How do I start/stop mysql server?

Question

I tried to find in some articles describing how to correctly start & stop mysql server.

I found this link: How to start/stop MySql server on Ubuntu 8.04 | Abhi's Blogging World

I ran this command:

/etc/init.d/mysql start

but I see this error

ERROR 1045 (28000) Access denied for user....

After I tried this command:

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql start

I entered my password, and again I see the same error.

Next command:

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql - root -p start

results in:

ERROR 1049 (42000) Unknown database 'start'.

And when I run this command:

sudo service mysql start

MySQL server success started. Cool!

So, what's wrong with the other commands? Why do they result in error?

In fact, even with sudo it didn't work for me, but then I found in the script the following hint: Rather than invoking init scripts through /etc/init.d, use the service(8) and it was ok — Timofey, Sep 20 '12 at 20:21
Generally you can use sudo -l to see what your specific user on your specific system is allowed to do with sudo. (Your permissions are configured in /etc/sudoers.) However I don't know for sure if it would help in this particular case. EDIT: Wait, never mind, the access denied error looks like it is coming from MySQL or something, not sudo. — David Winiecki, Dec 16 '16 at 19:41

score 291 · Accepted Answer · edited May 17 '21 at 14:11

291

Your first two commands weren't run as root so that is expected behaviour. You need to be root to stop/start mysql.

However:

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql start

should work. Indeed it does, for me:

kojan:~> sudo /etc/init.d/mysql restart
[sudo] password for chris: 
Stopping MySQL database server: mysqld.
Starting MySQL database server: mysqld.
Checking for corrupt, not cleanly closed and upgrade needing tables..

I used restart rather than start, since it was already running, but the effect is the same. Are you sure you entered your password correctly? :) Have you edited your sudo config at all which would stop this working?

This one..

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql - root -p start

The arguments are wrong. an init.d script only takes start or stop or restart - just one word telling it what to do. You cannot give it multiple arguments as you were trying to do.

Anyway, the short answer is the one you actually got to work, is the recommended way. service is replacing all the init.d scripts over time, so you should get into the habit of using service. The page you link to was written in 2008, so has to be taken with some salt :)

edited May 17 '21 at 14:11

Zanna

70,465

answered Nov 24 '11 at 16:24

Caesium

15,807

14

Also try sudo service mysql start – Nov 17 '12 at 12:45
2

start mysql worked for me (Ubuntu 12.04.4). – Tim May 12 '14 at 07:28
3

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql restart restarted MySQL for me – Edward Jul 13 '16 at 20:23
9

how about sudo systemctl start mysql for Ubuntu 16.04 and up? – Ankit Balyan Feb 02 '17 at 03:16
this still worked for me on ubuntu 18 – lewis Aug 28 '20 at 07:34

score 114 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 18 '23 at 19:03

114

Also helps to double check that "mysql" is the correct service name. In my case it wasn't. I kept getting following response: mysql: unrecognized service when running

service mysql status

Then I checked /etc/init.d and found script named mysqld which listed process name: mysqld and prog=mysqld

So then I did

service mysqld status
service mysqld stop
service mysqld start

and they all worked fine.

edit: for new versions (MySQL 8) use

service mysql status
service mysql stop
service mysql start

edited Apr 18 '23 at 19:03

Community

1

answered Mar 15 '13 at 16:58

user140589

1,149

7

mysql: unrecognized service – Green Jul 20 '13 at 01:06
7

At least on 13.10, you'll need to run it with root privileges. eg, "sudo service mysql status". – Bryce Mar 04 '14 at 05:09
14

For 14.10 I needed to use "mysql" not mysqld – redanimalwar Oct 23 '14 at 01:39
1

when running without root rights, it'll say unknown job: mysql. a bit confusing. – phil294 Mar 20 '16 at 15:55
1

Failed to start mysqld.service: Unit mysqld.service not found. – JCarlosR Nov 23 '17 at 23:54
@Green you need to install mysql-server sudo apt-get install mysql-server and then run sudo service mysql start – João Pimentel Ferreira Feb 26 '18 at 15:37

score 36 · Answer 3 · edited Sep 16 '20 at 20:50

36

For Ubuntu 12.10 to 14.04 (Upstart)

Newer versions of Ubuntu use systemd.

START MYSQL:

sudo start mysql

RESTART MYSQL:

sudo restart mysql # The service must be running

STOP MYSQL:

sudo stop mysql # The service must be running

edited Sep 16 '20 at 20:50

Pablo Bianchi

15,657

answered Dec 15 '12 at 00:04

Lucio

18,843

5

stop: Unknown job: mysql – Green Jul 20 '13 at 01:07
@Green I just tried this (one year later) and it is still working. This is my result: mysql stop/waiting. You must know that you have to be already running mysql to stop this ;) – Lucio Jul 24 '13 at 22:45
1

Hero, you save my life, that mysqld has been occupied my machine memory for so long. I tried all kinds of methods to remove it, but all failed, until I met your answer. – Zen Sep 02 '14 at 13:07
2

sudo: start: command not found – JCarlosR Nov 23 '17 at 23:55
2

@JCarlos Do apt install upstart – Edward Dec 28 '17 at 17:06

score 14 · Answer 4 · edited Jan 12 '22 at 17:30

I got a strange error when I installed mysql-workbench on my Ubuntu machine. After that I tried to start the mysql service using this command:

service mysql start

This showed that the MySQL server was not installed, so I installed it and my problem was solved. The command to install mysql-server is:

sudo apt-get install mysql-server

After successful installation, start the MySQL server:

service mysql start

score 11 · Answer 5 · answered Apr 26 '18 at 14:24

11

I had the same issue with Ubuntu64 and I fixed by simply not using systemctl but instead this:

sudo service mysql restart

hopefully this command will work for you.

answered Apr 26 '18 at 14:24

Faisal Julaidan

211

score 7 · Answer 6 · edited Jan 12 '22 at 17:29

7

After installing MySQL on your system run this command:

service mysql status

If the service is down run:

service mysql start

To stop it:

service mysql stop

edited Jan 12 '22 at 17:29

Zanna

70,465

answered Jul 26 '17 at 08:42

Manochehr Rasouli

191

1

/etc/init.d/mysql start and service mysql start are exactly the same. – storm Jul 26 '17 at 08:55

score 4 · Answer 7 · answered Feb 01 '17 at 12:04

4

This one should work for the manually built mysql server:

sudo /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqld_safe --user=mysql

answered Feb 01 '17 at 12:04

Aram Paronikyan

253
2
7

score 2 · Answer 8 · edited Jan 12 '22 at 17:28

2

On Ubuntu 18.04 the socket is defined in the file /etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d/mysqld.cnf:

 socket     = /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock

The directory was not present so I created it manually as below:

sudo mkdir -p /var/run/mysqld

Restart MySQL. That solved it for my case here.

edited Jan 12 '22 at 17:28

Zanna

70,465

answered Apr 22 '19 at 12:22

Noel

131

This was definitely the case with mine! Had to make a directory. – Shaze Apr 28 '20 at 13:34

score 1 · Answer 9 · edited Jan 12 '22 at 17:27

1

I got stuck with the same issue. I uninstalled and reinstalled with these commands:

sudo apt-get --purge remove mysql-server mysql-common mysql-client
sudo apt update && sudo apt dist-upgrade && sudo apt autoremove 
sudo apt-get install mysql-server mysql-client

edited Jan 12 '22 at 17:27

Zanna

70,465

answered Jun 20 '19 at 14:44

Narmatha

39

Murad · Answer 10 · 2021-05-05T07:38:27.153

1

use this command to start SQL server as the root user

sudo service mysql restart

OR

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql start

Restart with this command

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql restart

Stop MySQL server with this command

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql stop

Check if MySQL is running:

sudo service mysql status

edited May 05 '21 at 07:38

answered Apr 30 '21 at 14:20

Murad

111

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Jul 04 '16 at 15:46

0

A little script to cover both cases [server running/server not running]:

#!/bin/bash

service mysql restart
if [ "$?" != "0" ]; then
  service mysql start
fi

answered Jul 04 '16 at 15:46

ReverseEMF

101

How do I start/stop mysql server?

11 Answers11

For Ubuntu 12.10 to 14.04 (Upstart)

Linked