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safe_mysqld

MYSQLD_SAFE(1)               MySQL Database System              MYSQLD_SAFE(1)



NAME
       mysqld_safe - MySQL server startup script
       safe_mysqld - MySQL server startup script

SYNOPSIS
       mysqld_safe options

DESCRIPTION
       mysqld_safe is the recommended way to start a mysqld server on Unix and
       NetWare.  mysqld_safe adds some safety features such as restarting the
       server when an error occurs and logging runtime information to an error
       log file. NetWare-specific behaviors are listed later in this section.

       Note: Before MySQL 4.0, mysqld_safe is named safe_mysqld. To preserve
       backward compatibility, MySQL binary distributions include safe_mysqld
       as a symbolic link to mysqld_safe until MySQL 5.1.

       By default, mysqld_safe tries to start an executable named mysqld-max
       if it exists, and mysqld otherwise. Be aware of the implications of
       this behavior:

       o  On Linux, the MySQL-Max RPM relies on this mysqld_safe behavior. The
          RPM installs an executable named mysqld-max, which causes
          mysqld_safe to automatically use that executable rather than mysqld
          from that point on.

       o  If you install a MySQL-Max distribution that includes a server named
          mysqld-max, and then upgrade later to a non-Max version of MySQL,
          mysqld_safe will still attempt to run the old mysqld-max server. If
          you perform such an upgrade, you should manually remove the old
          mysqld-max server to ensure that mysqld_safe runs the new mysqld
          server.


To override the default behavior and specify explicitly the name of the server
you want to run, specify a --mysqld or --mysqld-version option to mysqld_safe.
You can also use --ledir to indicate the directory where mysqld_safe should
look for the server.

Many of the options to mysqld_safe are the same as the options to mysqld. See
the section called "COMMAND OPTIONS".

All options specified to mysqld_safe on the command line are passed to mysqld.
If you want to use any options that are specific to mysqld_safe and that
mysqld does not support, do not specify them on the command line. Instead,
list them in the [mysqld_safe] group of an option file. See Section 3.2,
"Using Option Files".

mysqld_safe reads all options from the [mysqld], [server], and [mysqld_safe]
sections in option files. For backward compatibility, it also reads
[safe_mysqld] sections, although you should rename such sections to
[mysqld_safe] when you begin using MySQL 4.0 or later.

mysqld_safe supports the following options:

o  --autoclose

   (NetWare only) On NetWare, mysqld_safe provides a screen presence. When you
   unload (shut down) the mysqld_safe NLM, the screen does not by default go
   away. Instead, it prompts for user input:

   *<NLM has terminated; Press any key to close the screen>*
If you want NetWare to close the screen automatically instead, use the
--autoclose option to mysqld_safe.

o  --basedir=path

   The path to the MySQL installation directory.

o  --core-file-size=size

   The size of the core file that mysqld should be able to create. The option
   value is passed to ulimit -c.

o  --datadir=path

   The path to the data directory.

o  --defaults-extra-file=path

   The name of an option file to be read in addition to the usual option
   files. This must be the first option on the command line if it is used.

o  --defaults-file=file_name

   The name of an option file to be read instead of the usual option files.
   This must be the first option on the command line if it is used.

o  --err-log=file_name

   The old form of the --log-error option, to be used before MySQL 4.0.

o  --ledir=path

   If mysqld_safe cannot find the server, use this option to indicate the
   pathname to the directory where the server is located.

o  --log-error=file_name

   Write the error log to the given file. See Section 10.1, "The Error Log".

o  --mysqld=prog_name

   The name of the server program (in the ledir directory) that you want to
   start. This option is needed if you use the MySQL binary distribution but
   have the data directory outside of the binary distribution. If mysqld_safe
   cannot find the server, use the --ledir option to indicate the pathname to
   the directory where the server is located.

o  --mysqld-version=suffix

   This option is similar to the --mysqld option, but you specify only the
   suffix for the server program name. The basename is assumed to be mysqld.
   For example, if you use --mysqld-version=max, mysqld_safe starts the
   mysqld-max program in the ledir directory. If the argument to
   --mysqld-version is empty, mysqld_safe uses mysqld in the ledir directory.

o  --nice=priority

   Use the nice program to set the server's scheduling priority to the given
   value. This option was added in MySQL 4.0.14.

o  --no-defaults

   Do not read any option files. This must be the first option on the command
   line if it is used.

o  --open-files-limit=count

   The number of files that mysqld should be able to open. The option value is
   passed to ulimit -n. Note that you need to start mysqld_safe as root for
   this to work properly.

o  --pid-file=file_name

   The pathname of the process ID file.

o  --port=port_num

   The port number that the server should use when listening for TCP/IP
   connections. The port number must be 1024 or higher unless the server is
   started by the root system user.

o  --socket=path

   The Unix socket file that the server should use when listening for local
   connections.

o  --timezone=timezone

   Set the TZ time zone environment variable to the given option value.
   Consult your operating system documentation for legal time zone
   specification formats.

o  --user={user_name|user_id}

   Run the mysqld server as the user having the name user_name or the numeric
   user ID user_id. ("User" in this context refers to a system login account,
   not a MySQL user listed in the grant tables.)


If you execute mysqld_safe with the --defaults-file or --defaults-extra-option
option to name an option file, the option must be the first one given on the
command line or the option file will not be used. For example, this command
will not use the named option file:

   mysql> mysqld_safe --port=port_num --defaults-file=file_name

Instead, use the following command:

   mysql> mysqld_safe --defaults-file=file_name --port=port_num

The mysqld_safe script is written so that it normally can start a server that
was installed from either a source or a binary distribution of MySQL, even
though these types of distributions typically install the server in slightly
different locations. (See Section 1.5, "Installation Layouts".)  mysqld_safe
expects one of the following conditions to be true:

o  The server and databases can be found relative to the working directory
   (the directory from which mysqld_safe is invoked). For binary
   distributions, mysqld_safe looks under its working directory for bin and
   data directories. For source distributions, it looks for libexec and var
   directories. This condition should be met if you execute mysqld_safe from
   your MySQL installation directory (for example, /usr/local/mysql for a
   binary distribution).

o  If the server and databases cannot be found relative to the working
   directory, mysqld_safe attempts to locate them by absolute pathnames.
   Typical locations are /usr/local/libexec and /usr/local/var. The actual
   locations are determined from the values configured into the distribution
   at the time it was built. They should be correct if MySQL is installed in
   the location specified at configuration time.


Because mysqld_safe tries to find the server and databases relative to its own
working directory, you can install a binary distribution of MySQL anywhere, as
long as you run mysqld_safe from the MySQL installation directory:

   shell> cd mysql_installation_directory
   shell> bin/mysqld_safe &

If mysqld_safe fails, even when invoked from the MySQL installation directory,
you can specify the --ledir and --datadir options to indicate the directories
in which the server and databases are located on your system.

Normally, you should not edit the mysqld_safe script. Instead, configure
mysqld_safe by using command-line options or options in the [mysqld_safe]
section of a my.cnf option file. In rare cases, it might be necessary to edit
mysqld_safe to get it to start the server properly. However, if you do this,
your modified version of mysqld_safe might be overwritten if you upgrade MySQL
in the future, so you should make a copy of your edited version that you can
reinstall.

On NetWare, mysqld_safe is a NetWare Loadable Module (NLM) that is ported from
the original Unix shell script. It starts the server as follows:

1. Runs a number of system and option checks.

2. Runs a check on MyISAM and ISAM tables.

3. Provides a screen presence for the MySQL server.

4. Starts mysqld, monitors it, and restarts it if it terminates in error.

5. Sends error messages from mysqld to the host_name.err file in the data
   directory.

6. Sends mysqld_safe screen output to the host_name.safe file in the data
   directory.

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright 1997-2006 MySQL AB

       This documentation is NOT distributed under a GPL license. Use of this
       documentation is subject to the following terms: You may create a
       printed copy of this documentation solely for your own personal use.
       Conversion to other formats is allowed as long as the actual content is
       not altered or edited in any way. You shall not publish or distribute
       this documentation in any form or on any media, except if you
       distribute the documentation in a manner similar to how MySQL
       disseminates it (that is, electronically for download on a Web site
       with the software) or on a CD-ROM or similar medium, provided however
       that the documentation is disseminated together with the software on
       the same medium. Any other use, such as any dissemination of printed
       copies or use of this documentation, in whole or in part, in another
       publication, requires the prior written consent from an authorized
       representative of MySQL AB. MySQL AB reserves any and all rights to
       this documentation not expressly granted above.

       Please email <docs@mysql.com> for more information.

SEE ALSO
       isamchk(1), isamlog(1), msql2mysql(1), myisam_ftdump(1), myisamchk(1),
       myisamlog(1), myisampack(1), mysql(1), mysql.server(1),
       mysql_config(1), mysql_explain_log(1), mysql_fix_privilege_tables(1),
       mysql_zap(1), mysqlaccess(1), mysqladmin(1), mysqlbinlog(1),
       mysqlcheck(1), mysqld(1), mysqld(8), mysqld_multi(1), mysqldump(1),
       mysqlhotcopy(1), mysqlimport(1), mysqlshow(1), pack_isam(1), perror(1),
       replace(1), safe_mysqld(1)

       For more information, please refer to the MySQL Reference Manual, which
       may already be installed locally and which is also available online at
       http://dev.mysql.com/doc/.

AUTHOR
       MySQL AB (http://www.mysql.com/).  This software comes with no
       warranty.



MySQL 4.1                         11/02/2006                    MYSQLD_SAFE(1)