MySQL

What is MySQL?

MySQL is the world's most widely used open-source relational database, the default choice for most PHP apps (Laravel, WordPress, and most of the frameworks and CMSs Laradock supports ship with MySQL out of the box). Laradock runs it as its own container, pre-wired with sane defaults, so you never install MySQL on your host machine.

Two ways to run everything

Each command below has a Laradock CLI (Easy) tab (plain English, recommended) and a Docker Compose (Advanced) tab (the raw command it runs under the hood). Pick a tab once and the whole page follows it. New here? Stay on the CLI.

Start MySQL

Normally you start MySQL alongside your site, not on its own. With the CLI, php-fpm and the workspace are added for you automatically:

Laradock CLI (Easy)

./laradock start nginx mysql

Docker Compose (Advanced)

docker compose up -d nginx mysql php-fpm workspace

To start just MySQL by itself:

Laradock CLI (Easy)

./laradock start mysql

Docker Compose (Advanced)

docker compose up -d mysql

Your data is created on first start and kept between restarts.

Stop MySQL

Stopping just pauses the container; your data is safe:

Laradock CLI (Easy)

./laradock stop mysql

Docker Compose (Advanced)

docker compose stop mysql

To delete the container entirely (the data on disk is still untouched, it lives under DATA_PATH_HOST):

Laradock CLI (Easy)

./laradock remove mysql

Docker Compose (Advanced)

docker compose rm -sf mysql

Configuration

All settings live in mysql/defaults.env and can be overridden by adding the same line to your own .env (your .env always wins):

Variable	Default	What it does
MYSQL_VERSION	8.4	Image tag from MySQL's Docker Hub: 5.7, 8.0, 8.4, 9.0, latest, etc.
MYSQL_DATABASE	default	Database created automatically on first boot.
MYSQL_USER	default	Non-root user created automatically.
MYSQL_PASSWORD	secret	Password for MYSQL_USER.
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD	root	Password for the root user.
MYSQL_PORT	3306	Host-side port MySQL is published on (host:container).
MYSQL_ENTRYPOINT_INITDB	./mysql/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d	Folder of .sql/.sh files auto-run on first boot.

Change the MySQL version

Set the version in your .env:

MYSQL_VERSION=8.0

Then apply the change:

Laradock CLI (Easy)

./laradock rebuild mysql

Docker Compose (Advanced)

docker compose build mysql

Changing the major version against an existing data folder can break startup (MySQL doesn't downgrade/cross-upgrade data files cleanly). If you hit that, point DATA_PATH_HOST at a fresh folder or back up and drop the old one.

Root access

Default root credentials are root / root (MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD). Open a terminal inside the MySQL container, then start the MySQL prompt:

Laradock CLI (Easy)

./laradock enter mysql
mysql -uroot -proot

Docker Compose (Advanced)

docker compose exec mysql bash
mysql -uroot -proot

For the non-root app user instead: mysql -udefault -psecret (or your own MYSQL_USER/MYSQL_PASSWORD).

SELECT User FROM mysql.user;
SHOW DATABASES;

Create multiple databases

Copy mysql/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/createdb.sql.example to createdb.sql in the same folder, then uncomment/add your statements:

CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS `your_db_1` COLLATE 'utf8mb4_general_ci';
GRANT ALL ON `your_db_1`.* TO 'default'@'%';

This file only auto-runs the first time the container initializes its data folder (when DATA_PATH_HOST/mysql doesn't exist yet). If your data folder already exists, run it manually instead:

Laradock CLI (Easy)

./laradock enter mysql
mysql -uroot -proot < /docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/createdb.sql

Docker Compose (Advanced)

docker compose exec mysql bash
mysql -uroot -proot < /docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/createdb.sql

Change the MySQL port

Container-internal port (what MySQL listens on inside the container): set in mysql/my.cnf.

[mysqld]
port=1234

If you also need to reach it from your host on that port, update the mapping in mysql/compose.yml ("3306:3306" → "3306:1234").

Host-side port (what you connect to from your machine, container-internal port unchanged): set MYSQL_PORT in .env, then restart:

Laradock CLI (Easy)

./laradock restart mysql

Docker Compose (Advanced)

docker compose restart mysql

Connect from your host machine

Inside Laradock, other containers reach MySQL by container name: DB_HOST=mysql. From your own machine (a GUI client like TablePlus, DBeaver, or Sequel Ace), connect to localhost on MYSQL_PORT (3306 by default) with the credentials above.

Common issues

• "Access denied" right after first boot. The container needs a few seconds to initialize on a truly fresh DATA_PATH_HOST. Run ./laradock logs mysql and wait for ready for connections before connecting.
• Credential/database changes don't take effect. MYSQL_DATABASE, MYSQL_USER, and MYSQL_PASSWORD are only applied when the data folder is created for the first time. If you change them afterward, either drop DATA_PATH_HOST/mysql (data loss) or create the new user/database manually after ./laradock enter mysql.
• Two Laradock projects overwrite each other's data. Running more than one Laradock on the same machine? Set both COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME and DATA_PATH_HOST to unique values per project, otherwise they share the same MySQL data on disk.
• Port already in use on your host. Another local MySQL (or another Laradock project) is already bound to 3306. Change MYSQL_PORT in .env and restart: ./laradock restart mysql.
• App can't connect but the container is running. Confirm the app's .env uses DB_HOST=mysql (the container name), not localhost or 127.0.0.1, those only work from your host machine, not from inside another container.

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Prefer a GUI over the command line? See phpMyAdmin or Adminer. Need Postgres or MongoDB instead? See the full Databases guide.