Step-by-Step Guide to Install and Initialize MySQL 8.0.17 on Linux

1. Extract MySQL package : tar -zxvf mysql-8.0.17-linux-glibc2.12-x86_64.tar.gz The extraction creates the directory mysql-8.0.17-linux-glibc2.12-x86_64/ with binaries such as mysql, mysqld, and utility tools.

2. Move to installation path : mv mysql-8.0.17-linux-glibc2.12-x86_64 /usr/local/mysql 3. Create data directories and grant permissions :

mkdir -p /data/mysql/mysql

mkdir -p /data/mysql/logs

useradd mysql

chown -R mysql:mysql /usr/local/mysql/

chown -R mysql:mysql /data/mysql/

4. Modify configuration file : Backup the original file and edit /etc/my.cnf (e.g., set server_id=100).

cp /etc/my.cnf /etc/my.cnf.bak2021

vim /etc/my.cnf

5. Initialize the data directory (first attempt may fail, so remove old directories and retry):

/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqld --initialize --user=mysql --datadir=/data/mysql/ --basedir=/usr/local/mysql/

If errors occur, delete the existing logs and mysql folders, recreate them, and re‑run the initialization command with appropriate paths:

/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqld --initialize --user=mysql --basedir=/usr/local/mysql --datadir=/data/mysql/mysql/

6. Configure startup script : copy the provided server script and make it executable.

vim /usr/local/mysql/support-files/mysql.server

cp /usr/local/mysql/support-files/mysql.server /etc/init.d/mysqld

chmod 775 /etc/init.d/mysqld

7. Add MySQL binaries to the system PATH and reload the profile: vim /etc/profile (add export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/mysql/bin) source /etc/profile 8. Start MySQL service : /etc/init.d/mysqld start The output should indicate Starting MySQL.... SUCCESS! 9. Retrieve the temporary root password from the MySQL error log (shown in the accompanying screenshot) and log in: mysql -u root -p 10. Change the root password and verify users: ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '123456'; Check existing accounts: SELECT user,host FROM mysql.user; Additional resources are linked at the end of the original article for MySQL backup, common commands, and binary log usage.