mysqld_multi is designed to manage several mysqld processes that listen for connections on different Unix socket files and TCP/IP ports. It can start or stop servers, or report their current status.

mysqld_multi searches for groups named [mysqldN] in my.cnf (or in the file named by the --defaults-file option). N can be any positive integer. This number is referred to in the following discussion as the option group number, or GNR. Group numbers distinguish option groups from one another and are used as arguments to mysqld_multi to specify which servers you want to start, stop, or obtain a status report for. Options listed in these groups are the same that you would use in the [mysqld] group used for starting mysqld. (See, for example, Section 2.9.5, “Starting and Stopping MySQL Automatically”.) However, when using multiple servers, it is necessary that each one use its own value for options such as the Unix socket file and TCP/IP port number. For more information on which options must be unique per server in a multiple-server environment, see Section 7.8, “Running Multiple MySQL Instances on One Machine”.

To invoke mysqld_multi, use the following syntax:

mysqld_multi [options] {start|stop|reload|report} [GNR[,GNR] ...]

start, stop, reload (stop and restart), and report indicate which operation to perform. You can perform the designated operation for a single server or multiple servers, depending on the GNR list that follows the option name. If there is no list, mysqld_multi performs the operation for all servers in the option file.

Each GNR value represents an option group number or range of group numbers. The value should be the number at the end of the group name in the option file. For example, the GNR for a group named [mysqld17] is 17. To specify a range of numbers, separate the first and last numbers by a dash. The GNR value 10-13 represents groups [mysqld10] through [mysqld13]. Multiple groups or group ranges can be specified on the command line, separated by commas. There must be no whitespace characters (spaces or tabs) in the GNR list; anything after a whitespace character is ignored.

This command starts a single server using option group [mysqld17]:

mysqld_multi start 17

This command stops several servers, using option groups [mysqld8] and [mysqld10] through [mysqld13]:

mysqld_multi stop 8,10-13

For an example of how you might set up an option file, use this command:

mysqld_multi --example

mysqld_multi searches for option files as follows:

For additional information about these and other option-file options, see Section 6.2.2.3, “Command-Line Options that Affect Option-File Handling”.

Option files read are searched for [mysqld_multi] and [mysqldN] option groups. The [mysqld_multi] group can be used for options to mysqld_multi itself. [mysqldN] groups can be used for options passed to specific mysqld instances.

The [mysqld] or [mysqld_safe] groups can be used for common options read by all instances of mysqld or mysqld_safe. You can specify a --defaults-file=file_name option to use a different configuration file for that instance, in which case the [mysqld] or [mysqld_safe] groups from that file are used for that instance.

mysqld_multi supports the following options.

Some notes about mysqld_multi:

The following example shows how you might set up an option file for use with mysqld_multi. The order in which the mysqld programs are started or stopped depends on the order in which they appear in the option file. Group numbers need not form an unbroken sequence. The first and fifth [mysqldN] groups were intentionally omitted from the example to illustrate that you can have “gaps” in the option file. This gives you more flexibility.

# This is an example of a my.cnf file for mysqld_multi.
# Usually this file is located in home dir ~/.my.cnf or /etc/my.cnf

[mysqld_multi]
mysqld     = /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqld_safe
mysqladmin = /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqladmin
user       = multi_admin
password   = my_password

[mysqld2]
socket     = /tmp/mysql.sock2
port       = 3307
pid-file   = /usr/local/mysql/data2/hostname.pid2
datadir    = /usr/local/mysql/data2
language   = /usr/local/mysql/share/mysql/english
user       = unix_user1

[mysqld3]
mysqld     = /path/to/mysqld_safe
ledir      = /path/to/mysqld-binary/
mysqladmin = /path/to/mysqladmin
socket     = /tmp/mysql.sock3
port       = 3308
pid-file   = /usr/local/mysql/data3/hostname.pid3
datadir    = /usr/local/mysql/data3
language   = /usr/local/mysql/share/mysql/swedish
user       = unix_user2

[mysqld4]
socket     = /tmp/mysql.sock4
port       = 3309
pid-file   = /usr/local/mysql/data4/hostname.pid4
datadir    = /usr/local/mysql/data4
language   = /usr/local/mysql/share/mysql/estonia
user       = unix_user3

[mysqld6]
socket     = /tmp/mysql.sock6
port       = 3311
pid-file   = /usr/local/mysql/data6/hostname.pid6
datadir    = /usr/local/mysql/data6
language   = /usr/local/mysql/share/mysql/japanese
user       = unix_user4

See Section 6.2.2.2, “Using Option Files”.