MySQL with Docker Compose

A minimal Docker Compose setup for running MySQL locally with persistent storage and an optional phpMyAdmin web UI.

Overview

• Services:
  • db — MySQL server (image configurable via MYSQL_VERSION, default: 5.7).
  • phpmyadmin — phpMyAdmin web UI (optional) for database management.

This repository is intended for development, testing, and learning. It's not configured for production use.

Default environment variables

These defaults are defined in docker-compose.yml. Override them via a .env file or environment variables.

• MYSQL_DATABASE — db
• MYSQL_USER — dbuser
• MYSQL_PASSWORD — iamPassword
• MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD — 1234

Persistent data & configuration

• ./data is mounted to /var/lib/mysql inside the container to persist database files across restarts.
• ./config/my.cnf is mounted into /etc/mysql/conf.d/my.cnf to provide custom MySQL configuration.

Ensure those directories/files exist and that Docker has permission to read/write them.

Quick start (PowerShell)

Open PowerShell in the project root and run:

# Start containers in the background
docker compose up -d

# Stream logs from the database service
docker compose logs -f db

# Stop and remove containers
docker compose down

# Stop and remove containers and volumes (deletes database files)
docker compose down -v

If your environment still uses the legacy command, use docker-compose instead of docker compose.

Access

• MySQL: localhost:3306
• phpMyAdmin: http://localhost:8080

phpMyAdmin is configured to connect to the db service. Use MYSQL_USER/MYSQL_PASSWORD or root with MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD to log in.

Troubleshooting

• Container won't start: check logs with docker compose logs db and look for permission or configuration errors.
• Permission problems on Windows: ensure Docker Desktop has file sharing access to the repository folder and that antivirus or indexing services aren't locking files.
• Reinitialize data: removing ./data will reset the database (this deletes all data).

Files of interest

• docker-compose.yml — Compose file describing services and mounts.
• config/my.cnf — Custom MySQL configuration applied at container startup.

Next steps (optional)

• Add a .env.example file to document environment variables.
• Add a healthcheck or simple startup script to wait for MySQL readiness.
• Harden passwords and avoid exposing ports for production.

---

If you'd like, I can add a .env.example file to this repo or include a short PowerShell script that waits for MySQL to be ready before running migrations—tell me which you prefer.