To install MySQL from a standard source distribution:

In MySQL 5.5, CMake is used as the build framework on all platforms. The instructions given here should enable you to produce a working installation. For additional information on using CMake to build MySQL, see http://forge.mysql.com/wiki/CMake.

If you start from a source RPM, use the following command to make a binary RPM that you can install. If you do not have rpmbuild, use rpm instead.

shell> rpmbuild --rebuild --clean MySQL-VERSION.src.rpm

The result is one or more binary RPM packages that you install as indicated in Section 2.5.1, “Installing MySQL from RPM Packages on Linux”.

The sequence for installation from a compressed tar file or Zip archive source distribution is similar to the process for installing from a generic binary distribution (see Section 2.2, “Installing MySQL from Generic Binaries on Unix/Linux”), except that it is used on all platforms and includes steps to configure and compile the distribution. For example, with a compressed tar file source distribution on Unix, the basic installation command sequence looks like this:

# Preconfiguration setup
shell> groupadd mysql
shell> useradd -r -g mysql mysql
# Beginning of source-build specific instructions
shell> tar zxvf mysql-VERSION.tar.gz
shell> cd mysql-VERSION
shell> cmake .
shell> make
shell> make install
# End of source-build specific instructions
# Postinstallation setup
shell> cd /usr/local/mysql
shell> chown -R mysql .
shell> chgrp -R mysql .
shell> scripts/mysql_install_db --user=mysql
shell> chown -R root .
shell> chown -R mysql data
# Next command is optional
shell> cp support-files/my-medium.cnf /etc/my.cnf
shell> bin/mysqld_safe --user=mysql &
# Next command is optional
shell> cp support-files/mysql.server /etc/init.d/mysql.server

A more detailed version of the source-build specific instructions is shown following.

Perform Preconfiguration Setup

On Unix, set up the mysql user and group that will be used to run and execute the MySQL server and own the database directory. For details, see Creating a mysql System User and Group, in Section 2.2, “Installing MySQL from Generic Binaries on Unix/Linux”. Then perform the following steps as the mysql user, except as noted.

Obtain and Unpack the Distribution

Pick the directory under which you want to unpack the distribution and change location into it.

Obtain a distribution file using the instructions in Section 2.1.3, “How to Get MySQL”.

Unpack the distribution into the current directory:

Unpacking the distribution file creates a directory named mysql-VERSION.

Configure the Distribution

Change location into the top-level directory of the unpacked distribution:

shell> cd mysql-VERSION

Configure the source directory. The minimum configuration command includes no options to override configuration defaults:

shell> cmake .

On Windows, specify the development environment. For example, the following commands configure MySQL for 32-bit or 64-bit builds, respectively:

shell> cmake . -G "Visual Studio 9 2008"
shell> cmake . -G "Visual Studio 9 2008 Win64"

On Mac OS X, to use the Xcode IDE:

shell> cmake . -G Xcode

When you run cmake, you might want to add options to the command line. Here are some examples:

For a more extensive list of options, see Section 2.11.4, “MySQL Source-Configuration Options”.

To list the configuration options, use one of the following commands:

shell> cmake . -L   # overview
shell> cmake . -LH  # overview with help text
shell> cmake . -LAH # all params with help text
shell> ccmake .     # interactive display

If CMake fails, you might need to reconfigure by running it again with different options. If you do reconfigure, take note of the following:

To prevent old object files or configuration information from being used, run these commands on Unix before re-running CMake:

shell> make clean
shell> rm CMakeCache.txt

Or, on Windows:

shell> devenv MySQL.sln /clean
shell> del CMakeCache.txt

If you build out of the source tree (as described later), the CMakeCache.txt file and all built files are in the build directory, so you can remove that directory to object files and cached configuration information.

If you are going to send mail to a MySQL mailing list to ask for configuration assistance, first check the files in the CMakeFiles directory for useful information about the failure. To file a bug report, please use the instructions in Section 1.7, “How to Report Bugs or Problems”.

Build the Distribution

On Unix:

shell> make
shell> make VERBOSE=1

The second command sets VERBOSE to show the commands for each compiled source.

Use gmake instead on systems where you are using GNU make and it has been installed as gmake.

On Windows:

shell> devenv MySQL.sln /build RelWithDebInfo

It is possible to build out of the source tree to keep the tree clean. If the top-level source directory is named mysql-src under your current working directory, you can build in a directory named build at the same level like this:

shell> mkdir build
shell> cd build
shell> cmake ../mysql-src

If you have gotten to the compilation stage, but the distribution does not build, see Section 2.11.5, “Dealing with Problems Compiling MySQL”, for help. If that does not solve the problem, please enter it into our bugs database using the instructions given in Section 1.7, “How to Report Bugs or Problems”. If you have installed the latest versions of the required tools, and they crash trying to process our configuration files, please report that also. However, if you get a command not found error or a similar problem for required tools, do not report it. Instead, make sure that all the required tools are installed and that your PATH variable is set correctly so that your shell can find them.

Install the Distribution

On Unix:

shell> make install

This installs the files under the configured installation directory (by default, /usr/local/mysql). You might need to run the command as root.

To install in a specific directory, add a DESTDIR parameter to the command line:

shell> make install DESTDIR="/opt/mysql"

Alternatively, generate installation package files that you can install where you like:

shell> make package

This operation produces one or more .tar.gz files that can be installed like generic binary distribution packages. See Section 2.2, “Installing MySQL from Generic Binaries on Unix/Linux”. If you run CMake with -DCPACK_MONOLITHIC_INSTALL=1, the operation produces a single file. Otherwise, it produces multiple files.

On Windows, generate the data directory, then create a .zip archive installation package:

shell> devenv MySQL.sln /build RelWithDebInfo /project initial_database
shell> devenv MySQL.sln /build RelWithDebInfo /project package

You can install the resulting .zip archive where you like. See Section 2.3.5, “Installing MySQL from a Noinstall Zip Archive”.

Perform Postinstallation Setup

The remainder of the installation process involves setting up the configuration file, creating the core databases, and starting the MySQL server. For instructions, see Section 2.12, “Postinstallation Setup and Testing”.