A.1 mysqlsh — The MySQL Shell

MySQL Shell is an advanced command-line client and code editor for MySQL. In addition to SQL, MySQL Shell also offers scripting capabilities for JavaScript and Python. For information about using MySQL Shell, see MySQL Shell 8.0 (part of MySQL 8.0). When MySQL Shell is connected to the MySQL Server through the X Protocol, the X DevAPI can be used to work with both relational and document data, see Using MySQL as a Document Store. MySQL Shell includes the AdminAPI that enables you to work with InnoDB cluster, see InnoDB Cluster.

Many of the options described here are related to connections between MySQL Shell and a MySQL Server instance. See Section 3.1, “MySQL Shell Connections” for more information.

mysqlsh supports the following command-line options.

Table A.1 mysqlsh Options

Format	Description	Introduced
--auth-method	Authentication method to use
--cluster	Connect to an InnoDB cluster	8.0.4
--connect-timeout	Connection timeout for global session	8.0.13
--database	The schema to use (alias for --schema)
--dba	Enable X Protocol on connection with MySQL 5.7 server
--dbpassword	Password to use when connecting to server
--dbuser	MySQL user name to use when connecting to server
--execute	Execute the command and quit
--file	File to process in Batch mode
--force	Continue in SQL and Batch modes even if errors occur
--get-server-public-key	Request RSA public key from server
--help	Display help message and exit
--host	Connect to MySQL server on given host
--interactive	Emulate Interactive mode in Batch mode
--javascript, --js	Start in JavaScript mode
--json	Print output in JSON format
--log-level	Specify logging level
-ma	Detect session protocol automatically	8.0.3
--mysql, -mc	Create a session using MySQL protocol	8.0.3
--mysqlx, -mx	Create a session using X Protocol	8.0.3
--name-cache	Enable automatic loading of table names based on the active default schema	8.0.4
--no-name-cache	Disable autocompletion.	8.0.4
--no-password	No password is provided for this connection
--no-wizard, --nw	Disable the connection wizard
--password	Password to use when connecting to server (alias for --dbpassword)
--passwords-from-stdin	Read the password from stdin
--port	TCP/IP port number for connection
--py, --python	Start in Python mode
--recreate-schema	Drop and recreate schema
--redirect-primary	Ensure connection to an InnoDB cluster's primary	8.0.4
--redirect-secondary	Ensure connection to an InnoDB cluster's secondary
--schema	The schema to use
--server-public-key-path	Path name to file containing RSA public key
--show-warnings	Show warnings after each statement if there are any (in SQL mode)
--socket	For connections to localhost, the Unix socket file to use, or pipe name on Windows (ClassicSessions only)
--sql	Start in SQL mode, auto-detecting protocol to use for connection
--sqlc	Start in SQL mode using a ClassicSession
--sqlx	Start in SQL mode using an X Protocol connection	8.0.3
--ssl-ca	File that contains list of trusted SSL Certificate Authorities
--ssl-capath	Directory that contains trusted SSL Certificate Authority certificate files
--ssl-cert	File that contains X.509 certificate
--ssl-cipher	Name of the SSL cipher to use
--ssl-crl	File that contains certificate revocation lists
--ssl-crlpath	Directory that contains certificate revocation-list files
--ssl-key	File that contains X.509 key
--ssl-mode	Security state of connection to server
--tabbed	Display output in tab separated format
--table	Display output in table format
--tls-version	Protocols permitted for encrypted connections
--uri	Session information in URI format
--user	MySQL user name to use when connecting to server (alias for --dbuser)
--version	Display version information and exit
--vertical	Display all SQL results vertically

• --help

  Display a help message and exit.

• --auth-method=method

  Authentication method to use for the account. Depends on the authentication plugin used for the account's password. MySQL Shell currently supports the following methods:

  • mysql_native_password - see Native Pluggable Authentication

  • mysql_old_password - see Old Native Pluggable Authentication

  • sha256_password - see Caching SHA-2 Pluggable Authentication

• --cluster

  Ensures that the target server is part of an InnoDB cluster and if so, sets the cluster global variable to the cluster object.

• --column-type-info

  In SQL mode, before printing the returned result set for a query, print metadata for each column in the result set, such as the column type and collation.

  The column type is returned as both the type used by MySQL Shell (Type), and the type used by the original database (DBType). For MySQL Shell connections using classic MySQL protocol, DBType is as returned by the protocol, and for X Protocol connections, DBType is inferred from the available information. The column length (Length) is returned in bytes.

• --compress, -C

  Enable compression for information sent between the client and the server if both support compression. This option is available for classic MySQL Protocol connections only.

• --connect-timeout

  Configures how long MySQL Shell waits to establish a global session specified through command-line arguments.

• --database=name

  The default schema to use. This is an alias for --schema.

• --dba=enableXProtocol

  Enable X Plugin on connection with MySQL 5.7 server, so that you can use X Protocol connections for subsequent connections. Requires a connection using classic MySQL protocol.

  Not relevant for MySQL 8.0 servers, which have X Plugin enabled by default.

• --dbpassword[=password]

  Deprecated in version 8.0.13 of MySQL Shell. Use --password[=password] instead.

• --dbuser=user_name

  Deprecated in version 8.0.13 of MySQL Shell. Use --user=user_name instead.

• --execute=command, -e command

  Execute the command using the currently active language and quit. This option is mutually exclusive with the --file=file_name option.

• --file=file_name, -f file_name

  Specify a file to process in Batch mode. Any options specified after this are used as arguments of the processed file.

• --force

  Continue processing in SQL and Batch modes even if errors occur.

• --host=host_name, -h host_name

  Connect to the MySQL server on the given host. On Windows, if you specify --host=. or -h . (giving the host name as a period), MySQL Shell connects using the default named pipe (which has the name MySQL), or an alternative named pipe that you specify using the --socket option.

• --get-server-public-key

  MySQL Shell equivalent of --get-server-public-key.

  Important

  Only supported with classic MySQL protocol connections.

  See Caching SHA-2 Pluggable Authentication.

• --import

  Import JSON documents from a file or standard input to a MySQL Server collection or relational table, using the JSON import utility. For instructions, see Section 6.2, “JSON Import Utility”.

• --interactive[=full]

  Emulate Interactive mode in Batch mode.

• --js

  Start in JavaScript mode.

• --json[={off|pretty|raw}]

  Controls JSON wrapping for MySQL Shell output from this session. With no option value or a value of pretty, the output is generated as pretty-printed JSON. With a value of raw, the output is generated in raw JSON format. In any of these cases, the --result-format option and its aliases and the value of the resultFormat MySQL Shell configuration option are ignored. With a value of off, JSON wrapping does not take place, and result sets are output as normal in the format specified by the --result-format option or the resultFormat configuration option.

• --log-level=N

  Specify the logging level. The value can be either an integer in the range from 1 to 8, or one of none, internal, error, warning, info, debug, debug2, or debug3. See Chapter 7, MySQL Shell Application Log.

• -ma

  Deprecated in version 8.0.13 of MySQL Shell. Automatically attempts to use X Protocol to create the session's connection, and falls back to MySQL protocol if X Protocol is unavailable.

• --mysql (--mc)

  Sets the session created at start up to to use a classic MySQL protocol; connection. The --mc option with two hyphens replaced the previous -mc option in version 8.0.13.

• --mysqlx (--mx)

  Sets the session created at start up to use an X Protocol connection. The --mx option with two hyphens replaced the previous single hyphen -mx option in version 8.0.13.

• --name-cache

  Enable automatic loading of table names based on the active default schema.

• --no-name-cache

  Disable loading of table names for autocompletion based on the active default schema and the DevAPI db object. Use \rehash to reload the name information manually.

• --no-password

  When connecting to the server, if the user has a password-less account, which is insecure and not recommended, or if socket peer-credential authentication is in use (for Unix socket connections), you must use --no-password to explicitly specify that no password is provided and the password prompt is not required.

• --no-wizard

  Disables the connection wizard which provides help when creating connections.

• --passwords-from-stdin

  Read the password from standard input, rather than from the terminal. This option does not affect any other password behaviors, such as the password prompt.

• --password[=password], -ppassword

  The password to use when connecting to the server. The maximum password length that is accepted for connecting to MySQL Shell is 128 characters.

  • --password=password (-ppassword) with a value supplies a password to be used for the connection. With the long form --password=, you must use an equals sign and not a space between the option and its value. With the short form -p, there must be no space between the option and its value. If a space is used in either case, the value is not interpreted as a password and might be interpreted as another connection parameter.

    Specifying a password on the command line should be considered insecure. See End-User Guidelines for Password Security. You can use an option file to avoid giving the password on the command line.

  • --password with no value and no equals sign, or -p without a value, requests the password prompt.

  • --password= with an empty value has the same effect as --no-password, which specifies that the user is connecting without a password. When connecting to the server, if the user has a password-less account, which is insecure and not recommended, or if socket peer-credential authentication is in use (for Unix socket connections), you must use one of these methods to explicitly specify that no password is provided and the password prompt is not required.

• --port=port_num, -P port_num

  The TCP/IP port number to use for the connection. The default is port 33060.

• --py

  Start in Python mode.

• --quiet-start[=1|2]

  Start without printing introductory information. MySQL Shell normally prints information about the product, information about the session (such as the default schema and connection ID), warning messages, and any errors that are returned during startup and connection. When you specify --quiet-start with no value or a value of 1, information about the MySQL Shell product is not printed, but session information, warnings, and errors are printed. With a value of 2, only errors are printed.

• --recreate-schema

  Drop and recreate schema.

• --redirect-primary

  Ensures that the target server is part of an InnoDB cluster and if it is not a primary, finds the cluster's primary and connects to it. MySQL Shell exits with an error if any of the following is true when using this option:

  • Group Replication is not active

  • InnoDB cluster metadata does not exist

  • There is no quorum

• --redirect-secondary

  Ensures that the target server is part of an InnoDB cluster and if it is not a secondary, finds a secondary and connects to it. MySQL Shell exits with an error if any of the following is true when using this option:

  • Group Replication is not active

  • InnoDB cluster metadata does not exist

  • There is no quorum

  • The cluster is not single-primary and is running in multi-primary mode

  • There is no secondary in the cluster, for example because there is just one server instance

• --result-format={table|tabbed|vertical|json|json/raw}

  Set the value of the resultFormat MySQL Shell configuration option for this session. Formats are as follows:

  table

  The default for interactive mode, unless another value has been set persistently for the resultFormat configuration option in the configuration file, in which case that default applies. The --table alias can also be used.

  tabbed

  The default for batch mode, unless another value has been set persistently for the resultFormat configuration option in the configuration file, in which case that default applies. The --tabbed alias can also be used.

  vertical

  Produces output equivalent to the \G terminator for an SQL query. The --vertical or -E aliases can also be used.

  json

  Produces pretty-printed JSON.

  json/raw

  Produces raw JSON.

  If the --json command line option is used to activate JSON wrapping for output for the session, the --result-format option and its aliases and the value of the resultFormat configuration option are ignored.

• --schema=name, -D name

  The default schema to use.

• --server-public-key-path=file_name

  MySQL Shell equivalent of --server-public-key-path.

  Important

  Only supported with classic MySQL protocol connections.

  See caching_sha2_password plugin Caching SHA-2 Pluggable Authentication.

• --show-warnings

  Cause warnings to be shown after each statement if there are any.

• --socket[=path], -S [path]

  On Unix, when a path is specified, the path is the name of the Unix socket file to use for the connection. If you specify --socket with no value and no equals sign, or -S without a value, the default Unix socket file for the protocol is used.

  On Windows, the path is the name of the named pipe to use for the connection. The pipe name is not case-sensitive. On Windows, you must specify a path, and the --socket option is available for Classic MySQL Protocol sessions only.

  You cannot specify a socket if you specify a port or a host name other than localhost on Unix or a period (.) on Windows.

• --sql

  Start in SQL mode, auto-detecting the protocol to use if it is not specified as part of the connection information. When the protocol to use is not specified, defaults to an X Protocol connection, falling back to a classic MySQL protocol connection. To force a connection to use a specific protocol see the --sqlx or --sqlc options. Alternatively specify a protocol to use as part of a URI type string or use the --port option. See Section 3.1, “MySQL Shell Connections” and MySQL Shell Ports Reference for more information.

• --sqlc

  Start in SQL mode forcing the connection to use classic MySQL protocol, for example to use MySQL Shell with a server that does not support X Protocol. If you do not specify the port as part of the connection, when you provide this option MySQL Shell uses the default classic MySQL protocol port which is usually 3306. The port you are connecting to must support classic MySQL protocol, so for example if the connection you specify uses the X Protocol default port 33060, the connection fails with an error. See Section 3.1, “MySQL Shell Connections” and MySQL Shell Ports Reference for more information.

• --sqlx

  Start in SQL mode forcing the connection to use X Protocol. If you do not specify the port as part of the connection, when you provide this option MySQL Shell uses the default X Protocol port which is usually 33060. The port you are connecting to must support X Protocol, so for example if the connection you specify uses the classic MySQL protocol default port 3306, the connection fails with an error. See Section 3.1, “MySQL Shell Connections” and MySQL Shell Ports Reference for more information.

• --ssl*

  Options that begin with --ssl specify whether to connect to the server using SSL and indicate where to find SSL keys and certificates. The mysqlsh SSL options function in the same way as the SSL options for MySQL Server, see Command Options for Encrypted Connections for more information.

  mysqlsh accepts these SSL options: --ssl-mode, --ssl-ca, --ssl-capath, --ssl-cert, --ssl-cipher, --ssl-crl, --ssl-crlpath, --ssl-key. --tls-version.

• --tabbed

  Display results in tab separated format in interactive mode. The default for that mode is table format. This option is an alias of the --result-format=tabbed option.

• --table

  Display results in table format in batch mode. The default for that mode is tab separated format. This option is an alias of the --result-format=table option.

• --uri=str

  Create a connection upon startup, specifying the connection options in a URI string format, see Connecting Using a URI or Key-Value Pairs.

• --user=user_name, -u user_name

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

• --version, -V

  Display version information and exit.

• --vertical, -E

  Display results vertically, as when the \G terminator is used for an SQL query. This option is an alias of the --result-format=vertical option.