MYSQLD_SAFE(1)        MySQL Database System        MYSQLD_SAFE(1)



NAME
       mysqld_safe - MySQL server startup script
       safe_mysqld - MySQL server startup script

SYNOPSIS
       mysqld_safe options

DESCRIPTION
       mysqld_safe is the recommended way to start a mysqld
       server on Unix and NetWare.  mysqld_safe adds some safety
       features such as restarting the server when an error
       occurs and logging runtime information to an error log
       file. NetWare-specific behaviors are listed later in this
       section.

       Note
       To preserve backward compatibility with older versions of
       MySQL, MySQL binary distributions still include
       safe_mysqld as a symbolic link to mysqld_safe. However,
       you should not rely on this because it is removed as of
       MySQL 5.1.

       By default, mysqld_safe before MySQL 5.0.27 tries to start
       an executable named mysqld-max if it exists, and mysqld
       otherwise. Be aware of the implications of this behavior:

       o  On Linux, the MySQL-Max RPM relies on this mysqld_safe
          behavior. The RPM installs an executable named
          mysqld-max, which causes mysqld_safe to automatically
          use that executable rather than mysqld from that point
          on.

       o  If you install a MySQL-Max distribution that includes a
          server named mysqld-max, and then upgrade later to a
          non-Max version of MySQL, mysqld_safe will still
          attempt to run the old mysqld-max server. If you
          perform such an upgrade, you should manually remove the
          old mysqld-max server to ensure that mysqld_safe runs
          the new mysqld server.


To override the default behavior and specify explicitly the name
of the server you want to run, specify a --mysqld or
--mysqld-version option to mysqld_safe. You can also use --ledir
to indicate the directory where mysqld_safe should look for the
server.

Many of the options to mysqld_safe are the same as the options to
mysqld. See Section 1.2, "Command Options".

All options specified to mysqld_safe on the command line are
passed to mysqld. If you want to use any options that are
specific to mysqld_safe and that mysqld doesn't support, do not
specify them on the command line. Instead, list them in the
[mysqld_safe] group of an option file. See Section 2.2.2, "Using
Option Files".

mysqld_safe reads all options from the [mysqld], [server], and
[mysqld_safe] sections in option files. For example, if you
specify a [mysqld] section like this, mysqld_safe will find and
use the --log-error option:

   [mysqld]
   log-error=error.log

For backward compatibility, mysqld_safe also reads [safe_mysqld]
sections, although you should rename such sections to
[mysqld_safe] in MySQL 5.0 installations.

mysqld_safe supports the following options:

allbox4tab(:);qlB_lBflBOlB.onT{eFormateT}:T{ Config File T}:T{
Description T}:T{ Introduced T} l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l
l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l
l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l.  T{
--autoclose T}:T{ autoclose T}:T{ On NetWare, mysqld_safe
provides a screen presence T}:T{   T} T{ --mysqld=prog_name T}:T{
mysqld T}:T{ The name of the server program (in the ledir
directory) that you  want to start T}:T{   T} T{
--mysqld-version=suffix T}:T{ mysqld-version T}:T{ This option is
similar to the --mysqld option, but you specify  only the suffix
for the server program name T}:T{   T} T{ --nice=priority T}:T{
nice T}:T{ Use the nice program to set the server's scheduling
priority to  the given value T}:T{   T} T{ --no-defaults T}:T{
no-defaults T}:T{ Do not read any option files T}:T{   T} T{
--open-files-limit=count T}:T{ open-files-limit T}:T{ The number
of files that mysqld should be able to open T}:T{   T} T{
--pid-file T}:T{ pid-file T}:T{ The pathname of the process ID
file T}:T{   T} T{ --port=number T}:T{ port T}:T{ The port number
that the server should use when listening for  TCP/IP connections
T}:T{   T} T{ --skip-kill-mysqld T}:T{ skip-kill-mysqld T}:T{ Do
not try to kill stray mysqld processes T}:T{   T} T{
--socket=path T}:T{ socket T}:T{ The Unix socket file that the
server should use when listening for  local connections T}:T{
T} T{ --timezone=timezone T}:T{ timezone T}:T{ Set the TZ time
zone environment variable to the given option  value T}:T{   T}
T{ --basedir=path T}:T{ basedir T}:T{ The path to the MySQL
installation directory T}:T{   T} T{ --user={user_name|user_id}
T}:T{ user T}:T{ Run the mysqld server as the user having the
name user_name or the  numeric user ID user_id T}:T{   T} T{
--core-file-size=size T}:T{ core-file-size T}:T{ The size of the
core file that mysqld should be able to create T}:T{   T} T{
--datadir=path T}:T{ datadir T}:T{ The path to the data directory
T}:T{   T} T{ --defaults-extra-file=path T}:T{
defaults-extra-file T}:T{ The name of an option file to be read
in addition to the usual  option files T}:T{   T} T{
--defaults-file=file_name T}:T{ defaults-file T}:T{ The name of
an option file to be read instead of the usual option  files
T}:T{   T} T{ --help T}:T{   T}:T{ Display a help message and
exit T}:T{ 5.0.3 T} T{ --ledir=path T}:T{ ledir T}:T{ Use this
option to indicate the pathname to the directory where  the
server is located T}:T{   T} T{ --log-error=file_name T}:T{
log-error T}:T{ Write the error log to the given file T}:T{   T}


o  --help

   Display a help message and exit. (Added in MySQL 5.0.3)

o  --autoclose

   (NetWare only) On NetWare, mysqld_safe provides a screen
   presence. When you unload (shut down) the mysqld_safe NLM, the
   screen does not by default go away. Instead, it prompts for
   user input:

   **
If you want NetWare to close the screen automatically instead,
use the --autoclose option to mysqld_safe.

o  --basedir=path

   The path to the MySQL installation directory.

o  --core-file-size=size

   The size of the core file that mysqld should be able to
   create. The option value is passed to ulimit -c.

o  --datadir=path

   The path to the data directory.

o  --defaults-extra-file=path

   The name of an option file to be read in addition to the usual
   option files. This must be the first option on the command
   line if it is used. As of MySQL 5.0.6, if the file does not
   exist or is otherwise inaccessible, the server will exit with
   an error.

o  --defaults-file=file_name

   The name of an option file to be read instead of the usual
   option files. This must be the first option on the command
   line if it is used.

o  --ledir=path

   If mysqld_safe cannot find the server, use this option to
   indicate the pathname to the directory where the server is
   located.

o  --log-error=file_name

   Write the error log to the given file. See Section 2.1, "The
   Error Log".

o  --mysqld=prog_name

   The name of the server program (in the ledir directory) that
   you want to start. This option is needed if you use the MySQL
   binary distribution but have the data directory outside of the
   binary distribution. If mysqld_safe cannot find the server,
   use the --ledir option to indicate the pathname to the
   directory where the server is located.

o  --mysqld-version=suffix

   This option is similar to the --mysqld option, but you specify
   only the suffix for the server program name. The basename is
   assumed to be mysqld. For example, if you use
   --mysqld-version=debug, mysqld_safe starts the mysqld-debug
   program in the ledir directory. If the argument to
   --mysqld-version is empty, mysqld_safe uses mysqld in the
   ledir directory.

o  --nice=priority

   Use the nice program to set the server's scheduling priority
   to the given value.

o  --no-defaults

   Do not read any option files. This must be the first option on
   the command line if it is used.

o  --open-files-limit=count

   The number of files that mysqld should be able to open. The
   option value is passed to ulimit -n. Note that you need to
   start mysqld_safe as root for this to work properly!

o  --pid-file=file_name

   The pathname of the process ID file.

o  --port=port_num

   The port number that the server should use when listening for
   TCP/IP connections. The port number must be 1024 or higher
   unless the server is started by the root system user.

o  --skip-kill-mysqld

   Do not try to kill stray mysqld processes at startup. This
   option works only on Linux.

o  --socket=path

   The Unix socket file that the server should use when listening
   for local connections.

o  --timezone=timezone

   Set the TZ time zone environment variable to the given option
   value. Consult your operating system documentation for legal
   time zone specification formats.

o  --user={user_name|user_id}

   Run the mysqld server as the user having the name user_name or
   the numeric user ID user_id. ("User" in this context refers to
   a system login account, not a MySQL user listed in the grant
   tables.)


If you execute mysqld_safe with the --defaults-file or
--defaults-extra-option option to name an option file, the option
must be the first one given on the command line or the option
file will not be used. For example, this command will not use the
named option file:

   mysql> mysqld_safe --port=port_num --defaults-file=file_name

Instead, use the following command:

   mysql> mysqld_safe --defaults-file=file_name --port=port_num

The mysqld_safe script is written so that it normally can start a
server that was installed from either a source or a binary
distribution of MySQL, even though these types of distributions
typically install the server in slightly different locations.
(See Section 4.6, "Installation Layouts".)  mysqld_safe expects
one of the following conditions to be true:

o  The server and databases can be found relative to the working
   directory (the directory from which mysqld_safe is invoked).
   For binary distributions, mysqld_safe looks under its working
   directory for bin and data directories. For source
   distributions, it looks for libexec and var directories. This
   condition should be met if you execute mysqld_safe from your
   MySQL installation directory (for example, /usr/local/mysql
   for a binary distribution).

o  If the server and databases cannot be found relative to the
   working directory, mysqld_safe attempts to locate them by
   absolute pathnames. Typical locations are /usr/local/libexec
   and /usr/local/var. The actual locations are determined from
   the values configured into the distribution at the time it was
   built. They should be correct if MySQL is installed in the
   location specified at configuration time.


Because mysqld_safe tries to find the server and databases
relative to its own working directory, you can install a binary
distribution of MySQL anywhere, as long as you run mysqld_safe
from the MySQL installation directory:

   shell> cd mysql_installation_directory
   shell> bin/mysqld_safe &

If mysqld_safe fails, even when invoked from the MySQL
installation directory, you can specify the --ledir and --datadir
options to indicate the directories in which the server and
databases are located on your system.

Normally, you should not edit the mysqld_safe script. Instead,
configure mysqld_safe by using command-line options or options in
the [mysqld_safe] section of a my.cnf option file. In rare cases,
it might be necessary to edit mysqld_safe to get it to start the
server properly. However, if you do this, your modified version
of mysqld_safe might be overwritten if you upgrade MySQL in the
future, so you should make a copy of your edited version that you
can reinstall.

On NetWare, mysqld_safe is a NetWare Loadable Module (NLM) that
is ported from the original Unix shell script. It starts the
server as follows:

1. Runs a number of system and option checks.

2. Runs a check on MyISAM tables.

3. Provides a screen presence for the MySQL server.

4. Starts mysqld, monitors it, and restarts it if it terminates
   in error.

5. Sends error messages from mysqld to the host_name.err file in
   the data directory.

6. Sends mysqld_safe screen output to the host_name.safe file in
   the data directory.

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright 2007-2008 MySQL AB

       This documentation is free software; you can redistribute
       it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General
       Public License as published by the Free Software
       Foundation; version 2 of the License.

       This documentation is distributed in the hope that it will
       be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the
       implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
       PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for
       more details.

       You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public
       License along with the program; if not, write to the Free
       Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth
       Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA or see
       http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.

SEE ALSO
       For more information, please refer to the MySQL Reference
       Manual, which may already be installed locally and which
       is also available online at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/.

AUTHOR
       MySQL AB (http://www.mysql.com/).



MySQL 5.0                   01/11/2008             MYSQLD_SAFE(1)