Find out where MySQL is installed on Mac OS X

How do I find out where MySQL is installed on Mac OS X 10.7.9? I have MAMP installed so I presume that it is bundled with this install?


To check MySQL version of MAMP , use the following command in Terminal:

/Applications/MAMP/Library/bin/mysql --version

Assume you have started MAMP .

Example output:

./mysql  Ver 14.14 Distrib 5.1.44, for apple-darwin8.11.1 (i386) using  EditLine wrapper

UPDATE: Moreover, if you want to find where does mysql installed in system, use the following command:

type -a mysql

type -a is an equivalent of tclsh built-in command where in OS X bash shell. If MySQL is found, it will show :

mysql is /usr/bin/mysql

If not found, it will show:

-bash: type: mysql: not found

By default , MySQL is not installed in Mac OS X.

Sidenote: For XAMPP, the command should be:

/Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/bin/mysql --version

It will be found in /usr/local/mysql if you use the mysql binaries or dmg to install it on your system instead of using MAMP


If you run SHOW VARIABLES from a mysql console you can look for basedir.

When I run the following:

mysql> SHOW VARIABLES WHERE `Variable_name` = 'basedir';

on my system I get /usr/local/mysql as the Value returned. (I am not using MAMP - I installed MySQL with homebrew.

mysqldon my machine is in /usr/local/mysql/bin so the basedir is where most everything will be installed to.

Also util:

mysql> SHOW VARIABLES WHERE `Variable_name` = 'datadir'; 

To find where the DBs are stored.

For more: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/show-variables.html

and http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/server-options.html#option_mysqld_basedir


If you downloaded mySQL using a DMG (easiest way to download found here http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/) in Terminal try: cd /usr/local/

When you type ls you should see mysql-YOUR-VERSION. You will also see mysql which is the installation directory.

Source: http://geeksww.com/tutorials/database_management_systems/mysql/installation/how_to_download_and_install_mysql_on_mac_os_x.php


If you've installed with the dmg, you can also go to the Mac "System Preferences" menu, click on "MySql" and then on the configuration tab to see the location of all MySql directories.

Reference: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/osx-installation-prefpane.html