How to Connect to MySQL Server

In the second article of the series uncovering how to get started with MySQL, we talk about the ways of connecting to MySQL Server.

You can connect to MySQL Server using MySQL Client, dbForge Studio for MySQL, and MySQL Workbench. In this article, we consider each method in detail.

Connecting to MySQL Using the MySQL Command-Line Client
Connecting to MySQL Using dbForge Studio for MySQL
Connecting to MySQL Using MySQL Workbench

Connecting to MySQL Using the MySQL Command-Line Client

In the first article of our series, we provided a detailed walkthrough outlining the aspects of how to install MySQL Server on Windows. In this guide, we build on the fact that your MySQL server is up and running.

To connect to MySQL Server:

1. Locate the MySQL Command-Line Client

   MySQL server is usually installed together with a console client for working with databases. On Windows, you can find the MySQL Command Line Client in the Start menu. Please note, that the client is installed in two versions – with the support for Unicode and without it.

2. Run the client

   When you run the MySQL Server Command-Line Client, the command prompt window opens asking you to enter a password.

3. Enter your password

   Here, you need to login to MySQL from the Command line by entering the password that was set for the root user during the MySQL installation.
   In case of a successful connection, you see something similar to this: 

4. Get a list of databases

   Enter the show databases command to get a list of databases on our MySQL Server.

5. Create a database

   To create a new database, use the create database command.

6. Select the database you want to use

   To connect to a specific MySQL database, at the MySQL prompt, type the use database command and specify the name of the database you want to use.

7. Create a table and insert data

   Use the create table and insert into commands to create a table in our database and insert data into it.

8. Finish working with the MySQL Command-Line Client
   To leave the MySQL client, type quit at the prompt and press Enter.

Connecting to MySQL Using dbForge Studio for MySQL

dbForge Studio for MySQL is a premium all-in-one MySQL GUI tool, allowing you to develop, manage, and administer MySQL databases in the feature-rich environment. With dbForge Studio for MySQL, you can quickly and easily set up a remote database connection as well as connect to your local server.

To connect to MySQL Server using Studio for MySQL:

1. Download dbForge Studio for MySQL installer and set it up according to the instruction from the online documentation.

2. Open the Database Connection Properties dialog box in one of the following ways:
​

click New Connection on the Database menu
or
click the New Connection button on the Connection toolbar.

3. Select the connection type in the Type box. There are two connection types available: TCP/IP and Named pipe.

4. Enter the host name in the Host box.

5. For a TCP/IP connection, enter the port information in the Port box. The default port number is 3306. For a Named pipe connection, enter the pipe name in the Pipe box.

6. Enter the login credentials in the User and Password fields.

7. In the Database field, type or select the name of the database to which you want to connect.

8. The Connection Name will be generated automatically from the Host name. However, you can create a distinctive name for your new connection, if required.

9. (Optional step). You can click Advanced to configure advanced connection properties. On the Advanced tab, you can specify Connection timeout and Execute timeout values in seconds. Here, you can also select the Encoding type from a drop-down list and enable the Detect MySQL character set, Use compression, and Keep connection alive options.

10. (Optional step). You can click the Security tab to configure security properties. On this tab, you can set up SSL or SSH security properties.

11. (Optional step). You can go to the HTTP tab, to configure HTTP tunnel properties.

12. (Optional step). Click Test Connection to verify that you can access MySQL Server using the connection information you’ve specified.

13. Click OK to create the connection.

As you can see, dbForge Studio for MySQL offers a visual and straightforward method to connect to MySQL Server. It also gives you more control over connection configurations.

Connecting to MySQL Using MySQL Workbench

MySQL Workbench is a popular unified visual tool for database architects, developers, and DBAs.

To access MySQL Server using Workbench:

1. Run MySQL Workbench.

2. On the Database menu, click Connect to Database.

Alternatively, click the plus icon next to MySQL Connections label.

3. In the Connect to Database window that appears, specify the Connection name as well as provide the host name, port, and user values.

4. (Optional step). Go to the SSL tab to configure SSL connection settings.

5. (Optional step). Go to the Advanced tab to configure advanced connection settings.

6. Optionally, you can click Test Connection to check the parameters that you’ve entered. In case you are sure that all the credentials are correct, click OK.

7. Enter a password.

8. In case you’ve successfully connected to MySQL Server, you will see a list of databases on the left.

Conclusion

In this article, we have presented three ways to connect to MySQL Server. Both dbForge Studio for MySQL and MySQL Workbench boast visual and comprehensive connection wizards enabling you to smoothly connect to MySQL Server in seconds. Both solutions have the capabilities to configure advanced settings.

dbForge Studio for MySQL is a worthy alternative to MySQL Workbench. Moreover, in many aspects, it is superior in functionality.

Along with dbForge Studio for MySQL, dbForge database tools for MySQL also have visual and user-friendly connection wizards that help connect to MySQL Server and a specific database quickly and easily.

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