Downloading a MySQL Server Docker Image

Downloading the server image in a separate step is not strictly necessary; however, performing this step before you create your Docker container ensures your local image is up to date. To download the MySQL Community Server image, run this command:

docker pull mysql/mysql-server:tag

The tag is the label for the image version you want to pull (for example, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 8.0, or latest). If :tag is omitted, the latest label is used, and the image for the latest GA version of MySQL Community Server is downloaded. Refer to the list of tags for available versions on the mysql/mysql-server page in the Docker Hub.

You can list downloaded Docker images with this command:

shell> docker images
REPOSITORY           TAG                 IMAGE ID            CREATED             SIZE
mysql/mysql-server   latest              3157d7f55f8d        4 weeks ago         241MB

Starting a MySQL Server Instance

Start a new Docker container for the MySQL Server with this command:

docker run --name=mysql1 -d mysql/mysql-server:tag 

The --name option, for supplying a custom name for your server container (mysql1 in the example), is optional; if no container name is supplied, a random one is generated. If the Docker image of the specified name and tag has not been downloaded by an earlier docker pull or docker run command, the image is now downloaded. After download completes, initialization for the container begins, and the container appears in the list of running containers when you run the docker ps command; for example:

shell> docker ps
CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                COMMAND                  CREATED             STATUS                              PORTS                NAMES
a24888f0d6f4   mysql/mysql-server   "/entrypoint.sh my..."   14 seconds ago      Up 13 seconds (health: starting)    3306/tcp, 33060/tcp  mysql1

The container initialization might take some time. When the server is ready for use, the STATUS of the container in the output of the docker ps command changes from (health: starting) to (healthy).

The -d option used in the docker run command above makes the container run in the background. Use this command to monitor the output from the container:

docker logs mysql1

Once initialization is finished, the command's output is going to contain the random password generated for the root user; check the password with, for example, this command:

shell> docker logs mysql1 2>&1 | grep GENERATED
GENERATED ROOT PASSWORD: Axegh3kAJyDLaRuBemecis&EShOs

Connecting to MySQL Server from within the Container

Once the server is ready, you can run the mysql client within the MySQL Server container you just started, and connect it to the MySQL Server. Use the docker exec -it command to start a mysql client inside the Docker container you have started, like the following:

docker exec -it mysql1 mysql -uroot -p

When asked, enter the generated root password (see the last step in Starting a MySQL Server Instance above on how to find the password). Because the MYSQL_ONETIME_PASSWORD option is true by default, after you have connected a mysql client to the server, you must reset the server root password by issuing this statement:

mysql> ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'newpassword';

Substitute newpassword with the password of your choice. Once the password is reset, the server is ready for use.

Container Shell Access

To have shell access to your MySQL Server container, use the docker exec -it command to start a bash shell inside the container:

shell> docker exec -it mysql1 bash
bash-4.2#

You can then run Linux commands inside the container. For example, to view contents in the server's data directory inside the container, use this command:

bash-4.2# ls /var/lib/mysql
auto.cnf    ca.pem	     client-key.pem  ib_logfile0  ibdata1  mysql       mysql.sock.lock	   private_key.pem  server-cert.pem  sys
ca-key.pem  client-cert.pem  ib_buffer_pool  ib_logfile1  ibtmp1   mysql.sock  performance_schema  public_key.pem   server-key.pem

Stopping and Deleting a MySQL Container

To stop the MySQL Server container we have created, use this command:

docker stop mysql1

docker stop sends a SIGTERM signal to the mysqld process, so that the server is shut down gracefully.

Also notice that when the main process of a container (mysqld in the case of a MySQL Server container) is stopped, the Docker container stops automatically.

To start the MySQL Server container again:

docker start mysql1

To stop and start again the MySQL Server container with a single command:

docker restart mysql1

To delete the MySQL container, stop it first, and then use the docker rm command:

docker stop mysql1

docker rm mysql1 

If you want the Docker volume for the server's data directory to be deleted at the same time, add the -v option to the docker rm command.

More Topics on Deploying MySQL Server with Docker

For more topics on deploying MySQL Server with Docker like server configuration, persisting data and configuration, server error log, and container environment variables, see Section 2.5.8.2, “More Topics on Deploying MySQL Server with Docker”.