Invoke mysqlslap like this:

shell> mysqlslap [options]

Some options such as --create or --query enable you to specify a string containing an SQL statement or a file containing statements. If you specify a file, by default it must contain one statement per line. (That is, the implicit statement delimiter is the newline character.) Use the --delimiter option to specify a different delimiter, which enables you to specify statements that span multiple lines or place multiple statements on a single line. You cannot include comments in a file; mysqlslap does not understand them.

mysqlslap runs in three stages:

1.

Create schema, table, and optionally any stored programs or data you want to using for the test. This stage uses a single client connection.

2.

Run the load test. This stage can use many client connections.

3.

Clean up (disconnect, drop table if specified). This stage uses a single client connection.

Examples:

Supply your own create and query SQL statements, with 50 clients querying and 200 selects for each:

mysqlslap --delimiter=";" \
  --create="CREATE TABLE a (b int);INSERT INTO a VALUES (23)" \
  --query="SELECT * FROM a" --concurrency=50 --iterations=200

Let mysqlslap build the query SQL statement with a table of two INT columns and three VARCHAR columns. Use five clients querying 20 times each. Do not create the table or insert the data (that is, use the previous test's schema and data):

mysqlslap --concurrency=5 --iterations=20 \
  --number-int-cols=2 --number-char-cols=3 \
  --auto-generate-sql

Tell the program to load the create, insert, and query SQL statements from the specified files, where the create.sql file has multiple table creation statements delimited by ';' and multiple insert statements delimited by ';'. The --query file will have multiple queries delimited by ';'. Run all the load statements, then run all the queries in the query file with five clients (five times each):

mysqlslap --concurrency=5 \
  --iterations=5 --query=query.sql --create=create.sql \
  --delimiter=";"

mysqlslap supports the options in the following list. It also reads option files and supports the options for processing them described at Section 4.2.3.2.1, "Command-Line Options that Affect Option-File Handling".

• --help, -?

  Display a help message and exit.

• --auto-generate-sql, -a

  Generate SQL statements automatically when they are not supplied in files or via command options.

• --auto-generate-sql-add-autoincrement

  Add an AUTO_INCREMENT column to automatically generated tables.

• --auto-generate-sql-execute-number=N

  Specify how many queries to generate automatically.

• --auto-generate-sql-guid-primary

  Add a GUID-based primary key to automatically generated tables.

• --auto-generate-sql-load-type=type

  Specify the test load type. The allowable values are read (scan tables), write (insert into tables), key (read primary keys), update (update primary keys), or mixed (half inserts, half scanning selects). The default is mixed.

• --auto-generate-sql-secondary-indexes=N

  Specify how many secondary indexes to add to automatically generated tables. By default, none are added.

• --auto-generate-sql-select-columns=str

  The string to use for the select columns used in automatic tests. You can use this to determine the effect on performance of selecting or excluding particular columns. This option was added in MySQL 6.0.3.

• --auto-generate-sql-unique-query-number=N

  How many different queries to generate for automatic tests. For example, if you run a key test that performs 1000 selects, you can use this option with a value of 1000 to run 1000 unique queries, or with a value of 50 to perform 50 different selects. The default is 10.

• --auto-generate-sql-unique-write-number=N

  How many different queries to generate for --auto-generate-sql-write-number. The default is 10.

• --auto-generate-sql-write-number=N

  How many row inserts to perform on each thread. The default is 100.

• --burnin

  Run the full test case in an infinite loop. This option was added in MySQL 6.0.3.

• --commit=N

  How many statements to execute before committing. The default is 0 (no commits are done).

• --compress, -C

  Compress all information sent between the client and the server if both support compression.

• --concurrency=N, -c N

  The number of clients to simulate when issuing the SELECT statement.

• --create=value

  The file or string containing the statement to use for creating the table.

• --create-schema=value

  The schema in which to run the tests.

• --csv[=file_name]

  Generate output in comma-separated values format. The output goes to the named file, or to the standard output if no file is given.

• --debug[=debug_options], -# [debug_options]

  Write a debugging log. A typical debug_options string is 'd:t:o,file_name'. The default is 'd:t:o,/tmp/mysqlslap.trace'.

• --debug-check

  Print some debugging information when the program exits.

• --debug-info, -T

  Print debugging information and memory and CPU usage statistics when the program exits.

• --delimiter=str, -F str

  The delimiter to use in SQL statements supplied in files or via command options.

• --delayed-start=N

  The maximum delay in microseconds. Startup of each thread is delayed by a random number of microseconds up to this maximum. The default is 0. This option was added in MySQL 6.0.3.

• --detach=N

  Detach (close and reopen) each connection after each N statements. The default is 0 (connections are not detached).

• --engine=engine_name, -e engine_name

  The storage engine to use for creating tables.

• --host=host_name, -h host_name

  Connect to the MySQL server on the given host.

• --ignore-sql-errors

  Ignore SQL errors during the test run. By default, errors cause mysqlslap to exit. This option was added in MySQL 6.0.4.

• --iterations=N, -i N

  The number of times to run the tests.

• --label=str

  The label to use in printed and CSV output. This option was added in MySQL 6.0.3.

• --number-blob-cols=str,

  The number of BLOB columns to use if --auto-generate-sql is specified. --number-blob-cols=3:1024/2048 would give you 3 BLOB columns with a random size between 1024 and 2048. This option was added in MySQL 6.0.3.

• --number-char-cols=N, -x N

  The number of VARCHAR columns to use if --auto-generate-sql is specified.

• --number-int-cols=N, -y N

  The number of INT columns to use if --auto-generate-sql is specified.

• --number-of-queries=N

  Limit each client to approximately this number of queries.

• --only-print

  Do not connect to databases. mysqlslap only prints what it would have done.

• --password[=password], -p[password]

  The password to use when connecting to the server. If you use the short option form (-p), you cannot have a space between the option and the password. If you omit the password value following the --password or -p option on the command line, you are prompted for one.

  Specifying a password on the command line should be considered insecure. See Section 5.5.6.2, "End-User Guidelines for Password Security".

• --pipe, -W

  On Windows, connect to the server via a named pipe. This option applies only for connections to a local server, and only if the server supports named-pipe connections.

• --port=port_num, -P port_num

  The TCP/IP port number to use for the connection.

• --post-query=value

  The file or string containing the statement to execute after the tests have completed. This execution is not counted for timing purposes.

• --shared-memory-base-name=name

  On Windows, the shared-memory name to use, for connections made via shared memory to a local server. This option applies only if the server supports shared-memory connections.

• --post-system=str

  The string to execute via system() after the tests have completed. This execution is not counted for timing purposes.

• --pre-query=value

  The file or string containing the statement to execute before running the tests. This execution is not counted for timing purposes. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.18.

• --pre-system=str

  The string to execute via system() before running the tests. This execution is not counted for timing purposes.

• --preserve-schema

  Preserve the schema from the mysqlslap run. The --auto-generate-sql and --create options disable this option. This option was removed in MySQL 6.0.5.

• --protocol={TCP|SOCKET|PIPE|MEMORY}

  The connection protocol to use for connecting to the server. It is useful when the other connection parameters normally would cause a protocol to be used other than the one you want. For details on the allowable values, see Section 4.2.2, "Connecting to the MySQL Server".

• --query=value, -q value

  The file or string containing the SELECT statement to use for retrieving data.

• --set-random-seed=value,

  The seed value for the randomizer.

• --silent, -s

  Silent mode. No output.

• --slave

  Follow master locks for other mysqlslap clients. Use this option if you are trying to synchronize around one master server with --lock-directory plus NFS.

• --socket=path, -S path

  For connections to localhost, the Unix socket file to use, or, on Windows, the name of the named pipe to use.

• --ssl*

  Options that begin with --ssl specify whether to connect to the server via SSL and indicate where to find SSL keys and certificates. See Section 5.5.7.3, "SSL Command Options".

• --timer-length=N

  The duration in seconds to run each test. Tests that run longer are terminated. This option was added in MySQL 6.0.3.

• --user=user_name, -u user_name

  The MySQL user name to use when connecting to the server.

• --verbose, -v

  Verbose mode. Print more information about what the program does. This option can be used multiple times to increase the amount of information.

• --version, -V

  Display version information and exit.