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 Chapter 6, Using MySQL AdminAPI.
Many of the options described here are related to connections between MySQL Shell and a MySQL Server instance. See Section 4.3, “MySQL Shell Connections” for more information.
mysqlsh supports the following command-line options.
Table A.1 mysqlsh Options
Option Name | Description | Introduced |
---|---|---|
-- | Start of API command line integration | |
--auth-method | Authentication method to use | |
--cluster | Connect to an InnoDB cluster | 8.0.4 |
--column-type-info | Print metadata for columns in result sets | 8.0.14 |
--compress | Compress all information sent between client and server | 8.0.14 |
--connect-timeout | Connection timeout for global session | 8.0.13 |
--credential-store-helper | The Secret Store helper for passwords | 8.0.12 |
--database | The schema to use (alias for --schema) | |
--dba | Enable X Protocol on connection with MySQL 5.7 server | |
--dba-log-sql | Log SQL statements that are executed by AdminAPI operations | 8.0.18 |
--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 | |
--histignore | Strings that are not added to the history | 8.0.3 |
--host | Host on which MySQL server instance is located | |
--import | Import JSON documents from a file or standard input | 8.0.13 |
--interactive | Emulate Interactive mode in batch mode | |
--js, --javascript | Start in JavaScript mode | |
--json | Print output in JSON format | |
--log-level | Specify logging level | |
-ma | Detect transport protocol for session automatically | 8.0.3 |
--mysql, -mc | Create a session using classic 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 interactive wizards | |
--pager | The external pager tool used to display output | 8.0.13 |
--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 | |
--quiet-start | Start without printing introductory information | |
--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 | |
--result-format | Set the output format for this session | 8.0.14 |
--save-passwords | How passwords are stored in the Secret Store | 8.0.12 |
--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 | Unix socket file or Windows named pipe to use (classic MySQL protocol only) | |
--sql | Start in SQL mode, auto-detecting protocol to use for connection | |
--sqlc | Start in SQL mode using a classic MySQL protocol connection | |
--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 | Desired security state of connection to server | |
--syslog | Log interactive SQL statements to the system logging facility | 8.0.24 |
--tabbed | Display output in tab separated format | |
--table | Display output in table format | |
--tls-version | Permissible TLS protocol for encrypted connections | |
--uri | Session information in URI format | |
--user | MySQL user name to use when connecting to server (alias for --dbuser) | |
--verbose | Activate verbose output to the console | 8.0.17 |
--version | Display version information and exit | |
--vertical | Display all SQL results vertically |
-
--help
,-?
Display a help message and exit.
-
Marks the end of the list of mysqlsh options and the start of a command and its arguments for MySQL Shell's API command line integration. You can execute methods of the MySQL Shell global objects from the command line using this syntax:
mysqlsh [options] -- object method [arguments]
See Section 5.8, “API Command Line Interface” for more information.
-
Authentication method to use for the account. Depends on the authentication plugin used for the account's password. For MySQL Shell connections using classic MySQL protocol, specify the name of the authentication plugin, for example
caching_sha2_password
. For MySQL Shell connections using X Protocol, specify one of the following options:- AUTO
Let the library select the authentication method.
- FALLBACK
Let the library select the authentication method, but do not use any authentication method that is not compatible with MySQL 5.7.
- FROM_CAPABILITIES
Let the library select the authentication method, using the capabilities announced by the server instance.
- MYSQL41
Use the challenge-response authentication protocol supported by MySQL 4.1 and later, which does not send a plaintext password. This option is compatible with accounts that use the
mysql_native_password
authentication plugin.- PLAIN
Send a plaintext password for authentication. Use this option only wih encrypted connections. This option can be used to authenticate with cached credentials for an account that uses the
caching_sha2_password
authentication plugin, provided there is an SSL connection. See Using X Plugin with the Caching SHA-2 Authentication Plugin.- SHA256_MEMORY
Authenticate using a hashed password stored in memory. This option can be used to authenticate with cached credentials for an account that uses the
caching_sha2_password
authentication plugin, where there is a non-SSL connection. See Using X Plugin with the Caching SHA-2 Authentication Plugin.
-
Ensures that the target server is part of an InnoDB Cluster and if so, sets the
cluster
global variable to the cluster object. -
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[={required|preferred|disabled}]
,-C [{required|preferred|disabled}]
Controls compression of information sent between the client and the server using this connection. In MySQL Shell 8.0.14 through 8.0.19 this option is available for classic MySQL protocol connections only, and does not use the options
required
,preferred
, anddisabled
. In those releases, when you specify--compress
, compression is activated if possible. From MySQL Shell 8.0.20 it is also available for X Protocol connections, and you can optionally specifyrequired
,preferred
, ordisabled
. When just--compress
is specified from MySQL Shell 8.0.20, the meaning is--compress=required
. See Section 4.3.4, “Using Compressed Connections” for information on using MySQL Shell's compression control in all releases. -
Configures how long MySQL Shell waits (in milliseconds) to establish a global session specified through command-line arguments.
-
--credential-store-helper=
helper
The Secret Store Helper that is to be used to store and retrieve passwords. See Section 4.4, “Pluggable Password Store”.
-
--database=
,name
-D
name
The default schema to use. This is an alias for
--schema
. -
Enable X Plugin on connection with a 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.
-
Log SQL statements that are executed by AdminAPI operations (excluding sandbox operations). By default, this category of statement is not written to the MySQL Shell application log file or sent to the console as verbose output, even when the
--log-level
and--verbose
options are set. The value of the option is an integer in the range from 0 to 2. 0 does not log or display this category of statement, which is the default behavior if you do not specify the option. 1 logs SQL statements that are executed by AdminAPI operations, with the exceptions ofSELECT
statements andSHOW
statements (this is the default setting if you specify the option on the command line without a value). 2 logs SQL statements that are executed by regular AdminAPI operations in full, includingSELECT
andSHOW
statements. See Chapter 9, MySQL Shell Logging and Debug for more information. -
Deprecated in version 8.0.13 of MySQL Shell. Use
--password[=
instead.password
] -
Deprecated in version 8.0.13 of MySQL Shell. Use
--user=
instead.user_name
-
--execute=
,command
-e
command
Execute the command using the currently active language and quit. This option is mutually exclusive with the
--file=
option.file_name
-
--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.
-
Continue processing in SQL and Batch modes even if errors occur.
-
Specify strings that are not added to the MySQL Shell history. Strings are separated by a colon. Matching is case insensitive, and the wildcards * and ? can be used. The default ignored strings are specified as “
*IDENTIFIED*:*PASSWORD*
”. See Section 5.5, “Code History”. -
--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 nameMySQL
), or an alternative named pipe that you specify using the--socket
option. -
MySQL Shell equivalent of
--get-server-public-key
.If
--server-public-key-path=
is given and specifies a valid public key file, it takes precedence overfile_name
--get-server-public-key
.ImportantOnly supported with classic MySQL protocol connections.
-
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 8.2, “JSON Import Utility”.
-
Emulate Interactive mode in Batch mode.
-
--js
,--javascript
Start in JavaScript mode.
-
Controls JSON wrapping for MySQL Shell output from this session. This option is intended for interfacing MySQL Shell with other programs, for example as part of testing. For changing query results output to use the JSON format, see
--result-format
.When the
--json
option has no value or a value ofpretty
, the output is generated as pretty-printed JSON. With a value ofraw
, the output is generated in raw JSON format. In any of these cases, the--result-format
option and its aliases and the value of theresultFormat
MySQL Shell configuration option are ignored. With a value ofoff
, JSON wrapping does not take place, and result sets are output as normal in the format specified by the--result-format
option or theresultFormat
configuration option. -
Change the logging level for the MySQL Shell application log file, or disable logging to the file. The option requires a value, which can be either an integer in the range from 1 to 8, or one of
none
,internal
,error
,warning
,info
,debug
,debug2
, ordebug3
. Specifying 1 ornone
disables logging to the application log file. Level 5 (info
) is the default if you do not specify this option. See Chapter 9, MySQL Shell Logging and Debug. -
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 classic MySQL protocol if X Protocol is unavailable.
-
--mysql
,--mc
Sets the global session created at start up to to use a classic MySQL protocol connection. The
--mc
option with two hyphens replaces the previous single hyphen-mc
option from MySQL Shell 8.0.13. -
--mysqlx
,--mx
Sets the global session created at start up to use an X Protocol connection. The
--mx
option with two hyphens replaces the previous single hyphen-mx
option from MySQL Shell 8.0.13. -
Enable automatic loading of table names based on the active default schema.
-
--no-name-cache
,-A
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. -
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
,-nw
Disables the interactive wizards provided by operations such as creating connections,
dba.configureInstance()
,
and so on. Use this option when you want to script MySQL Shell and not have the interactive prompts displayed. For more information see Section 5.6, “Batch Code Execution” and Section 5.8, “API Command Line Interface”.Cluster
.rebootClusterFromCompleteOutage() -
The external pager tool used by MySQL Shell to display text output for statements executed in SQL mode and other selected commands such as online help. If you do not set a pager, the pager specified by the
PAGER
environment variable is used. See Section 4.6, “Using a Pager”. -
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
]-p
password
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
-p
) with a value supplies a password to be used for the connection. With the long formpassword
--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 equal 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
,--python
Start in Python mode.
-
Execute the specified Python module as a script in MySQL Shell's Python mode.
--pym
works in the same way as Python's-m
command line option. This option is available from MySQL Shell 8.0.22. -
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. -
Drop and recreate the schema that was specified in the connection options, either as part of a URI-like connection string or using the
--schema
,--database
, or-D
option. The schema is deleted if it exists. -
Ensures that the target server is part of an InnoDB Cluster or InnoDB ReplicaSet and if it is not the primary, finds the primary and connects to it. MySQL Shell exits with an error if any of the following is true when using this option:
No instance is specified
On an InnoDB Cluster, Group Replication is not active
InnoDB Cluster metadata does not exist
There is no quorum
-
Ensures that the target server belongs to an InnoDB ReplicaSet, and if so, populates the
rs
global variable with the InnoDB ReplicaSet. You can then administer the InnoDB ReplicaSet using thers
global variable, for example by issuingrs.status()
. -
Ensures that the target server is part of a single-primary InnoDB Cluster or InnoDB ReplicaSet 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:
On an InnoDB Cluster, 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 available, for example because there is just one server instance
-
--result-format={table|tabbed|vertical|json|json/pretty|ndjson|json/raw|json/array}
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 or json/pretty
Produces pretty-printed JSON.
- ndjson or json/raw
Produces raw JSON delimited by newlines.
- json/array
Produces raw JSON wrapped in a JSON array.
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 theresultFormat
configuration option are ignored. -
--save-passwords={always|prompt|never}
Controls whether passwords are automatically stored in the secret store.
always
means passwords are always stored unless they are already in the store or the server URL is excluded by a filter.never
means passwords are never stored.prompt
, which is the default, means users are asked whether to store the password or not. See Section 4.4, “Pluggable Password Store”. -
--schema=
,name
-D
name
The default schema to use.
-
--server-public-key-path=
file_name
MySQL Shell equivalent of
--server-public-key-path
.If
--server-public-key-path=
is given and specifies a valid public key file, it takes precedence overfile_name
--get-server-public-key
.ImportantOnly supported with classic MySQL protocol connections.
See
caching_sha2_password
plugin Caching SHA-2 Pluggable Authentication. -
When true is specified, which is the default, in SQL mode, MySQL Shell displays warnings after each SQL statement if there are any. If false is specified, warning are not displayed.
-
--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 equal sign, or-S
without a value, the default Unix socket file for the appropriate 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. -
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-like connection string or use the--port
option. See Section 4.3, “MySQL Shell Connections” and MySQL Shell Ports Reference for more information. -
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 4.3, “MySQL Shell Connections” and MySQL Shell Ports Reference for more information.
-
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 4.3, “MySQL Shell Connections” and MySQL Shell Ports Reference for more information.
-
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
. -
Send SQL statements that you issue in MySQL Shell’s SQL mode to the operating system’s system logging facility (
syslog
on Unix, or the Windows Event Log). System logging for SQL statements only takes place when MySQL Shell is started in interactive mode, so either a normal start or a start with the--interactive
option. It does not take place if the--execute
or--file
options are used at startup to runmysqlsh
in batch mode. See Section 9.3, “System Logging for SQL Statements” for more information. -
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. -
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. -
Create a connection upon startup, specifying the connection options in a URI-like string as described at Connecting to the Server Using URI-Like Strings or Key-Value Pairs.
-
--user=
,user_name
-u
user_name
The MySQL user name to use when connecting to the server.
-
Activate verbose output to the console and specify the level of detail. The value is an integer in the range from 0 to 4. 0 displays no messages, which is the default verbosity setting when you do not specify the option. 1 displays error, warning and informational messages (this is the default setting if you specify the option on the command line without a value). 2, 3, and 4 add higher levels of debug messages. See Chapter 9, MySQL Shell Logging and Debug for more information.
-
--version
,-V
Display the version of MySQL Shell 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.