How to create a MySQL database in cPanel

1. 01

   Open the MySQL Database Wizard

   In cPanel, go to Databases → MySQL Database Wizard. Servers running MariaDB show the same screens under the same name.

2. 02

   Name the database

   Type a short name such as shop. cPanel adds your account username as a prefix, so the real name becomes something like cpuser_shop. Write down the full name; your application needs it exactly.

3. 03

   Create the database user

   Choose a username (it gets the same prefix) and use the Password Generator for a long random password. Save both. Give each application its own user, so one compromised app cannot read another's data.

4. 04

   Grant privileges

   For a normal application, tick ALL PRIVILEGES. For a reporting or read-only user, tick only SELECT. Click Make Changes.

5. 05

   Connect your application

   Use localhost as the database host, with the full prefixed database name, username and password. In WordPress these go in wp-config.php as DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD and DB_HOST.

   To load existing data, open phpMyAdmin, select the database and use Import with your .sql or .sql.gz file. For a file larger than the upload limit, use the cPanel Terminal: mysql -u cpuser_shopuser -p cpuser_shop < dump.sql.

Common questions

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