How to install MariaDB using Docker

Step-by-step Guide#

Prerequisites#

Before you start, make sure you have Docker installed on your system.

Step 1: Pull the MariaDB Docker Image#

First, you need to pull the official MariaDB image from Docker Hub:

docker pull mariadb

If you need a specific version, you can specify it with a tag:

docker pull mariadb:10.11

Step 2: Create a Docker Volume (Optional)#

To persist your data beyond the container's lifecycle, create a Docker volume:

docker volume create mariadb_data

Step 3: Run the MariaDB Container#

Launch a MariaDB container with the following command:

docker run --name mariadb-container \
  -e MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD=my-secret-pw \
  -p 3306:3306 \
  -v mariadb_data:/var/lib/mysql \
  -d mariadb

This command:

• Names the container mariadb-container
• Sets the root password to my-secret-pw (change this to a secure password)
• Maps port 3306 on your host to port 3306 in the container
• Mounts the mariadb_data volume to the container's data directory
• Runs the container in detached mode

Step 4: Verify the Installation#

Check if your container is running:

docker ps

You should see your MariaDB container in the list.

Step 5: Connect to MariaDB#

Connect to your MariaDB server using the command-line client:

docker exec -it mariadb-container mariadb -uroot -p

When prompted, enter your root password. You should see the MariaDB prompt:

MariaDB [(none)]>

Alternatively, if you have the MariaDB client installed on your host machine:

mariadb -h 127.0.0.1 -P 3306 -u root -p

Step 6: Create a Database and User#

Now, create a database and a user with appropriate permissions:

CREATE DATABASE mydb;
CREATE USER 'myuser'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'mypassword';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON mydb.* TO 'myuser'@'%';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Step 7: Configure MariaDB (Optional)#

If you need to customize MariaDB configuration, you can mount a custom configuration file:

1. Create a my.cnf file on your host system with your custom settings
2. Stop and remove the existing container:

   docker stop mariadb-container
   docker rm mariadb-container

3. Start a new container with the config file mounted:

   docker run --name mariadb-container \
     -e MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD=my-secret-pw \
     -p 3306:3306 \
     -v mariadb_data:/var/lib/mysql \
     -v /path/to/my.cnf:/etc/mysql/conf.d/my.cnf \
     -d mariadb

Common Operations#

To stop the container:

docker stop mariadb-container

To start the container:

docker start mariadb-container

To restart the container:

docker restart mariadb-container

To view container logs

docker logs mariadb-container

Using Docker Compose (Recommended)#

For production environments, using Docker Compose is recommended. Create a docker-compose.yml file:

version: '3'
services:
  mariadb:
    image: mariadb
    container_name: mariadb-container
    restart: always
    environment:
      MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: my-secret-pw
      MARIADB_DATABASE: mydb
      MARIADB_USER: myuser
      MARIADB_PASSWORD: mypassword
    ports:
      - '3306:3306'
    volumes:
      - mariadb_data:/var/lib/mysql
      # Uncomment to use custom configuration
      # - ./my.cnf:/etc/mysql/conf.d/my.cnf

volumes:
  mariadb_data:

Start your MariaDB container using Docker Compose:

docker-compose up -d