How to Install and Configure MySQL 8.0 on Linux: Step‑by‑Step Guide

Table of Contents

Check Existing Installation (Force Uninstall)

Install MySQL 8.0

Verify MySQL Installation

Enable MySQL Service at Boot

Start MySQL Service

Related Installation Directories

Login to MySQL Without Password

Reset root Password

Login Again with New Password

Remote Connection with Navicat

Check Existing Installation (Force Uninstall)

for i in $(rpm -qa|grep mysql); do rpm -e $i --nodeps; done
rm -rf /var/lib/mysql && rm -rf /etc/my.cnf && rm -rf /usr/share/mysql && rm -rf /var/log/mysql
# optional: whereis mysql
# optional: find / -name mysql
yum remove mysql mysql-server mysql-libs

Install MySQL 8.0

Method 1

Use the latest package manager.

dnf install @mysql -y

Method 2

Install via yum.

yum install mysql-server -y

Verify MySQL Installation

ps -ef | grep mysql
mysqladmin --version

Enable MySQL Service at Boot

Run the following command after installation: systemctl enable mysqld Check if MySQL is running:

systemctl status mysqld

Start MySQL Service

systemctl start mysqld

Check status:

systemctl status mysqld

Related Installation Directories

# View MySQL related commands
cd /usr/bin/
pwd
find my*

# View configuration file directory
cd /usr/share/mysql/
pwd
ls -lh

# Database files directory
cd /var/lib/mysql/
pwd
ls -lh

# MySQL startup configuration files
cd /etc/my.cnf.d/
pwd
ls -lh
# client config: client.cnf
# daemon config: mysql-server.cnf
# default auth plugin config: mysql-default-authentication-plugin.cnf

Login to MySQL Without Password

mysql -uroot

Reset root Password

# Select database
use mysql;
# Change password (MySQL 8.0 syntax)
alter user 'root'@'localhost' identified by 'root';
# Refresh privileges
flush privileges;

Before change:

After change (root password set to "root"):

Login Again with New Password

mysql -uroot -p

Remote Connection with Navicat

Note: Open port 3306 or disable the firewall first.

Grant all privileges to root for remote access:

# If error occurs, modify host in mysql.user table
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'root'@'%' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Update host value:

update user set host='%' where user='root';
flush privileges;

Navicat can now connect successfully.