql directory remains; delete it manually to wipe everything.

Good to know

The service unit is mysqld on Fedora (not mysql).
On first start, a temporary root password is written to the log; run mysql_secure_installation to finalize.
community-mysql is Oracle MySQL; the separate mariadb package would conflict on the same port.

Installation on Fedora

Fedora packages Oracle MySQL as community-mysql. sudo dnf install -y community-mysql-server installs the server; enable and start it with sudo systemctl enable --now mysqld. Note the unit is mysqld, not mysql.

First connection and security

On the first start, MySQL writes a temporary root password to /var/log/mysql/mysqld.log. Retrieve it, then run mysql_secure_installation to set a permanent password and apply secure defaults.

MySQL vs MariaDB on Fedora

Fedora also ships mariadb. The two cannot run on port 3306 at the same time; pick one. This guide uses community-mysql for compatibility with upstream Oracle MySQL.