Install MySQL and MariaDB on Ubuntu: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to install MariaDB on Ubuntu Linux

You can install MariaDB on Ubuntu using the built-in apt package manager by opening your terminal and running the command sudo apt install mariadb-server. This downloads and sets up the MariaDB database software using the official software sources already included in your Ubuntu system.

MariaDB database packages are available in Ubuntu's software sources. You install MariaDB by opening a terminal and running the `sudo apt install mariadb-server` command. The `apt` package manager, Ubuntu's software installation tool, uses this command to manage all MariaDB software needs.

To install MariaDB, run the commands below.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mariadb-server

After installing 💿, you can run the commands below to view the MariaDB service status.

sudo systemctl status mariadb

After running the command above, it should output similar lines.

mariadb.service - MariaDB 10.3.31 database server
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/mariadb.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Wed 2021-09-15 16:40:20 CDT; 22s ago
       Docs: man:mysqld(8)
             https://mariadb.com/kb/en/library/systemd/
   Main PID: 3007 (mysqld)
     Status: "Taking your SQL requests now..."
      Tasks: 31 (limit: 4651)
     Memory: 65.6M
     CGroup: /system.slice/mariadb.service
             └─3007 /usr/sbin/mysqld

Sep 15 16:40:20 ubuntu2004 /etc/mysql/debian-start[3045]: mysql
Sep 15 16:40:20 ubuntu2004 /etc/mysql/debian-start[3045]: performance_schema

To check which versions of MariaDB are running, run the commands below.

mysql -V

That should output similar lines as below.

mysql  Ver 15.1 Distrib 10.3.31-MariaDB, for debian-linux-gnu (x86_64) using readline 5.2

How to install the latest versions and update MariaDB

You can install the latest versions and update MariaDB on Ubuntu by adding the official MariaDB repositories to your system. Visit the MariaDB website, choose your Ubuntu release and preferred database version, and run the provided setup commands in your terminal to replace the older default packages.

MariaDB - Setting up MariaDB Repositories - MariaDB

To there, select the version of Ubuntu you're installing for, then select the latest version of MariaDB. As of this writing, the latest version of MariaDB is 10.6.

Run the commands to add the 10.6 version to Ubuntu 20.04.

sudo apt-key adv --fetch-keys 'https://mariadb.org/mariadb_release_signing_key.asc'
sudo add-apt-repository 'deb [arch=amd64,arm64,ppc64el] http://sfo1.mirrors.digitalocean.com/mariadb/repo/10.6/ubuntu focal main'

Then install MariaDB

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mariadb-server

How to install MySQL on Ubuntu Linux

You can install MySQL on Ubuntu by using the apt package manager to download the database software from the default system repositories. Open your terminal, run sudo apt update to refresh your package list, and then run sudo apt install mysql-server to complete the setup.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mysql-server

After installing MySQL, you can check its service status by running the commands below.

sudo systemctl status mysql

That should output similar lines as below.

mysql.service - MySQL Community Server
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/mysql.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Wed 2021-09-15 16:46:30 CDT; 8s ago
   Main PID: 3040 (mysqld)
     Status: "Server is operational"
      Tasks: 38 (limit: 4651)
     Memory: 353.1M
     CGroup: /system.slice/mysql.service
             └─3040 /usr/sbin/mysqld

Sep 15 16:46:29 ubuntu2004 systemd[1]: Starting MySQL Community Server...
Sep 15 16:46:30 ubuntu2004 systemd[1]: Started MySQL Community Server.

How to install the latest version of MySQL on Ubuntu Linux

You can install the latest version of MySQL on Ubuntu Linux by downloading and adding the official MySQL repository configuration package from the developer website. This allows your system manager to fetch and install the newest database releases rather than relying on the older default versions found in Ubuntu repositories.

The link below takes you to the repository file.

https://dev.mysql.com/downloads

Visit the download page and look for Ubuntu / Debian (Architecture Independent), DEB Package. Click the Download button to get the repository package…

You can run the commands below, updating the version number (0.8.15-1) at the time of this writing with the latest from the file above.

cd /tmp
wget https://dev.mysql.com/get/mysql-apt-config_0.8.15-1_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i mysql-apt-config_0.8.15-1_all.deb

Simply select OK, as shown in the image below.

Now that the repository is installed run the commands below to install

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

How to secure MariaDB and MySQL

You can secure MariaDB and MySQL databases on Ubuntu by running the built-in security script included with your database server. Open your terminal and run the command sudo mysql_secure_installation to remove insecure default settings, disable remote root logins, and set a strong database password.

Run the commands below to invoke the script and perform some recommended tasks to secure the database.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

MariaDB and MySQL servers have the root user set to use the auth_socket authentication method by default.

The auth_socket plugin authenticates users that connect from the local host through the Unix socket file. You can't authenticate as a root by providing a password.

Simply run the command below to log on to MariaDB and MySQL servers as root. You don't need a password since it's using the auth_socket method.

sudo mysql

The server console should come up.

elcome to the MySQL monitor.  Commands end with ; or g.
Your MySQL connection id is 8
Server version: 8.0.26-0ubuntu0.20.04.2 (Ubuntu)

Copyright (c) 2000, 2021, Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its
affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective
owners.

Type 'help;' or 'h' for help. Type 'c' to clear the current input statement.

mysql> 

That should do it!

Conclusion:

This guide explained how to install MariaDB or MySQL on Ubuntu Linux. Please use the comment form below if you find any errors in this guide or have something to add.