mysqldbexport differs from mysqldump in that it can produce output in a variety of formats to make your data extraction/transport much easier. It permits you to export your data in the format most suitable to an external tool, another MySQL server, or other use without the need to reformat the data.

To exclude specific objects by name, use the --exclude option with a name in db.*obj* format, or you can supply a search pattern. For example, --exclude=db1.trig1 excludes the single trigger and --exclude=trig_ excludes all objects from all databases having a name that begins with trig and has a following character.

To skip objects by type, use the --skip option with a list of the objects to skip. This enables you to extract a particular set of objects, say, for exporting only events (by excluding all other types). Similarly, to skip creation of UPDATE statements for BLOB data, specify the --skip-blobs option.

To specify how to display output, use one of the following values with the --format option:

• sql (default)

Display output using SQL statements. For definitions, this consists of the appropriate CREATE and GRANT statements. For data, this is an INSERT statement (or bulk insert if the --bulk-insert option is specified).

• grid

Display output in grid or table format like that of the mysql client command-line tool.

• csv

Display output in comma-separated values format.

• tab

Display output in tab-separated format.

• vertical

Display output in single-column format like that of the \G command for the mysql client command-line tool.

To specify how much data to display, use one of the following values with the --display option:

• brief

Display only the minimal columns for recreating the objects.

• full

Display the complete column list for recreating the objects.

• names

Display only the object names.

Note

The --display option is ignored when combined with the SQL-format output type.

To turn off the headers for csv or tab display format, specify the --no-headers option.

To turn off all feedback information, specify the --quiet option.

To write the data for individual tables to separate files, use the --file-per-table option. The name of each file is composed of the database and table names followed by the file format. For example, the following command produces files named db1.*table_name*.csv:

mysqldbexport --server=root@server1:3306 --format=csv db1 --export=data

By default, the operation uses a consistent snapshot to read the source databases. To change the locking mode, use the --locking option with a locking type value. Use a value of no-locks to turn off locking altogether or lock-all to use only table locks. The default value is snapshot. Additionally, the utility uses WRITE locks to lock the destination tables during the copy.

You can include replication statements for exporting data among a master and slave or between slaves. The --rpl option permits you to select from the following replication statements to include in the export.

• master

Include the CHANGE MASTER statement to make the destination server a slave of the server specified in the --server option. This places the appropriate STOP and START slave statements in the export whereby the STOP SLAVE statement is placed at the start of the export and the CHANGE MASTER followed by the START SLAVE statements are placed after the export stream.

• slave

Include the CHANGE MASTER statement to make the destination server a slave connected to the same master as the server specified in the --server option. It only works if the current server is a slave. This places the appropriate STOP and START slave statements in the export whereby the STOP SLAVE statement is placed at the start of the export and the CHANGE MASTER followed by the START SLAVE statements are placed after the export stream.

• both

Include both the 'master' and 'slave' information for CHANGE MASTER statements for either spawning a new slave with the current server's master or using the current server as the master. All statements generated are labeled and commented to enable the user to choose which to include when imported.

To include the replication user in the CHANGE MASTER statement, use the --rpl-user option to specify the user and password. If this option is omitted, the utility attempts to identify the replication user. In the event that there are multiple candidates or the user requires a password, these statements are placed inside comments for the CHANGE MASTER statement.

You can also use the --comment-rpl option to place the replication statements inside comments for later examination.

If you specify the --rpl-file option, the utility writes the replication statements to the file specified instead of including them in the export stream.

If you attempt to export databases on a server with GTIDs enabled (GTID_MODE = ON), a warning will be generated if the export does not include all databases. This is because the GTID statements generated include the GTIDs for all databases and not only those databases in the export.

The utility will also generate a warning if you export databases on a GTID enabled server but use the --skip-gtid option.

To make the most use of GTIDs and export/import, you should export all of the databases on the server with the --all option. This will generate an export file with all of the databases and the GTIDs executed to that point.

Importing this file on another server will ensure that server has all of the data as well as all of the GTIDs recorded correctly in its logs. OPTIONS.PP mysqldbexport accepts the following command-line options:

• --help

Display a help message and exit.

• --license

Display license information and exit.

• --bulk-insert, -b

Use bulk insert statements for data.

• --character-set=<charset>

Sets the client character set. The default is retrieved from the server variable character_set_client.

• --comment-rpl

Place the replication statements in comment statements. Valid only with the --rpl option.

• --display=<display>, -d<display>

Control the number of columns shown. Permitted display values are brief (minimal columns for object creation), full* (all columns), and **names (only object names; not valid for --format=sql). The default is brief.

• --exclude=<exclude>, -x<exclude>

Exclude one or more objects from the operation using either a specific name such as db1.t1 or a search pattern. Use this option multiple times to specify multiple exclusions. By default, patterns use LIKE matching. With the --regexp option, patterns use REGEXP matching.

This option does not apply to grants.

• --export=<export>, -e<export>

Specify the export format. Permitted format values are definitions = export only the definitions (metadata) for the objects in the database list, data = export only the table data for the tables in the database list, and both = export the definitions and the data. The default is definitions.

• --file-per-table

Write table data to separate files. This is Valid only if the export output includes data (that is, if --export=data or --export=both are given). This option produces files named db_name.*tbl_name*.*format*. For example, a csv export of two tables named t1 and t2 in database d1, results in files named db1.t1.csv and db1.t2.csv. If table definitions are included in the export, they are written to stdout as usual.

• --format=<format>, -f<format>

Specify the output display format. Permitted format values are sql, grid, tab, csv, and vertical. The default is sql.

• --locking=<locking>

Choose the lock type for the operation. Permitted lock values are no-locks (do not use any table locks), lock-all (use table locks but no transaction and no consistent read), and snapshot (consistent read using a single transaction). The default is snapshot.

• --multiprocess

Specify the number of processes to concurrently export the specified databases. Special values: 0 (number of processes equal to the number of detected CPUs) and 1 (default - no concurrency). Multiprocessing works at the database level for Windows and at the table level for Non-Windows (POSIX) systems.

• --no-headers, -h

Do not display column headers. This option applies only for csv and tab output.

• --output-file

Specify the path and file name to store the generated export output. By default the standard output is used (no file).

• --quiet, -q

Turn off all messages for quiet execution.

• --regexp, --basic-regexp, -G

Perform pattern matches using the REGEXP operator. The default is to use LIKE for matching.

• --rpl=<rpl_mode>, --replication=<rpl_mode>

Include replication information. Permitted values are master (make destination a slave of the source server), slave (make destination a slave of the same master as the source - only works if the source server is a slave), and both (include the master and slave options where applicable).

• --rpl-file=RPL_FILE, --replication-file=RPL_FILE

The path and file name where the generated replication information should be written. Valid only with the --rpl option.

• --rpl-user=<replication_user>

The user and password for the replication user requirement, in the format: <user>[:<password>] or <login-path>. For example, rpl:passwd. The default is None.

• --server=<server>

Connection information for the server.

To connect to a server, it is necessary to specify connection parameters such as user name, host name, password, and either a port or socket. MySQL Utilities provides a number of ways to supply this information. All of the methods require specifying your choice via a command-line option such as --server, --master, --slave, etc. The methods include the following in order of most secure to least secure.

• Use login-paths from your .mylogin.cnf file (encrypted, not visible). Example : <login-path>[:<port>][:<socket>]

• Use a configuration file (unencrypted, not visible) Note: available in release-1.5.0. Example : <configuration-file-path>[:<section>]

• Specify the data on the command-line (unencrypted, visible). Example : <user>[:<passwd>]@<host>[:<port>][:<socket>]

• --ssl-ca

The path to a file that contains a list of trusted SSL CAs.

• --ssl-cert

The name of the SSL certificate file to use for establishing a secure connection.

• --ssl-cert

The name of the SSL key file to use for establishing a secure connection.

• --ssl

Specifies if the server connection requires use of SSL. If an encrypted connection cannot be established, the connection attempt fails. Default setting is 0 (SSL not required).

• --skip=<skip-objects>

Specify objects to skip in the operation as a comma-separated list (no spaces). Permitted values are CREATE_DB, DATA, EVENTS, FUNCTIONS, GRANTS, PROCEDURES, TABLES, TRIGGERS, and VIEWS.

• --skip-blobs

Do not export BLOB data.

• --skip-gtid

Skip creation of GTID_PURGED statements.

• --all

Generate an export file with all of the databases and the GTIDs executed to that point.

• --verbose, -v

Specify how much information to display. Use this option multiple times to increase the amount of information. For example, -v = verbose, -vv = more verbose, -vvv = debug.

• --version

Display version information and exit.

To export all objects from a source database, the user must have these privileges: SELECT and SHOW VIEW on the database as well as SELECT on the mysql database.

Actual privileges needed may differ from installation to installation depending on the security privileges present and whether the database contains certain objects such as views or events.

Some combinations of the options may result in errors when the export is imported later. For example, eliminating tables but not views may result in an error when a view is imported on another server.

For the --format, --export, and --display options, the permitted values are not case sensitive. In addition, values may be specified as any unambiguous prefix of a valid value. For example, --format=g specifies the grid format. An error occurs if a prefix matches more than one valid value.

The path to the MySQL client tools should be included in the PATH environment variable in order to use the authentication mechanism with login-paths. This will allow the utility to use the my_print_defaults tools which is required to read the login-path values from the login configuration file (.mylogin.cnf).

If any database identifier specified as an argument contains special characters or is a reserved word, then it must be appropriately quoted with backticks (`). In turn, names quoted with backticks must also be quoted with single or double quotes depending on the operating system, i.e. (") in Windows or (') in non-Windows systems, in order for the utilities to read backtick quoted identifiers as a single argument. For example, to export a database with the name weird`db.name, it must be specified as argument using the following syntax (in non-Windows): '`weird``db.name`'.

Keep in mind that you can only take advantage of multiprocessing if your system has multiple CPUs available for concurrent execution. Also note that multiprocessing is applied at a different level according to the operating system where the mysqldbexport utility is executed (due to python limitations). In particular, it is applied at the database level for Windows (i.e., different databases are concurrently exported) and at the table level for Non-Windows (POSIX) systems (i.e., different tables within the same database are concurrently exported). EXAMPLES.PP To export the definitions of the database dev from a MySQL server on the local host via port 3306, producing output consisting of CREATE statements, use this command:

shell> mysqldbexport --server=root:pass@localhost \
  --skip=GRANTS --export=DEFINITIONS util_test
# Source on localhost: ... connected.
# Exporting metadata from util_test
DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS util_test;
CREATE DATABASE util_test;
USE util_test;
# TABLE: util_test.t1
CREATE TABLE `t1` (
  `a` char(30) DEFAULT NULL
) ENGINE=MEMORY DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;
# TABLE: util_test.t2
CREATE TABLE `t2` (
  `a` char(30) DEFAULT NULL
) ENGINE=MyISAM DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;
# TABLE: util_test.t3
CREATE TABLE `t3` (
  `a` int(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
  `b` char(30) DEFAULT NULL,
  PRIMARY KEY (`a`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB AUTO_INCREMENT=4 DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;
# TABLE: util_test.t4
CREATE TABLE `t4` (
  `c` int(11) NOT NULL,
  `d` int(11) NOT NULL,
  KEY `ref_t3` (`c`),
  CONSTRAINT `ref_t3` FOREIGN KEY (`c`) REFERENCES `t3` (`a`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;
# VIEW: util_test.v1
[...]
#...done.

Similarly, to export the data of the database util_test, producing bulk insert statements, use this command:

shell> mysqldbexport --server=root:pass@localhost \
          --export=DATA --bulk-insert util_test
# Source on localhost: ... connected.
USE util_test;
# Exporting data from util_test
# Data for table util_test.t1:
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES  ('01 Test Basic database example'),
  ('02 Test Basic database example'),
  ('03 Test Basic database example'),
  ('04 Test Basic database example'),
  ('05 Test Basic database example'),
  ('06 Test Basic database example'),
  ('07 Test Basic database example');
# Data for table util_test.t2:
INSERT INTO util_test.t2 VALUES  ('11 Test Basic database example'),
  ('12 Test Basic database example'),
  ('13 Test Basic database example');
# Data for table util_test.t3:
INSERT INTO util_test.t3 VALUES  (1, '14 test fkeys'),
  (2, '15 test fkeys'),
  (3, '16 test fkeys');
# Data for table util_test.t4:
INSERT INTO util_test.t4 VALUES  (3, 2);
#...done.

If the database to be exported does not contain only InnoDB tables and you want to ensure data integrity of the exported data by locking the tables during the read step, add a --locking=lock-all option to the command:

shell> mysqldbexport --server=root:pass@localhost \
  --export=DATA --bulk-insert util_test --locking=lock-all
# Source on localhost: ... connected.
USE util_test;
# Exporting data from util_test
# Data for table util_test.t1:
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES  ('01 Test Basic database example'),
  ('02 Test Basic database example'),
  ('03 Test Basic database example'),
  ('04 Test Basic database example'),
  ('05 Test Basic database example'),
  ('06 Test Basic database example'),
  ('07 Test Basic database example');
# Data for table util_test.t2:
INSERT INTO util_test.t2 VALUES  ('11 Test Basic database example'),
  ('12 Test Basic database example'),
  ('13 Test Basic database example');
# Data for table util_test.t3:
INSERT INTO util_test.t3 VALUES  (1, '14 test fkeys'),
  (2, '15 test fkeys'),
  (3, '16 test fkeys');
# Data for table util_test.t4:
INSERT INTO util_test.t4 VALUES  (3, 2);
#...done.

To export a database and include the replication commands to use the current server as the master (for example, to start a new slave using the current server as the master), use the following command:

shell> mysqldbexport --server=root@localhost:3311 util_test \
          --export=both --rpl-user=rpl:rpl --rpl=master -v
# Source on localhost: ... connected.
#
# Stopping slave
STOP SLAVE;
#
# Source on localhost: ... connected.
# Exporting metadata from util_test
DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS util_test;
CREATE DATABASE util_test;
USE util_test;
# TABLE: util_test.t1
CREATE TABLE `t1` (
  `a` char(30) DEFAULT NULL
) ENGINE=MEMORY DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;
#...done.
# Source on localhost: ... connected.
USE util_test;
# Exporting data from util_test
# Data for table util_test.t1:
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('01 Test Basic database example');
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('02 Test Basic database example');
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('03 Test Basic database example');
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('04 Test Basic database example');
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('05 Test Basic database example');
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('06 Test Basic database example');
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('07 Test Basic database example');
#...done.
#
# Connecting to the current server as master
CHANGE MASTER TO MASTER_HOST = 'localhost',
  MASTER_USER = 'rpl',
  MASTER_PASSWORD = 'rpl',
  MASTER_PORT = 3311,
  MASTER_LOG_FILE = 'clone-bin.000001' ,
  MASTER_LOG_POS = 106;
#
# Starting slave
START SLAVE;
#

Similarly, to export a database and include the replication commands to use the current server's master (for example, to start a new slave using the same the master), use the following command:

shell> mysqldbexport --server=root@localhost:3311 util_test \
          --export=both --rpl-user=rpl:rpl --rpl=slave -v
# Source on localhost: ... connected.
#
# Stopping slave
STOP SLAVE;
#
# Source on localhost: ... connected.
# Exporting metadata from util_test
DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS util_test;
CREATE DATABASE util_test;
USE util_test;
# TABLE: util_test.t1
CREATE TABLE `t1` (
  `a` char(30) DEFAULT NULL
) ENGINE=MEMORY DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;
#...done.
# Source on localhost: ... connected.
USE util_test;
# Exporting data from util_test
# Data for table util_test.t1:
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('01 Test Basic database example');
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('02 Test Basic database example');
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('03 Test Basic database example');
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('04 Test Basic database example');
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('05 Test Basic database example');
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('06 Test Basic database example');
INSERT INTO util_test.t1 VALUES ('07 Test Basic database example');
#...done.
#
# Connecting to the current server's master
CHANGE MASTER TO MASTER_HOST = 'localhost',
  MASTER_USER = 'rpl',
  MASTER_PASSWORD = 'rpl',
  MASTER_PORT = 3310,
  MASTER_LOG_FILE = 'clone-bin.000001' ,
  MASTER_LOG_POS = 1739;
#
# Starting slave
START SLAVE;
#

PERMISSIONS REQUIRED.PP The user must have permission to read all databases. Since we are using the root account for these examples (and you typically would), permissions are not generally a problem.