MySQL Tutorial

What Is MySQL?

MySQL is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS). It stores data in tables made of rows and columns, links tables together with keys, and lets you read and change the data with SQL (Structured Query Language). It was first released in 1995, has been owned by Oracle since 2010, and is available under the GPL licence as well as commercial editions.

MySQL is one of the most widely used databases in the world. It powers content platforms such as WordPress, online shops, banking back offices and countless Java and Spring Boot applications, and every major cloud offers it as a managed service.

What You Will Learn

• What databases, SQL, NoSQL and RDBMS are, and how they differ
• Installing MySQL and choosing the right data types
• Creating, altering, copying and dropping databases and tables
• Keeping data valid with primary keys, foreign keys and other constraints
• Inserting, reading, updating and deleting rows (CRUD)
• Filtering, sorting and grouping with WHERE, ORDER BY, GROUP BY and HAVING
• Combining tables with inner, left, right, cross and self joins
• Speeding up queries with indexes and reading EXPLAIN
• Transactions, views, users and passwords
• Answering common MySQL interview questions

How MySQL Organizes Data

A MySQL server holds several databases; each database holds tables; each table holds rows with the same columns. A primary key identifies every row, and foreign keys link rows in different tables.

MySQL Learning Path

Follow the tracks in order, or jump straight to the topic you need. The same tracks appear in the menu on the left of every MySQL tutorial.

Quick Start: Your First MySQL Queries

Run MySQL 8.4 LTS locally with Docker and open the mysql command-line client. (Already have MySQL installed? Just run mysql -u root -p. Want a full setup guide? See MySQL Installation.)

docker run -d --name mysql84 -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=secret -p 3306:3306 mysql:8.4
docker exec -it mysql84 mysql -u root -p

Create a database and a table, and add a few rows:

CREATE DATABASE shop;
USE shop;

CREATE TABLE customers (
  id      INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
  name    VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
  city    VARCHAR(30) NOT NULL,
  joined  DATE
);

INSERT INTO customers (name, city, joined) VALUES
  ('Asha',   'Pune',      '2025-01-12'),
  ('Ravi',   'Bengaluru', '2025-03-03'),
  ('Meera',  'Pune',      '2025-06-21'),
  ('Kabir',  'Delhi',     '2025-07-09'),
  ('Nisha',  'Bengaluru', '2025-09-30');

Query OK, 1 row affected
Query OK, 0 rows affected
Query OK, 0 rows affected
Query OK, 5 rows affected
Records: 5  Duplicates: 0  Warnings: 0

Ask a question of the data: who joined from Pune, newest first?

SELECT id, name, joined
FROM customers
WHERE city = 'Pune'
ORDER BY joined DESC;

Result: 2 rows

Summarise it: how many customers are in each city?

SELECT city, COUNT(*) AS customers
FROM customers
GROUP BY city
ORDER BY customers DESC, city;

Result: 3 rows

The output above was produced by running these exact statements on a real MySQL server; MySQL 8.4 returns the same results. Next, learn what each statement does in MySQL Create Table, MySQL WHERE and MySQL GROUP BY.

SQL Command Groups at a Glance

Every MySQL statement belongs to one of five groups. Knowing the group tells you what the statement changes and whether it can be rolled back.

Read the full guide to SQL

Why Developers Choose MySQL

MySQL Compared

Choosing a database? These side-by-side guides show where MySQL fits.