How to Manually Install and Configure MySQL on Ubuntu 24.04

This guide explains how to manually install and configure MySQL Server on Ubuntu 24.04.

The instructions in this article are based directly on the supplied MySQL Ansible playbook. Instead of using Ansible to perform the installation automatically, you will manually run the equivalent commands from the Ubuntu terminal.

1. What You Will Install

After completing this guide, MySQL Server will be installed and configured on your Ubuntu 24.04 server.

The configuration performed in this guide includes:

• Installing MySQL Server
• Enabling the MySQL service
• Starting the MySQL service
• Checking the MySQL service status
• Configuring the MySQL bind address
• Installing the Python MySQL dependency
• Creating a MySQL user
• Checking MySQL listening ports
• Viewing recent MySQL logs

2. Requirements

Before starting, make sure you have:

• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS installed
• Access to the Ubuntu terminal
• A user account with sudo privileges
• An active internet connection

Check your Ubuntu version with:

lsb_release -a

Make sure the system reports Ubuntu 24.04.

3. Update the Ubuntu Package Cache

The first task in the Ansible playbook updates the APT package cache.

Run:

sudo apt update

Wait for the command to complete before continuing.

4. Install MySQL Server

The Ansible playbook installs the Ubuntu MySQL Server package.

Run:

sudo apt install -y mysql-server

Ubuntu will download and install MySQL Server and its required dependencies.

Wait for the installation to finish.

5. Enable the MySQL Service

The playbook enables the MySQL service so that MySQL can start automatically when the server starts.

Run:

sudo systemctl enable mysql

6. Start MySQL

Start the MySQL service:

sudo systemctl start mysql

7. Check MySQL Service Status

The Ansible playbook checks whether the MySQL service is active.

Run:

systemctl is-active mysql

The expected result is:

active

You can also get more detailed information with:

sudo systemctl status mysql

Look for:

Active: active (running)

Press Q to exit the status screen.

8. Configure the MySQL Bind Address

The supplied Ansible playbook changes the MySQL bind address to:

0.0.0.0

This means MySQL is configured to listen on all available network interfaces.

Open the MySQL Configuration File

The Ansible playbook modifies the following file:

/etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d/mysqld.cnf

Open the file:

sudo nano /etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d/mysqld.cnf

Find the Bind Address

Look for a line similar to:

bind-address = 127.0.0.1

Change it to:

bind-address = 0.0.0.0

If the file already contains a bind-address line, replace its value with 0.0.0.0.

Save the file:

1. Press CTRL + O
2. Press ENTER
3. Press CTRL + X

9. Restart MySQL After Changing the Configuration

The Ansible playbook automatically restarts MySQL when the bind address configuration changes.

Manually restart MySQL:

sudo systemctl restart mysql

Check the service again:

sudo systemctl status mysql

Make sure it shows:

Active: active (running)

10. Install the Python MySQL Dependency

The Ansible playbook installs python3-pymysql.

This package allows Python applications and automation tools to communicate with MySQL.

Install it with:

sudo apt install -y python3-pymysql

11. Create the MySQL User

The supplied Ansible playbook creates a MySQL user with the following details:

Create the User

First open the MySQL command-line client as the root MySQL user:

sudo mysql

You should see a prompt similar to:

mysql>

Create the user:

CREATE USER 'mysqluser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'YOUR_STRONG_PASSWORD';

Replace YOUR_STRONG_PASSWORD with your own password.

For example:

CREATE USER 'mysqluser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'YourStrongPasswordHere';

12. Give the MySQL User Permissions

The Ansible playbook gives the user:

.*:ALL,GRANT

In MySQL, the equivalent manual command is to grant privileges.

Run the following inside the MySQL prompt:

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'mysqluser'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Apply the privilege changes:

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

You can check the user's permissions with:

SHOW GRANTS FOR 'mysqluser'@'localhost';

13. Exit MySQL

When you have finished creating the user, exit the MySQL command-line client:

EXIT;

You should return to the normal Ubuntu terminal.

14. Test the MySQL User

You can test whether the new MySQL user can log in.

Run:

mysql -u mysqluser -p

Enter the password you created for mysqluser.

If the login is successful, you will see:

mysql>

Test the connection:

SELECT VERSION();

Then exit:

EXIT;

15. Check MySQL Listening Ports

The Ansible playbook checks the server's listening ports using the ss command.

Run:

sudo ss -tap

You can specifically check the standard MySQL port:

sudo ss -ltnp | grep 3306

MySQL normally uses TCP port:

3306

Because the playbook changes the bind address to 0.0.0.0, MySQL should listen on the configured network interfaces.

16. Check MySQL Logs

The Ansible playbook retrieves the latest 20 MySQL service log entries.

Run:

sudo journalctl -u mysql --no-pager -n 20

This displays the most recent 20 log entries for the MySQL service.

If you need to see more logs, run:

sudo journalctl -u mysql --no-pager

17. Check MySQL Service After Configuration

After making the configuration changes, check MySQL again:

sudo systemctl status mysql

The expected result is:

Active: active (running)

You can also use:

systemctl is-active mysql

Expected output:

active

18. Check That MySQL Starts Automatically

Verify that MySQL is enabled:

systemctl is-enabled mysql

Expected output:

enabled

19. Complete MySQL Installation Verification

Run the following commands one at a time to verify the installation:

Check MySQL version

mysql --version

Check MySQL service

sudo systemctl status mysql

Check whether MySQL is active

systemctl is-active mysql

Check whether MySQL starts automatically

systemctl is-enabled mysql

Check MySQL port

sudo ss -ltnp | grep 3306

Check recent MySQL logs

sudo journalctl -u mysql --no-pager -n 20

Test MySQL login

mysql -u mysqluser -p

20. Useful MySQL Commands

Check MySQL version

mysql --version

Check MySQL service status

sudo systemctl status mysql

Start MySQL

sudo systemctl start mysql

Stop MySQL

sudo systemctl stop mysql

Restart MySQL

sudo systemctl restart mysql

Enable MySQL at startup

sudo systemctl enable mysql

Check whether MySQL is running

systemctl is-active mysql

Open MySQL as the local root account

sudo mysql

Log in as mysqluser

mysql -u mysqluser -p

Check listening ports

sudo ss -ltnp | grep 3306

View recent MySQL logs

sudo journalctl -u mysql --no-pager -n 20

21. Installation Summary

The manual installation follows the main tasks contained in the supplied MySQL Ansible playbook:

1. Update the APT package cache.
2. Install MySQL Server.
3. Enable the MySQL service.
4. Start the MySQL service.
5. Check the MySQL service status.
6. Configure the MySQL bind address.
7. Restart MySQL after the configuration change.
8. Install python3-pymysql.
9. Create the mysqluser MySQL account.
10. Give the user the required privileges.
11. Check MySQL listening ports.
12. View recent MySQL logs.

22. Final MySQL Information

Note: This article converts the tasks contained in the supplied MySQL Ansible playbook into manual Ubuntu terminal commands.