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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.

Start MySQL​

./laradock start mysql

Your data is created on first start and kept between restarts. Name any other services alongside it to start them together, for example ./laradock start mysql redis.

Stop MySQL​

Stopping just pauses the container; your data is safe:

./laradock stop mysql

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

./laradock remove 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):

VariableDefaultWhat it does
MYSQL_VERSION8.4Image tag from MySQL's Docker Hub: 5.7, 8.0, 8.4, 9.0, latest, etc.
MYSQL_DATABASEdefaultDatabase created automatically on first boot.
MYSQL_USERdefaultNon-root user created automatically.
MYSQL_PASSWORDsecretPassword for MYSQL_USER.
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORDrootPassword for the root user.
MYSQL_PORT3306Host-side port MySQL is published on (host:container).
MYSQL_ENTRYPOINT_INITDB./mysql/docker-entrypoint-initdb.dFolder of .sql/.sh files auto-run on first boot.
Passwords apply on first boot only

MYSQL_DATABASE, MYSQL_USER, MYSQL_PASSWORD, and MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD take effect the first time MySQL starts and creates its data files. Changing them in .env later (even with a rebuild) does not touch an existing database; the old password keeps working. Change it inside MySQL instead (ALTER USER 'default'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'newpass';), or wipe the data folder to re-initialize.

Change the MySQL version​

Set the version in your .env:

MYSQL_VERSION=8.0

Then apply the change:

./laradock rebuild mysql

Changing the major version against an existing data folder can break startup (MySQL doesn't downgrade/cross-upgrade data files cleanly). The safe way to move to a new major version without losing data:

  1. Back up first (see Backup and restore below): ./laradock exec -T mysql mysqldump -uroot -proot default > backup.sql
  2. Set the new MYSQL_VERSION in .env and start completely fresh, which wipes DATA_PATH_HOST/mysql and rebuilds on the new version.
  3. Restore your backup into the fresh container: ./laradock exec -T mysql mysql -uroot -proot default < backup.sql

Root access​

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

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

Backup and restore​

Export (back up) a database to a .sql file on your host:

./laradock exec -T mysql mysqldump -uroot -proot default > backup.sql

Replace default with your database name (MYSQL_DATABASE). The -T disables the container's pseudo-terminal so the dump isn't corrupted when redirected to a file, always include it when piping output to or from a file.

Restore (import) a database from a .sql file:

./laradock exec -T mysql mysql -uroot -proot default < backup.sql

Unlike the createdb.sql first-boot init file above, this works anytime, the target database (default here) just has to already exist. This is also how you bring in a dump from a client's production site or your previous local MySQL install.

Start completely fresh (wipe all data)​

To throw away everything and start MySQL from a clean, empty state (⚠️ this permanently deletes every database in this container, back up first if you need anything):

./laradock stop mysql
./laradock remove mysql
rm -rf "${DATA_PATH_HOST:-~/.laradock/data}/mysql"
./laradock start mysql

DATA_PATH_HOST is whatever you have set in .env (~/.laradock/data by default), so the folder above is where MySQL's data actually lives on your machine. Deleting it and starting again re-runs first-boot initialization: MYSQL_DATABASE, MYSQL_USER, MYSQL_PASSWORD, and any docker-entrypoint-initdb.d scripts all apply fresh, exactly like a brand-new install.

Character set, collation, and timezone​

Two common mismatches to fix in mysql/my.cnf:

[mysqld]
character-set-server = utf8mb4
collation-server = utf8mb4_unicode_ci
default-time-zone = "+00:00"
  • utf8mb4 (not plain utf8) is what you need for full emoji/multi-byte Unicode support, common with WordPress and user-generated content.
  • default-time-zone controls what NOW()/CURRENT_TIMESTAMP return inside MySQL; set it to match your app (WORKSPACE_TIMEZONE in .env controls the container's OS timezone, this is MySQL's own separate setting).

Restart after editing (./laradock restart mysql). This only affects new databases/tables; existing ones keep their original charset unless you ALTER them.

Talk to this database from another Laradock project​

Each Laradock project is its own isolated Docker network by default, so a second project's containers can't reach this MySQL by container name out of the box. Easiest fix: publish the port (already done, MYSQL_PORT) and have the other project connect to your host machine's address instead of mysql, for example DB_HOST=host.docker.internal (Docker Desktop) with DB_PORT set to this project's MYSQL_PORT. Make sure the two projects use different MYSQL_PORT values if they're both running at once.

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 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 start completely fresh (data loss, back up first) 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.

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