4.6.10 mysqlhotcopy — A Database Backup Program

Note

This utility is deprecated in MySQL 5.6.20 and removed in MySQL 5.7

mysqlhotcopy is a Perl script that was originally written and contributed by Tim Bunce. It uses FLUSH TABLES, LOCK TABLES, and cp or scp to make a database backup. It is a fast way to make a backup of the database or single tables, but it can be run only on the same machine where the database directories are located. mysqlhotcopy works only for backing up MyISAM and ARCHIVE tables. It runs on Unix.

To use mysqlhotcopy, you must have read access to the files for the tables that you are backing up, the SELECT privilege for those tables, the RELOAD privilege (to be able to execute FLUSH TABLES), and the LOCK TABLES privilege (to be able to lock the tables).

shell> mysqlhotcopy db_name [/path/to/new_directory]

shell> mysqlhotcopy db_name_1 ... db_name_n /path/to/new_directory

Back up tables in the given database that match a regular expression:

shell> mysqlhotcopy db_name./regex/

The regular expression for the table name can be negated by prefixing it with a tilde (~):

shell> mysqlhotcopy db_name./~regex/

mysqlhotcopy supports the following options, which can be specified on the command line or in the [mysqlhotcopy] and [client] groups of an option file. For information about option files used by MySQL programs, see Section 4.2.2.2, “Using Option Files”.

Table 4.22 mysqlhotcopy Options

Option Name	Description
--addtodest	Do not rename target directory (if it exists); merely add files to it
--allowold	Do not abort if a target exists; rename it by adding an _old suffix
--checkpoint	Insert checkpoint entries
--chroot	Base directory of the chroot jail in which mysqld operates
--debug	Write debugging log
--dryrun	Report actions without performing them
--flushlog	Flush logs after all tables are locked
--help	Display help message and exit
--host	Host on which MySQL server is located
--keepold	Do not delete previous (renamed) target when done
--method	The method for copying files
--noindices	Do not include full index files in the backup
--old_server	Connect to server that does not support FLUSH TABLES tbl_list WITH READ LOCK
--password	Password to use when connecting to server
--port	TCP/IP port number for connection
--quiet	Be silent except for errors
--regexp	Copy all databases with names that match the given regular expression
--resetmaster	Reset the binary log after locking all the tables
--resetslave	Reset the master.info file after locking all the tables
--socket	Unix socket file or Windows named pipe to use
--tmpdir	The temporary directory
--user	MySQL user name to use when connecting to server

--help, -?
Display a help message and exit.
--addtodest
Do not rename target directory (if it exists); merely add files to it.
--allowold
Do not abort if a target exists; rename it by adding an _old suffix.
--checkpoint=db_name.tbl_name
Insert checkpoint entries into the specified database db_name and table tbl_name.
--chroot=dir_name
Base directory of the chroot jail in which mysqld operates. The dir_name value should match that of the --chroot option given to mysqld.
--debug
Enable debug output.
This option is available only if MySQL was built using WITH_DEBUG. MySQL release binaries provided by Oracle are not built using this option.
--dryrun, -n
Report actions without performing them.
--flushlog
Flush logs after all tables are locked.
--host=host_name, -h host_name
The host name of the local host to use for making a TCP/IP connection to the local server. By default, the connection is made to localhost using a Unix socket file.
--keepold
Do not delete previous (renamed) target when done.
--method=command
The method for copying files (cp or scp). The default is cp.
--noindices
Do not include full index files for MyISAM tables in the backup. This makes the backup smaller and faster. The indexes for reloaded tables can be reconstructed later with myisamchk -rq.
--password=password, -ppassword
The password to use when connecting to the server. The password value is not optional for this option, unlike for other MySQL programs.
Specifying a password on the command line should be considered insecure. To avoid giving the password on the command line, use an option file. See Section 6.1.2.1, “End-User Guidelines for Password Security”.
--port=port_num, -P port_num
The TCP/IP port number to use when connecting to the local server.
--old_server
In MySQL 5.6, mysqlhotcopy uses FLUSH TABLES tbl_list WITH READ LOCK to flush and lock tables. Use the --old_server option if the server is older than 5.5.3, which is when that statement was introduced.
--quiet, -q
Be silent except for errors.
--record_log_pos=db_name.tbl_name
Record source and replica status in the specified database db_name and table tbl_name.
--regexp=expr
Copy all databases with names that match the given regular expression.
--resetmaster
Reset the binary log after locking all the tables.
--resetslave
Reset the source info repository file or table after locking all the tables.
--socket=path, -S path
The Unix socket file to use for connections to localhost.
--suffix=str
The suffix to use for names of copied databases.
--tmpdir=dir_name
The temporary directory. The default is /tmp.
--user=user_name, -u user_name
The MySQL user name to use when connecting to the server.

Use perldoc for additional mysqlhotcopy documentation, including information about the structure of the tables needed for the --checkpoint and --record_log_pos options:

shell> perldoc mysqlhotcopy